The hotel is close to New Delhi station, where the special ticket office for tourists is located, and to Main Bazaar, a huge shopping district where everything under the sun can be had.
The Ajanta Hotel is in a street which is teeming with typical Indian life, something that genuine travellers usually want to experience, while at the same time offering an oasis of quiet, order and cleanliness, which Westerners also often want in order to recover from the usual Indian exuberance and noise. Staying there therefore gives you the best of both worlds: Indian life and divine chaos on your doorstep, and safety and quiet inside.
You could not have the same experience if you stayed in one of the super-expensive luxury hotels, which are located in areas and enclaves which are "sanitised" to such an extent, that no ordinary Indian is allowed in ("no Indian life is here"), and where you might as well be in a similar hotel in New York or London.
Apart from the general cleanliness, which is a feature worth stressing in all hotels which do not charge the earth, I found the staff extraordinarily friendly and helpful. This is true of all their reception staff, who soon know you by name, and of the people providing various services, like the cyber café (where the guy in charge went to great lengths to be helpful), money exchange, travel agency, and especially of the inimitable and unforgettable Mrs Kher, who is a second mother to especially young and inexperienced travellers.
She is there to give you advice on anything under the sun: how best to travel to various parts of Delhi, how to avoid being overcharged by taxi drivers, where best to go to for buying specific items, how to cope with the language, and how to solve any other problems you might have. Take one look at her and you know you can trust her - unlike the many crooks and spivs with whom the tourist is soon surrounded in other parts of Delhi.
I had a few very specific problems of my own, and Mrs Kher took the trouble to listen, to understand and then to introduce me to people who could, and did, help, including even the proprietor of the hotel itself, who did even more to come to my aid.
This is much more than I had the right to expect in any but the most expensive and exclusive hotels.
But this one is NOT expensive and NOT exclusive. I noticed that it is used by backpackers and business people and ordinary tourists alike, young and old, from all nations under the sun, and they all seem to be happy together.
The charges are very reasonable by Western standards and for the comfort that is on offer.
There is also a restaurant in which splendid cuisine is on offer and which is frequented not only by hotel guests but also attracts people from other parts of Delhi.
I am very grateful for having been allowed to stay there and was lucky to have, by sheer accident, discovered this hotel in the first place. I hope these wonderful people, staff and leaders alike, will continue to prosper.
PS. I should not fail to mention that, outside the Ajanta Hotel, I was given a leaflet advertising a
British on-line Lottery syndicate, which allows people to play the British National Lottery, Euro-Millions and the Spanish lottery, including El Gordo, with its tremendous range of prizes. Joining this syndicate increases the chances of scooping a share of the Jackpot in the UK Lotto by 7 times, and in Euro-Millions by 36 times. I spoke to two guys who had in fact joined the syndicate after receiving this leaflet in Arakashan Road, where the Ajanta Hotel is located, and they were in fact winning small amounts every fortnight, i.e. they were closely skirting a larger win. I have therefore included a link to this syndicate and its free "Grab a Grand" raffle,http://tinyurl.com/prtd5c
with a prize of £1000 for people who join as affiliates and promote the business - absolutely free of charge.
No comments:
Post a Comment