You never quite know what you may be getting when you stay at a small, locally owned hotel. Sure, you can read reviews and look at pictures, but you never *really* know until you get there. I’ll get into the hotel itself in a moment, but the main benefit this place has going for it are its owners. They are kind and chatty, and aren’t just concerned about you having a good stay at their hotel, but a good stay in their city. They’re more than happy to sit and talk about where you should go, and are very interested in helping you understand the culture of the place you’re in. One of the owners said he’d come and sit with me at the restaurant on the roof while I ate, and he did. He even offered to go walking around one of the neighborhoods with me. I cannot emphasize how important this is. When you’re in a place like India for the first time, it’s absolutely vital that you have helpful people to lean on a bit. I don’t mean that in an “India is dangerous” kind of way, but in an “India can be completely confusing and difficult to comprehend” way. I would regularly come back with questions about things I saw while wandering, and not only were the owners willing to answer them, but they seemed genuinely excited by the opportunity to help me understand the culture of their city and their country. As for the hotel itself, it’s clean and comfortable. One thing you have to understand is that this is an old building, in the old part of the city — and those are GOOD things. Yes, there are more “western” style hotels in newer buildings in Jodhpur. There’s even one that’s under the Marriott umbrella. But if you want to stay at a Marriott, you can do that at home. And more importantly, those hotels are not in the old city, and that’s where you’re going to be spending your time. The Kings Retreat is right in the midst of it, and it was helpful to just be able to spend 15 minutes walking back to the room to take a shower or rest for a bit. As I said, this is an old building. It’s what’s called a “haveli” — typically an old mansion with a central courtyard you’ll find in many cities in India. So yes, there are some quirks like old doors or having to turn on a water heater and wait a few minutes before you take a shower. To me, this is all part of the experience. And the owners have done a great job with modernizing the building. I’m sure there’s a lot of regulations when it comes to making changes to a historic property, and I was a bit concerned at first when I walked into the room and found it hot — but let me tell you, that air conditioner is ice cold and blows like a tornado if you want it to. Yes, you’ll probably have to switch into a tuk-tuk with your luggage when you get close to the building, as the streets are quite narrow. I promise you, this is totally fine and normal. And yes, there’s no elevator, since this is an old building. But I was upstairs and it made no difference. There’s a guy there who’s very used to carrying bags up the steps.
Ausgezeichnet
48 Bewertungen