Hotel Studio Estique (Next to Inox Multiplex, Near Council Hall, Bund Garden Road, Pune, Pune, India) where I stayed at on 26 Mar, 2022 was quite disappointing. To start with, there are no bellboys – you lug your own luggage up two steep flights of stairs to the reception desk. Check in was seamless, and the floor ***ager pointed out behind me to 4 tables – “Breakfast is served here…” etc., etc. It’s a really tight lobby, only slightly larger than my own living room here in Pune. I entered my third-floor room, and found that the AC was working well. I opened the curtains and saw a huge pale yellow building stretching end-to-end across my window – I couldn't see anything else. Now my list of problems: The room had no paper napkins. The toilet roll in the loo was only about three feet long. There was one bottle of drinking water of some unknown brand - 500 ml. There was nothing in the mini-fridge – it wasn’t even switched on. There was no spoon or stirrer in the tray containing two tea bags, two coffee sachets and two sachets of creamer. I could tolerate and ignore all these problems. But when I lifted the electric kettle to make some coffee, out ran three cockroaches! I cannot attach videos, so I will post screenshots of them. I went to a nearby shopping mall (Dorabjee’s) and bought paper napkins and drinking water. The telephone's dial list was was destroyed by some kid's writing numbers all over it! And nowhere could I find a mention of which numbers to dial for Reception, Housekeeping, Room Service, etc. I finally discovered the Room Service menu in a draw. The condition of the menu - with food particles, soiled and frayed pages - just about killed my appetite. But it did have the phone numbers hidden in the last few pages. So I called Reception, and he gave me the Room Service number (rather than connecting the call himself). I called that number, and a guy answers, ”Hello”. I reply, “Hello”, and he replies, ”Hmm?” So I ask ”Room Service?” He says, ”haan”. How's that for phone etiquette? Based on the menu, I asked if they served Chicken Chettinad. “No, not available.” So I asked for Kadhai chicken, “Is it boneless?” The guy on the phone responded, “Extra charge for ‘boneless’.” But when he delivered the food (yes, apparently the same guy), he said, “I haven’t charged you for boneless.” I could visualise the little cupped palm behind him, so I tipped him fifty bucks, and he was ecstatic. But the food... I had told them to make it with some gravy for the rice. They solved that problem by just adding some water and boiling it. I am a decent cook mysef so I know. On the brighter side, the onions and lemon slices were cut perfectly. Really. But they didn't give a serving spoon! I had to use the same fork and spoon for serving and for eating. Now the bed. It creaked every time I turned. Parts of it were lumpy. But overall, not bad. What was bad was that I could hear the toilet flushing loudly on both sides of the room throughout the
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