Hotels in India

I have stayed so far in five hotels in India, three of which are what I would call "Indian-style" hotels - the interiors are Indian. The rest are what I would call "Western-style" hotel. All five have complimentary breakfast.

The first three hotels I stayed in are Indian-style hotels and have rates of $40, $70, and $100 per night. A $100 per night hotel, to me and to all Filipinos here in the Philippines, would be a four-star hotel already. In India, that $100 hotel is (by my Westernized standards) just a 2-star hotel.

I stayed in what I think is a 3-star Western-style hotel in an industrial town some 200 kilometers away from Delhi. The rate is also $100 per night. Quite expensive but it was within budget. It is a relief for westernized me because it feels comfortable to me. I would think there is nothing wrong with the first three hotels I stayed in except that I think it just doesn't suit my personal taste.

The second hotel is actually a business hotel in Delhi, and if you like a little taste of India in terms of accomodations and so on, try that hotel. I forgot the name. I got it at ~$70 per night, and it is to me a 2-star hotel. They only gave you Sunsilk sachets for your shampoo though. I guess you should just be thankful you get free shampoo. I don't think they gave you toothbrush and toothpaste; I don't recall exactly. I think it's quite expensive.

The last hotel I stayed in, this time in Mumbai, was quite new and it felt to me like a 4-star hotel from the inside, but from the outside, it is really a 3-star hotel. It's ~$160 per night. Very expensive for a 3-star hotel! There's this other hotel which I would think is a 4-star hotel, and it's ~$300 per night. Five star hotels in Mumbai could be as much as $500 to $700 per night!

So there's my major complaint of these hotels in India:
1. They're expensive. In general, I think anything which tourists/foreigners would use or visit are expensive. I guess it's something you have to be prepared for when visiting India. A bottle of water is just Rs.10 in the streets, but it's at least Rs.80 in the hotels, and as much as Rs.100.

2. Let's say they give you toothbrush and toothpaste for your first night, they won't give you new ones for your second night's stay, and maybe for the rest of your stay. They would give you two complimentary packets each of coffee, tea, sugar, and creamer on your first day, but they might just give you one each on the next day, and so on. They would give you two bars of soap on your first night, but not on your second night, and so on. You would have one towel the first night, but not on the second night. So eco-awareness aside, if you want a complete set of those "freebies" - soap, coffee, tea, sugar, creamer, toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving kit, shampoo, lotion, etc. - on your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th night at these hotels, check out then check back in at a different room. For the first night, you'll get everything but not if you stay one night longer (though the rate is the same). But who would do that? Who would check out every morning and just check in again in the evening? Then what they are doing, to me is taking advantage of people, and poor service. And that happened to me at these 3-star hotels. That doesn't happen to me in the Philippines (for 3-star hotels). Maybe it won't happen to me when I check in at a 4-star or better hotel - but check out my comment number 1 above.

Three of the hotels I was talking about are: The Airport Hotel, Delhi; Peninsula Grand, Mumbai; and Mountview Hotel, Chandigarh.