I Wanna Go Home - Is this the worst hotel in the world?

 

Seven hours of driving through winding roads in the north of India, barely missing scooters, trucks, other cars, people, cows and around a million trishaws would have been worth the nail biting if we'd ended up where we thought we were going. That was meant to be a fresh air, relaxing, hillside lodge with views across the valley and gardens full of fresh herbs. Now that I've survived the trip, I can reveal that it wasn't anything like that. Don't get me wrong. I love surprises when I travel but this surprise was above and beyond anyone's expectations and not good ones at that.

At a town about half way there we stopped for lunch and looking forward to eating at a local restaurant. I love Indian food and always have and I prefer basic restaurants or cafes as long as they serve good hopefully wholesome food. But this was unbelievable and none of us could face it. Take a look at the fish - the main dish. Nup - not possible to eat.

Just a bad experience, a crappy restaurant and no big deal perhaps. But let's just get to the accommodation which was truly astounding. The water in the taps was yellow, the beds were rock hard and so was the thing that was meant to be a pillow. It was a harrowing drive and all we wanted was something edible and a place to go to sleep as by the time we arrived it was well and truly dark so no view until morning. (By the way, we left early the next morning before sunrise to go back - so seven more hours dodging traffic and animals along the same winding roads).



During the night, or more precisely, around two in the morning I could hear people in the room next door chatting and laughing but by then I didn't really care. However, a guy in the room on the other side of mine couldn't stand it any longer. The whole scenario was just too much. He banged on their door and said"Shut up. People are trying to sleep". As he came back past my door I heard him say "I can't stand this. I just wanna go home." I reckon he was close to tears. Get over it some would say but it was bloody terrible and on a paid famil. Part of life's rich tapestry but not the part I'd choose as it was unnecessary dangerous driving and completely unhygienic all round. I was looking forward to staying in real Indian hotels - I'd stayed in palaces and in tents and loved both experiences but this hotel was a humdinger - and didn't even see the view. Don't even know if there was one.