Palace on Ganges

The property was being painted inside resulting in the room smelling like chemicals. The internet was terribly slow and kept disconnecting. The aircon is old and noisy. The floors were quite dirty. Rest of the room was perfect

This property was well located but the rooms were not as clean as I would like, there is lots of dust and because they are renovating there was a paint smell. Breakfast area is quite poor and needs to be renovated , the food was great from the kitchen and the staff friendly

Amazing experience !

Good location near the Ganges. Hotel has seen better days, but it served us well. We had a basement room, which was nice and quiet. Dinner was less than satisfactory. Shame no alcohol was served as the hotel has an enviable rooftop restaurant.

I was part of a group travelling to Varanasi during the Kumbh Maya. Our tour operator had booked, confirmed and paid in advance for 10 rooms for two nights. Our booking was cancelled by the hotel by email the night before check-in with no satisfactory explanation given. We can only assume that, with the success of the Kumbh Maya, the hotel realised they could get significantly more per room. It doesn’t matter how great a hotel might be if you risk being left stranded with nowhere to stay. It shows an utter disregard for the welfare of their guests and no sensible traveller should be booking with them.

Hotels in a good location. Food was excellent. Room had no window. Only one power point in the room. WiFi was variable and needed to be reactivated every time you went out.

This is a heritage hotel, very close to the Assi Ghat. Given the age of the building, do not expect a modern clone but engage with history and enjoy the unique character of the place. There is a roof-top restaurant to be enjoyed. I cannot fault the staff for their friendliness and willingness to help, with a particular mention for Ranjeet and Ankit, who always seemed to present!

Firstly, read the negative reviews before you book this expensive hotel. At check-out, I was told my Wisecard transaction was invalid and accepting this to be the truth, I then paid with my credit card. Consequently, there was a double-charge which I realised when I checked my bank statements several weeks later (the hotel did not alert me). There followed many months of bank-led investigation until the Hotel was forced to repay the overcharge. Room: nice, with a small balcony facing a crazy-loud-round-the-clock street. Furnishings nice enough, bathroom smelly Room service: slow++ Restaurant: verandah for dinner-good food but slow++ with a pushy waiter. We were offered free meals as some sort of recognition for being the first (?) tourists of the season (now feels like a scam to me). Breakfast: OK on the gloomy basement floor Decor: nice, some historical instruments, earthenware on display Location: reasonably close to the ghats, but so are other hotels Recommendation: go elsewhere.

Absolutely amazing hotel which makes you feel like you're home away from home. Travelled with my family consisting elderly and kids and had encountered some issues, however, Mr Vivek helped us sort it out quickly and efficiently. The team made us feel cared for and were warm although in a foreign land and they quickly made alternate arrangements for us on last minute notice. Kudos to Mr Vivek and team for the wonderful experience. Rooms wise we got the Assam room and the Punjab room and although it didn't have windows, the rooms were cozy and quaint. Decent sized, clean rooms with a great restaurant on the rooftop. Would definitely recommend.

We visited this prooerty on 27th oct with family thinking it will be a convenient location and a good experience but shockingly this was our worst ever stay. No geyser facility- we took cold shower. No drinking water on demand- we slept thirsty. No cleanliness- rooms were not even mopped Mist of the things were falling apart. You keep calling the reception, they either do not pick up or don't send what you need. We accidently made double reservation through agoda and they refused to refund money . For no refund policy , we understand the money being charged in case of no show but this is completely a fraud by property and Agoda collectively. In the property , we kept on asking for the manager he neither showed up nor picked up our phone. They simply don't care . Pathethic people, pathetic experience

Excellent service, good Indian food. Mr Sashi in reception n his team were very helpful as I was travelling with family ( Sr citizens) we all were very comfortable there.. it is right on Assi Ghat. Looking forward to more stay with them. Wishing them all the best. Hope they come up with the lift soon.

Very bad experience. The staff is unfriendly and non cooperative. Dirty and dingy rooms . Very small washrooms . One can hardly move one’s arms while using washroom. Be prepared to not receive the order if you opt to order some food in your room.

Hotel located near to assi ghat which is main attraction. And hotel owner knows that and that is why hotel charges are equal to five star rate in the same city. No windows, WiFi is horrible because once you go out of hotel you would need to reset the phone again for WiFi. Breakfast was horrible only paratha and vegetable sabji, bread butter. Although in room menu they offer eggs items but not in breakfast. No dosa no idli . Croissant were cold brought from other place. No elevator in the hotel. And if you want to stay after 12 pm if you have flight to catch they charge you extra even if the hotel has less occupancy.

Amazing location but the black mold in the shower was disappointing. Palace on Ganges is a heritage hotel, located just steps away from Varanasi’s Assi Ghat. The close proximity to the ghat is without doubt, the most attractive feature to this hotel. We booked a twin share “luxury” room on a “high” floor as room only costing more than double what we paid per night in Jaipur and Agra in the nights prior, which were both 4+ stars and highly recommended (Raddison City Centre and Royale Sarovar Portico Agra respectively). On check-in we were told the roof top restaurant is open for dinner only and breakfast is only downstairs. We booked a room only rate and we knew breakfast would be an additional charge but only had toast and coffee as per the continental breakfast option on the menu but were charged the full buffet rate (which had barely scraps left by 9:30am) The room was quaint, nothing special and mostly clean except the shower which had black mold spores all over the floor grout and bottom tiles. The provided toiletries were dusty from not being used - I used the tooth brushes to clean the shower a enough to be bearable, complaining seemed hardly worth it with the language barrier. The air con leaked on our clothes (it’s only was so just dried them off) and our “high floor” level 2 of 3 so not 1 or basement as other reviews shared. Pros: + 1 minute walk to Assi Ghat which comes to life morning and night for Ganga Aarti and Subah-e-Baranas. + Quick auto-Rickshaw ride (they park out the front and all quite nice to chat to) into main circle for shopping and markets + Ok view at the restaurant and great view from the top level balcony + Restaurant staff and housekeeping staff were very kind and accommodating Cons: - Costly - Misleading on views, don’t expect one at all unless booking a Commodore room on the second or third floor - Breakfast is terrible, eat somewhere else - Cleanliness was not great

Since I had seen on the internet that the hotel also offers windowless rooms in the basement, I had booked a double room on the upper floors. I was given a windowless, stuffy room on the upper floor, right behind the reception. After an almost sleepless night, I changed the hotel without being refunded the 4 other nights I had booked. An absolute failure of a hotel.

Had a lovely meal at the rooftop restaurant at Palace on the Ganges . Binod our waiter was so friendly managed to anticipate our every need! Live music was really fun and staff and were fantastic. Food was great and a good price. I would visit again purely because of Binod ! Thank you

1 rooms are stinking badly . There is no ventilation Reception staff is very rude . Their website is misleading. They are telling us for lower floor .. which is basement . It is stinking like public toilet The staff is not ready to cooperate. In the name of hertiage building they are proving us stinking rooms

Vinod was very hospitable. We had malai kofta and aloo jeera. The prices were only slightly more than average, but it is a beautiful property with a gorgeous view. There was also live music. We were sat immediately and all staff were attentive and professional. Thanks Vinod for your wonderful service.

Nice hotel. Nice staff. Nice room. Clean room. Ok food; breakfast buffet is extremely limited. If you want anything other than a traditional Indian breakfast your options are toast or toast. No eggs or anything else that resembles western food. But despite all of this …. This hotel is TOO LOUD TOO LOUD TOO LOUD!!! Located near the Ganges in a busy area - the car horns, dogs barking, and religious chanting literally NEVER stops.

Wonderful staff and convenient to all places close but cannot get into hotel in the evening as road blocked off by police, they need to fix it as very inconvenient to guests arriving in the evenings to carry in baggage

This is a great place to stay next to Ganges river. The staff is so polite and respectful. Food is amazing. The outdoor restaurant is my favorite. You can walk to the Aarti and to all the ghats.

The location is great, right on the Assi Ghat with great morning sunrises and evening prayer ceremonies. The stay was comfortable, the staff was friendly, and the food was good and affordable.

It was in a great location but unfortunately most of the staff were not attentive to details nor did they action any request that you made. 2 gentlemen who were probably managers were good.

Very clean and neat hotel , the rooms are too small for three adults but worth the effort. Everyone is wouderflly polite and helpful.

Does the job of providing a clean bed and place to rest in an easily accessible location. However, the circuit breaker to the room power tripped twice in two days. Compared to the general cost of living, it is overpriced.

No window in the rooms. Nice rooftop but breakfast is served in the 'restaurant' on the ground floor which is a bit dark. Found small cockroaches in the bathroom. Location is very good because Assi ghat is one of the few ghats in Varanasi that can be reached with cars and auto rickshaws. Boat ride we booked through the hotel was okay, but it ended with our boat being tied to a motored boat because the boat driver didn't want to paddle the way back, which exposed us to constant smoke from the back of the motored boat. Recommend booking boatrides elsewhere with lower prices.

It's a bit difficult to rate this hotel. The hotel is small, rather old, very basic, my room smelled moldy/musty (for the first 2-3 minutes when I entered the room), restaurant on top of building is very basic but the food was delicious (and it didn't ruin my sensitive stomach). My room window was facing a wall (1 meter away) which was not super but also not a big problem. Hotel is located 200 meters from Assi Ghat and the river. Location is very nice although quite a walk (1-2 miles) from the more interesting Ghat's. I did enjoy the walks along the river so it was not an issue. Area and surroundings seem safe and I didn't have any issues whatsoever. Wifi was ok but not great. At times I was able to stream a bit of Youtube .. I could not see the river from the hotel. Service level was in general ok. Some of the people working there were eager to assist - others couldn't be bothered. Compared to a 5-star hotel in New Delhi the hotel is rather bad but compared to the rest of Varanasi the hotel was actually quite good. I enjoyed my stay there and would recommend it to anybody. There was a lot of other foreigners staying in the hotel during my stay.

Service good. Property ok. And that’s all I have to say about that.

The hotel is v. basic; no frills or fanciness here, though it is a step up from a hostel. There is free wifi for up to 2 users per room and the staff are generally agreeable. The restaurant is just so-so. It's on the rooftop (which isn't all that pretty) and we got eaten alive by mosquitos in the evening. The location is great; it's right near Assi Ghat, which is the neighborhood I recommend staying in, as it's much quieter and cleaner than the Main Ghat. I recommend going to morning aarti on Assi Ghat; it is v. serene and beautiful. My main disappointment comes from the fact that we paid a similar room rate in Delhi, Jaipur, Chennai, and Mumbai for 5-star, luxury hotels. But that's also because we were here during Holi. I would actually recommend staying at the adjacent Hotel Ganges, as they have a lovely rooftop area and much more attentive staff. (We visited Hotel Ganges for breakfast and to watch the Holi festivities from their rooftop, as it was much closer to the action.)

The location of the hotel was excellent, but that's where the compliments stop. For the price paid the hotel was poorly furnished, not real clean and staff were always less than helpful. We stayed there for 3 nights and was able to access the Ganges as much as we liked, however, the hotel was not a good standard for the $$$'s paid.

Location is excellent if you wish to stay close to the Ganga river. Otherwise is hotel is not worth the money you pay.

The best part of this place is the location, bang on Assi ghat. The rooms are small and very average in terms of decor, cleanliness and comfort. The walls are paper thin and one can hear everything from outside, upstairs and flush in the room next door. The room flush makes huge noise, there is no place to keep your soap/ shampoo when you take a shower, the shower stream is pathetic. We asked for wi-fi, got the code after 30 mins and it did not work. The food was sad - low on salt and spices, stuffed paratha had no stuffing, breakfast was minimal variety. Stay here for max 1 night, if you want to attend the morning aarti at Assi and plan to be outside the room most of the time.

Emailed the hotel and asked for an airport pick up. Was confirmed and reassured twice that a car was going to be there to pick up us with a sign. Arrived at the airport and none was there. Called the hotel, none picked up the phone. On arrival at the hotel I mentioned to the receptionists none came to pick up us from the airport, they looked at me and continued with the booking. No apology offered, no comments said. We booked a double bed room, we were given two separated beds in the underground floor. Then we were moved to another bed room but the bedclothes where not changed from the previous couple so when I discovered this at night I went with my pillow, which was still wet, and asked the receptionist for a change. He just went to an empty room and picked up a pillow and put the dirty one on the other bed, so the next people can also enjoy it, I guess. The rooms on the floor -1 are the worse ones as no air circulates and breathing is almost impossible. For the second night we were moved to the last room available on the first floor which improved the air circulation. No hot water Breakfast wasn't good. Food restaurant was ok.

Had a comfortable stay. Hotel employees are willing to help

Great location. Not so polite at desk. Internet included only means one device.

Palace on Ganges is true to its name. It is right on Assi Ghat which allows you to atetnd morning and evening aartis, go on boat rides, or just walk along the ghats of Varanasi--the best way to imbibe the spirit of Varanasi. The hotel has been built, designed and maintained with care. Each room is named after a state and the furniture and upholstery chosen carefully to match the traditions of the state. We stayed at the Punjab room decorated with Phulkari work and a charpoy. The best room is the attic room that gives a 360 degree view of Varanasi, but unfortunately it can be reached after a steep climb of five floors. Service is good and food is above average.

Overall, an OK experience. The room was clean, but smallish, considering the price per night, and it is closed ,, no view, unless you count the opposite inside wall from a small window. The front desk staff was pretty helpful. The restaurants, one inside the hotel, and one on the rooftop, were not at all good .. looked dirty, food was just about OK and the staff was not that good. The best thing about the hotel is the location - it is steps away from Assi Ghat, which was extremely convenient for us. We just spent a night there, and the hotel arranged for a boat to take us to watch the Ganga Aarti in the evening .. was beautiful. Overall, would recommend the hotel only for location.. everything else was average.