Mar 21, 2011 08:59 AM
20488 Views
Hi friends, I stayed at the Citrus Hotel in Lonavala for three days last year in the holiday season of May. I decided to go on an outing with my family and was on the lookout for a good hotel to stay in Lonavala. I booked an executive room of this hotel for Rs-4000/- a day (Inclusive of a stay for 2+1 along with breakfast) I did the booking a month before our stay and made the payment at their Mumbai office. I was hoping for a pleasant stay at the hotel which proved to be a disaster in the end.
We reached Lonavala on our date of arrival at approximately 12.00 in the noon, which was some two hours late than the check-in time of the hotel. This was due to the traffic we had to face on the Mumbai-Pune express highway owing to the holiday season. As we reached the hotel, the receptionist asked for the booking slip which I promptly presented. I was shocked when I was told by her that our room was still occupied by the previous guest and that they were checking out soon in 15 minutes time. I was irked, but somehow kept my cool as I thought that it was just a matter of 15 minutes. I waited in the lounge with my wife and daughter. It took more than 45 minutes rather than 15 minutes to check-in in to our room and that too after I complained twice to the receptionist in between. This was a total childish and unprofessional attitude shown by the hotel administration regarding the implementation of a basic and simple check-in and check-out procedure which is considered as a normal routine for the hotel industry. What would have happened if we had reached on time?
We were then taken to the second floor where our room was situated. On entering the room, we were pleased to see that it was a spacious one and it's decor was good from inside. They provide a coffee maker inside the room where you are given adequate sachets of coffee, milk and sugar powder which are given free on demand during your whole stay. They also provide an electronic digital safe inside the room where you can store your cash and other valuables. Cable TV, running water for 24 hours, attached bathroom, room service, laundry service were the other basic facilities available. The room had a double bed and an extra sofa cum bed suitable for children. After the wait at the reception, we thought that we were at ease now, but our joy was short lived when we decided to turn on the air conditioner. The A.C’S fan was the only thing that was working. The compressor turned out to be a dud. You can imagine what it would feel like on a May afternoon if you find that your room's A.C is not working properly. We called the reception and reported the problem. They sent a technician after an hour who shoddily did the job and then exclaimed "It's done sir”. I checked it only to find out that still it was not working properly. On complaining again I was told that as we were staying on the second floor and as there was no floor above our room, it was hot and humid and hence the cooling of the A.C was not up to the mark. Wow, what a lame excuse!!! I was livid at the excuse given. I argued with the receptionist to provide me another room on which I was told that all rooms were full. I knew there was no point in arguing and fighting as it would spoil our holiday mood and also due to the holiday season, all other hotels were full too. We carried on by running the A.C and the ceiling fan in sync with each other. Sigh!!!
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Secondly, the bathroom door of our room was jammed and hence it had to be pushed and jolted for closing it every time. The room service was okay. The breakfast served was passable. The surroundings outside the hotel didn't offer any pleasant scenery, but the layout of the hotel from inside was good. It contains a gym, a spa, a conference room, bar, indoor games consisting of a pool table, table tennis etc and a mini theatre which can accommodate 12 to 15 people (not adequate in the holiday season) where they provide DVD’s of movies for watching. They have also kept a play station 2 console for the gaming buffs. Surprisingly, in spite of all these amenities there was no swimming pool in the hotel which was quite a letdown. We never ate in the hotel apart from the breakfast and hence I cannot comment on the food provided.
All in all I will never recommend anyone to stay in this hotel. There are lots of other good hotels available for staying in Lonavala which offer much more services, facilities and amenities than this one and that too at cheaper rates.
