Today I am sharing my impression of the economy room where I spent less than 24 hours on August 15-16, 2014. Costing INR 620 per person, per night, the room in GMVN Bharat Bhoomi Tourist Complex is located on main road in Rishikesh.
The Room
The clean spacious room featured white tiled floor. The walls were white except the part of the wall behind the headboard of the double bed covered in clean white bedsheets. A pair of blankets were provided for light cold that downpour may bring.
The room was appointed with the basics. Here is the review of the in-room amenities:
- A cooler blocked a part of the window. But the room was livable even without using the noisy cooler.
- A television sitting on the glass wheel-table with shelves for storing light weight stuff showed shabby pictures.
- Yellow frame windows opened on the opposite side of the room door, enabling cross ventilation. The blue and white curtains created darkness required for a deep sleep.
- The room had double doors: a mesh door to prevent mosquitos from disturbing the guests and a wooden door for complete privacy. The doors were dirty but the latches were fully functional.
- One of the room walls had 4 cloth knobs and one hanger but there was no cupboard in the room.
- Two white towels
- A center table with a pair of reclining chairs without any arm rest were not so comfortable.
- A wooden luggage rack was enough for two-three bags.
- A functional tube light brightened the room after sunset and before sunrise. The light was more than sufficient for reading. The switch above the headboard was a welcome convenience for a lazy night reader.
- A pair of bed side tables resembled ears. One bed side table cradled the intercom and the other one held a tray with water jug and a pair of glasses.
- The intercom telephone worked a few times but not always. It was not answered when the restaurant had more customers than its capacity.
- A dressing mirror that was partly dirty
- In one socket TV was plugged in and the other was free for charging devices.
- A dustbin to keep the room tidy
The lower wall corner next to the intercom was shabbily painted to hide seepage because this wall was shared by the room and the bathroom. The wall section below the cooler was also shabby because of seepage.
The Bathroom
The roomy bathroom equipped with all essentials required cleaning and maintenance. The white tiled bathroom featured
- An exhaust fan
- A soap holder
- A pair of taps that supplied hot and cold water
- A bucket
- A plastic stool
- A wash basin with mirror
- A western commode with functional flush
- Toilet paper and soap
The bathroom door was a shabby piece of wood and sheet and the latch was in disrepair. The wash basin area was also in poor shape. Both the mugs were dirty.
Mayur Restaurant
The restaurant opened around six in the morning. Although the cookie cutter menu of GMVN did not have choices, everything was affordable. For example, a cup of tea cost INR 10. For breakfast, two greasy items (paratha and puri) shared space with cornflakes and milk on the menu. The snack section also featured just three fatty items: sandwiches, pakoras, and cutlets.
Meals consisted of soup, Indian curries mainly made from paneer and potato, and Indian breads (roti and naan). Plain naan was the cheapest item, INR 8 per piece. Four types of rice, plain, fried, pulao, and biryani, increased carbohydrate choices. Raita and fresh salads provided daily intake of required minerals and vitamins.
A special Indian thali featured 2 vegetables, lentil, plain rice, roti, raita, papad, salad, and pickle for INR 200, the costliest item on the menu. For sweet cravings, rasgulla was the only option.
The fast food menu served a few items from different cuisines. For example, chole bhatura, chowmins, dosa, pizza, and vada pao.
The menu prices were exclusive of taxes and 10% room service charge.
Service
Lunch was served in the room without any fuss. On the first request, dinner was however refused because of rush. Later on it was also served in the room.