Hotels and updates
**Hotel updates ...** Well what can I say apart from they have so far been a mixed bag!
**First of all the wonderful Hotel Fifu** As per my previous blog Hotel Fifu was a lovely place to stay and I would recommend it to anyone. The hospitality, cleanliness and roof terrace made it a pleasure to stay there and we were reluctant to leave. Mr Fifu would check on us every time he saw us having breakfast or dinner and couldn’t do enough to help he even offered to sort out a replacement Tuk Tuk for Rich and Chrissie when their first one blew up in flames (this was before we had started the race and it wasn’t really their fault but the man welding too close to the fuel tank! But that is a story for them to tell not me)
Luxury Level 8/10 Cleanliness Level 9/10 Friendliness Level 10/10 Value for Money 9/10 Bonus - Roof Terrace with View / Very kind and friendly approach / View
**Night 1** - The first hotel since the off was Fort Pokeran This promised by the travel guide to be a good choice, in all honesty it was only 1 of 2 hotels in the area so maybe we shouldn’t have expected too much! On arrival in the dark it seemed quite imposing if not a little early, Chrissie and I were at first taken to our respective rooms and provided with twin beds, oh well it was late it was better than no beds but we had booked double rooms two nights before, we were keen! Whilst trying to get in the rooms and not just stand outside holding heavy bags one man shouted from the other side of the courtyard to the gentleman showing us the rooms “no no the Royal Suites!†Oo we thought, we get to Chrissie’s room first which was pretty cool, she thinks ‘Yes got a good one here’ I then get taken to ours which turns out to be even bigger, a hall, bathroom, bedroom, outside courtyard and a day room! When going to the toilet in the dark in the night though it is a bit drafty! The wow and excitement of staying in a fort stops here! We go to dinner, this was bad and I suspect the reason for my Delhi belly a day later which has resulted in me loosing half a stone so far! No sooner are our spoons put down (they don’t appear to have forks here all that often!) then we are presented with a pink slip asking for the money for our room and dinner by a rather rude man with an upside down hockey stick used as a walking aid! It all appears to be done very quietly but with extreme persistence he won’t leave until we pay, no polite English view of “I will come back in a moment†just a long stare with the occasional comment of “you are getting a special price don’t tell other Tuk Tuk teams†This later translates to you booked in advance so are paying the listed price from the book everyone else I can con into paying more! So once we have paid many teams head off to bed, this prompts the staff to clear all the tables of cloths and so on with extreme speed all around us they decide to look at us until we leave into the darkness of the fort as lights are now out and we must head to bed as the staff clearly don’t work once it is dark! I have to say I haven’t wanted to not stay at a hotel again quite as much as the Fort, the friendly Indian hospitality that we experience at Hotel Fifu just didn’t happen here, it was appalling. I have even decided once I get home I shall be adding a sternly worded comment to Trip advisor suggesting that you don’t stay there as I was that annoyed!
Luxury Level – 7/10 Cleanliness Level – 5/10 Friendless Level – minus 10/10 Value for Money – 1/10 Negative Points – Run by Dr Evil / Fleecing Attitude / Delhi Belly / Noisy Water Pump (Rich & Chrissies Room) / extortionately priced bad food
**Night 2 Pali** – RTDC (I can’t quite remember the name!) We find ourselves in a dark side ally with What Ho of course, Ratnangadam, and It Tuk Tuks two to Tango looking up at a hotel that allegedly takes guests! It is dark, we are not convinced it is even open and there is no where to put our Tuk Tuks. We of course attract attention and two lovely young chaps appear to offer help in finding us a hotel, we follow one on his bike whilst the other one rides in the Tuk Tuk next to me asking me all about I-phones and how much they cost in England, he then tries to befriend me on Facebook! We successfully arrive at the hotel and we find 5 or 6 other teams also staying here, though they all arrived much earlier! The hotel isn’t anything special it has a bed with a bathroom and a flushing toilet which is greatly required as I start to feel ill! The big down side is the bed is like wood and the bathroom has bugs crawling all over it! The plus side is the price. We left at 7 ish the next morning.
Luxury Level – 5/10 Cleanliness Level – 4/10 Friendliness Level – 5/10 Value for Money – 8/10 Bonus Point – Fixed price written on the wall but bugs in bathroom
**Night 3 - Trident Hotel Udaipur** A very lovely 5 star hotel and it is only night 3! This hotel is lovely if not a little overpowering on the help we can’t carry a single bag. The beds are wonderful though, the fluffy pillows and duvet are amazing and the soft mattress is great. We have a great night’s sleep and even manage a bit of a lie in! In the morning the boys head into town to fix the Tuk Tuks whilst we girls stay in the hotel, we have lunch and sit by the pool whilst we wait, it is a hard life this adventuring!
Luxury Level 10/10 Cleanliness Level – 10/10 Friendliness Level – 8/10 Value for Money – 7/10 Bonus Points – Swimming Pool / Gardens / Soft fluff beds and pillows / soft towels / soft loo roll
**Night 4 - Hotel Atithi Palace** just off a motorway As the Tuk Tuk’s were being repaired in the morning we didn’t drive too far today but we did stumble across a lovely little 3 star hotel next to the road that was frequented by Police Inspectors! Rich befriended them and they told the hotel that they must treat us right and look after us. There is also a bar with every spirit you could ever want, great when you are next to the highway I feel! The bed was soft the bathroom was basic and missing a bit of glass in the window but again it was cheap so you can’t expect a lot. The food though was lovely.
Luxury Level – 5/10 Cleanliness Level – 4/10 Friendliness Level – 7/10 – Police Inspectors were there! Value for Money – 8/10 Bonus Points – No effort to find / easy access to the highway / Police Guard
**Night 5 - Hospital!** We decided that as it was Chrissie’s birthday we would try to find a lovely hotel to stay in unfortunately though an accident occurred and Rich and Chrissie had to head to hospital for stitches. This is another story for them to tell though they are safe and now in a 5 star hotel but we all thought it would be unfair to miss out a review!
Luxury Level – 2/10 Cleanliness Level – 8/10 Friendliness Level – 9/10 Value for Money – minus 10 / 10 Negatives – Chrissie had to be injured to gain access / Journalists wanting pictures and interviews / enforced naked sponge baths whilst sat on a toilet! (For Chrissie only obviously!)
**Night 5 & 6 Surya Palace** - Vadadora This is where we have stayed whilst Chrissie is fixed, Si and I have stayed here for 2 nights and are heading out at sunrise in the morning, they will be staying here for a while until she is fit to travel. The hotel is very comfortable and the staff have been very helpful, room service is great and a good price.
Luxury Level – 9/10 Cleanliness Level – 9/10 Friendliness Level – 9/10 Value for Money – 9/10 Positives – Manager helpful / Free Upgrades / Cake Stall Negatives – Excessive Tipping
