Rivatas

For $150 a night: the light bulbs should work, the tv should work, the iron should work, the doorknob should work.

Having stayed at Rivatas earlier as well this was a no brainer for our one day trip. The hotel is clean, comfortable and very economical for the comforts. Free wifi and good food. Pretty consistent in its service. The area is central and not too far from the ghats. The bathrooms are huge. Would definitely recommend to the weary traveller for some R&R. Will always stay at Rivatas when in Benaras.

A nice little hotel. It was clean and the facility was solid. The staff was on top of things.

The whole stay was a wonderful experience,. The staff were friendly , respectful and courteous. Service with a smile and took care of all the needs we had. Special thanks to Mr. Rajiv Rai for making our trip to Varanasi a memorable one. We would love to come back and stay with you. Thank You!

We had a good experience. Staff was very courteous. Breakfast was great.

It can be facilitated better by providing tooth paste, tooth brush, Extra toilet rolls, check if curtains work, lack of privacy between shower and bed room, not sure if the heater was not in a working order (cannot set temperatures). Food is good Restaurant people were friendly and their service good There is room for improvement in the Customer service side

Hotel was very nice, very clean. Room service dinners were delicious (esp the tandoori lamb!). The only complaint I had was that the bathroom is not well designed. The sliding screen doors make it impossible to use the toilet in privacy and you can’t turn the lights on in the night without waking people up. The shower door makes it hard to not spread water all over the floor like a squeegee and there isn’t a place for the floor mat so it was hard to keep the floor dry. Otherwise very comfortable and pleasant stay.

What a great hotel! The bed was one of the most comfortable I have ever slept on. The pillows were a great size and the comforter held the proper temperature for a great night sleep. I would highly recommend Rivatas hotel!

Good location but room was dirty and contained bugs.

Hotel infrastructure and maintenance not on par with international brands for the price.

This is a four star hotel trying to be a five star and I appreciated the effort. Staff were very nice, the rooms were clean and the pool is on the smaller size, but good as well. The hotel looks a little worn in some areas and the gym isn't great. No bike, the treadmill doesn't work and no A/C in there. But for Varanasi, it's a good option away from the loudness near the ghats...

5 Star +. The hotel Rivatas is a gem in Varanasi. If I could give this hotel a six (6) star rating I would. It is the best hotel I stayed during my 6 weeks traveling in India. The hotel is large, and caters to group travelers and independent travelers such as myself. My stay was a bit lengthy. From Nov 23 to Nov 29 2017. I had a Jr. Suite and it was very comfortable and spacious. The hotel is very secure and the staff is polite and very helpful. Room spacious, quiet and very well maintained and cleaned by housekeeping staff. Price of room included breakfast and wifi. Food plentiful with a nice selection and delicious Indian and Western. I ate all my dinners at the hotel because the selection was so varied. Hotel Reception Staff was efficient beyond what one would expect, and worth mentioning, the servers in the dining room so polite and helpful. My special gratitude extended to Rinku for services rendered at guest touring services for tours of Varanasi. Price very reasonable and the guide he assigned very knowledgeable about Varanasi. The hotel has a nice pool and spa and has a program for yoga and small gym. From the hotel it is easy to reach the Varanasi Ghats by tuk tuk or a taxi when not at peak travel times. The hotel is simply a wonderful place to be. Good atmosphere, relaxing. In sum, a bargain in price for all that is offered. On my next trip to Varanasi I will stay at Hotel Rivatas without hesitation.

Very clean and nice hotel. Rooms are unexpectedly large. Facilities are sufficient. Breakfast and dinner buffet is satisfactory. Polite and helpful staff.

Free upgrade to suite on arrival. Quick check in, too quick that we weren't told about wifi (150 rps per unit per day) and breakfast (served 7am-10). Room great and air con was super good. Staff very friendly. Pool was ample size and is shared with hotel next door, but never too busy. Restaurant was great, good food for breakfast, lunch and tea. Can't really eat anywhere else as it's very busy on the streets and would need a tuktuk. Top tip; Hotel travel tried to get us to book on for Ganges boat trips for 9000rps for 2 for private motor boat day/night tour but we got a tuktuk into town and got the same thing for 4000rps from locals including tuktuk to giant Buddha/buddha gardens (plus 1000rps for tipping the local guide who 'didn't want any money' but turned out he actually did in the end). Probably could have got it cheaper if we'd tried.

Nice hotel. Polite staffs. Clean & neat.

WIfi was not free they charge for wifi..... ?????? why...

Need to improve dining room service, is very slow, otherwise every thing is fine.

Hotel Rivetas has spacious rooms with air-conditioning, modern plumbing, and refrigerators in the rooms. The shower has racks large enough to hang hand laundry. The location is excellent for access to the more quiet and upscale hotels of the cantonment area. We enjoyed dinners at the nearby Hotel Surya, which has a more traditional style dining room, while Rivetas is quite modern. The breakfasts are adequate, with the better food choices comprising Indian idli, paratha, sambhak, spicy sauces. There is a omelet chef to prepare eggs, as desired, for Westerners. The coffee is not very tasty, but the black tea is acceptable. There are tuktuk and cab drivers available lined up outside the hotel. The hotel pool is nice, large enough for laps, and the fitness room is small but has a range of machines. It closes at 7 PM. Wi Fi is NOT free; the purchased card will only allow use of one device at a time. Calling long-distance is also charged.

Better than the others five-star hotels in Varanasi. The only inconvenient is the lack of free wi-fi.

Excellent value: room and restaurant. Functional internet.

Very nice hotel a few minutes away from the chaos and the highly polluted areas of Varanasi. Excellent and responsive staff, very responsive and courteous. The rooms are clean and the bathrooms adequately stocked with towels and amenities. The travel desk is helpful and courteous however, their pricing for even basic services like cab rides is 30 percent more than what is charged by cabs readily available outside the hotel. The breakfast buffet and room service were excellent. Room service always arrives in under 30 minutes and that was a bit of a surprise bases on what we had read in other reviews.

Excellent staff from the beginning to the end. Room very clean. Good amenities. Breakfast ok. Hotel away from the main hassle of the Ganges. Swimming pool really grubby. And building work going on next door. Only 4 sun beds.

The hotel is good. The staff is very generous. The only problem is because they charge the WiFi.

it was perfect to stay at Varanasi

Good food, good facilities, good staff. They really need to modify their check in and check out times even if it comes at a extra charge.

The hotel is ok, but the cleanliness is not. The white towels appeared brownish, we did not use them, we even asked for extra ones but they were all the same. The room also smelled something we cannot identifyThe room size was good. The neighborhood is ok compared to the ones close to the river. There are other big hotels near the Rivatas.

My family stayed 4 nights in this clean and friendly hotel. Varanasi is wonderful, and also loud and dirty. After a long day exploring it was always a relief to come back to Rivatas to clean up and relax. The housekeeping staff was available and helfpul. Restaurant servers were attentive. The travel desk gave us excellent help. And the front desk staff warmly responsive. We ate several times in the two restaurants and enjoyed our meals and service. The hotel is relatively convenient to the train station, Saranath, shopping, and the airport. Traffic is heavy to get down to the Ganges and the old city. We felt we had an excellent value for the price as well.

Could not put on heat in the room, somewhat humid but spacious and nice. Friendly doormen. Nice breakfast. Location was described as "in the heart of Varanasi" but this is in the outskirts of the city.

We stayed 4 nights at Rivatas and overall service received was satisfactory. Helpful service staff added extra comfort to our stay.

The staff here were lovely and accommodating. We received an upgrade to a suite which was great as we had lots of room to spread out which was nice when living out of a backpack for a few weeks. I think for a 4 star hotel this is great value for money. The breakfast was good, the rooms clean, and the pool is back in action. My only reason for the 4 stars is the water was never really hot, only warm when taking a shower. Would normally not bother me, but I had been on a walking tour all day in the rain and was saturated and all I felt like was a hot shower and the hot water just wasn't hot... Overall though, great stay and would highly recommend. Tip: walk a few hundred meters to the left as you come out of the hotel for cheap bottled water i.e. 50 rupees (compared to hotel prices). Ou should also only pay about 150 rupees to get down to the ghats via tuk tuk.... And there are always loads of tuk tuk drivers ready for your business when you exit the hotel.

The staff were not helpful. They did not immediately respond to any requests like securing a taxi or recommending places to eat. I was very disappointed in overall service.

In the city of Varanasi, Rivatas is a safe and nice hotel to rest. The rooms are clean, beds are comfortable. A mall with restaurants is within the walking distance. Staff is courteous and helpful. The hotel is not close to the river of Ganges. WiFi was available for a charge.

We were lucky and got an upgrade. No hot water and sheets very thin and badly need replacing. Staff were very pleasant and did report the water problem and fixed for the morning.

we booked this hotel specifically for the pool. What was not disclosed to us on booking was the fact the pool was closed for Renovations! That is unacceptable. Otherwise a nice hotel.

Everything was comfortable about this hotel. However our meals could have been better in quality and variety.

Best hotel in all of India. Staff is friendly and attentive. Hotel is beautiful and clean

I had booked the hotel well in advance by looking at its reviews online. I was charged a hefty sum of Rs.7000/- per room per night excluding taxes for my stay. Hence, my expectation was a "Five Star" Hotel Stay & Service at Varanasi for such an amount. But my entire experience was that of a "3 Star" hotel. The entrance of the hotel, its elevators, complimentary buffet breakfast all belong to that of a 3 Star category hotel. I stayed there for 3 nights. For my entire duration of the stay, The AC in my room was NOT WORKING. THERE WAS PROBLEM IN GETTING CONTINUOUS FLOW OF HOT WATER IN BATHROOM TAPS. The reception staff IS RUDE and are MORE KEEN TO CATER TO FOREIGN TOURISTS. The room is big but problematic AC and Hot Water Supply make it an uncomfortable stay and NOT AT ALL WORTH THE PRICE PAID. Other hotels of reputed groups like Radisson, HHI, Ramada are priced lesser than this hotel. This was my first and last stay at this hotel

Staff and service was excellent. Travel desk was very helpful. Resturant was a bit pricey but very good. Rooms were nice, but unfortunately mine smelled VERY strongly of mildew. To the point that I could not ignore it. At the price I paid, I expect better. The neighborhood was ok. There was another delicious restaurant around the corner. But not much else around. It was a bit of a distance from the town center. Taxi required. @500inr

The room was very uncomfortable even for a suite. No windows, feels cold. Lobby is very cheap looking. Worse than a motel.

I like everything about the hotel . It very beautiful place

The hotel is pretty far from the ghats and the Ganges, but it's super easy to get a tuktuk to go wherever you want. The room was great - we unexpectedly received an upgrade. But the best thing about the hotel is the food. The breakfast was amazing and we ordered room service a few times - some of the best food we had during our two week Indian vacation.

Nice quiet room, good ammenities, breakfast fine, we were lucky to had an upgrade.price-quality seems to be ok

Away from the madness of downtown Varanasi, just a ten minute cab ride. Tour desk can book visit to Ganges at sunrise and sunset. Tip: take a car and guide - to try it yourself would be intimidating.

Upon checkin, we got free upgrade to a suite room! The hotel is very clean,and breakfast has wide variety. It is about 20 min. to River the Ganga by taxi. I love this hotel.

Nice feeling when arrived into the hotel. Unique room. Spotless.

Great service and Excellent Food. Would stay here again !

The Rivatas was not our first choice hotel. However, the main international brands were booked out. The Rivatas is a new hotel and as a result the fixtures and fittings showed no signs of wear. The reception area and bedroom were modern, clean and spacious. Check -in was slow but no problems otherwise. Staff are the main problem at this institution. Unfortunately, we were seriously disappointed by the services of their tour desk. We needed to arrange transfer from Varanasi to Agra by taxi. This is a distance of some 650KM. It was very difficult to get a clear price from the tour manager who was clearly focused on maximising his own commission. During negotiations we encountered repeated telephone calls to our room which were intrusive and ultimately did not trust the service being offered. We arranged our transfer from a nearby hotel at twice the rate quoted by Rivatas, a price we were happy to pay for peace of mind.

the hotel was a pleasant surprise once we got there after going through the city of varanasi we weren't sure how good of a hotel we would find in our budget without breaking the bank. but once inside everything was very up to date and the hotel staff was nice and the amenities were at par with a five star hotel

I stayed 4 days at the Rivatas and 4 days at the Gateways. Both are about the same price but the breakfast is better as are the beautiful gardens of the Gateways. No gardens at Rivatas and swimming pool is not that much, while that at the Gateways is excellent. Rooms do not appear to be soundproofed at Rivatas and the house-keeping staff made a lot of noise. Rooms are newer at Rivatas, yet overall I would stay at the Gateways were I return to Varanasi.

A place to unwind and realax at the end of a tiring day