The Raj Palace (Small Luxury Hotels of the World)

The Raj has a delightful old feel to it as a Colonial build. The service, food and coffee shop were outstanding. We did have a leaky shower but had plenty of towels to use. There was a puppet show and a Roman-type pool which was enjoyed. Great fun.

Raj Palace is a beautiful hotel that provides a much needed break from the intense city beyond the front gate. We really enjoyed our stay, and were somewhat sad to say goodbye. The service is fantastic, we cannot fault them one bit. The rooms are beautifully decorated. We felt very comfortable during our stay. Just a few remarks from us that we noticed and would point out. While the rooms are stunning, they feel a tad dated and could do with a slight update. The WiFi is incredibly slow, to a point of not actually working. We could barely get connected and stay connected. It was impossible to use our phones, let alone laptops for work. We had an Indian SIM card so were able to tether. But we’d say this is something to seriously consider if you’re here for work and need to remain online. Finally, they’re doing renovations on the hotel, so there was scaffolding and works directly outside our bathroom window from around 9am to 10pm at night. There were no curtains, the workers could see directly into the bathroom which meant we were hesitant to use it and every time we wanted to use the bathroom, we had to call reception to ensure the men moved away. We still can’t understand why they put us in a room where workers could see directly into our windows - it became frustrating having to keep calling reception. Overall, shoddy WiFi and additional bathroom guests aside, we had a great stay and will more than likely be back as the hotel does live up to expectations.

The hotel is very tired and needs a significant upgrade to meet modern standards and justify the room rates. The bed in our room was a board with a hard mattress on an iron frame , although the linen was clean and changed daily. The food was passable but not of a high standard particularly the breakfast, whilst plentiful was lacked quality. The communal areas were nice with an atmosphere of wellbeing and the coffee shop was very good. The staff appeared tired and whilst pleasant enough seemed subdued. The hotel has a huge potential but does require modernisation to meet current day expectations ,the room cost and also appears to be living on a past reputation. WiFi was very poor in our room . If we had booked a longer stay we would have moved after the first evening, I read the five star reviews and wonder if they were staying in a different hotel.