Certainly not A '' JANTA '' Hotel. Review on Hotel Ajanta Continental, Dehradun

Certainly not A '' JANTA '' Hotel !!

On the contrary a very small but , if I may use the word , '' Cute '' hotel in the Capital city of Uttaranchal ..Dehradun !

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It was a cold wintry night , when we entered the city of Dehradun on the eve of Christmas !We had a long , exhaustive drive from Delhi and was very keen to check into a decent hotel , grab a quick bite ( some even opting out ) & simply crashhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!

Whew.... it was one hell of a drive from Dehradun via Ghaziabad , Meerut , Khatauli , Muzaffarnagar , Deoband & Saharanpur. And thanks to the excellent road conditions we could hear each other's bones rattle when any one of us attempted to move or even talk.

We were extremely tired and needed rest ! We preferred a good clean hotel , which did not have the typically boisterous tourist groups ! A friend of mine had recommended this name '' Hotel Ajanta Continental '' on Rajpur Road & we straight away checked in !

I am glad we did !

This is a medium category hotel and might , at best , qualify for a 3 star ...yet certainly recommended ! Situated little outside the city limits ( which increases the appeal for people like me who would not like the hussle bussle of the city proper )It is approximately 4.5 Kms from the Railway station. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I personally feel that the 4 most important things which builds the reputation of a Hotel , are :-

1. The Lobby/Reception

   
   




2. The Rooms where one stays.

   
   




3. The Food

   
   




4. The Hotel Staff.

   
   

The Lobby / Reception :

As you enter the hotel building you immediately come face to face with the reception counter to your right. Of the many days I have stayed in this Hotel ( during that visit & in my subsequent visit next year ) there hasn't been a day when I have not found smiling faces in the reception. Its a very nice feeling to see people with nice demeanor , polite , courteous yet efficient & always smiling.

From my very little experience in travelling I have learnt that you can gauge the extent of hospitality , a Hotel will offer , from the courtesy extended at the '' Reception Desk ''

The Rooms :

Fairly spacious rooms with room tariff ranging from Rs 1600 to Rs 3200. Its real Value for money. Good air-conditioning , neat , very few visible mosquitoes & more importantly ...cockroach free cupboards & lizard free bath rooms !! There is a 26'' colour TV and a mini fridge in all the rooms. The rooms have wall to wall carpet but thankfully there was no repulsive odour of damp & unclean carpets !

Ladies !! Are ya all listening ?? ;-)

The interior decor has scope for improvements but if you are someone as indifferent to pure aesthetics as I am , then you won't shed tears.

As long as they are washed & clean ! ( Just joking ...it really isn't that bad )

The food :

Yuuuuum !! IS THE WORD ! :-)

I am no Connoisseur of food, yet I can , as all normal human beings , differentiate between good food & bad food ! The food was simply excellent & not frightfully expensive ! In my opinion the Veg dishes were a wee bit better than the Non Veg dishes but my friends are unanimous in their verdict ...they simply admire anything that the Chef dished out for us ! Even the South Indian stuff tasted S.Indian !!

My patience ran out once( In some city up North ) when I was served a Dosa with a filling of '' Baigan Bharta '' and when I asked for Sambhar they served me a bowl full of pure Mansoor dal with a tamarind sticking out for effect ) :-(

Well ...here in this hotel ,it was a such a pleasant surprise when a Dosa tasted like a Dosa.

The Staff :

Very cordial & always sporting an affable smile. They are an amazing lot ! Irrespective of the department they are attached to , they are always working without a wrinkle on their brows. Quick service is the buzz word & they are surprisingly quick.What with the owner of the hotel Mr.Gandhi himself manning the reception desk at times !!!

In most of the bigger hotels I have stayed in ,I have confronted many staff members who never smile & appear constipated . It is worse , when staff members from the reception desk appear to have had nails for breakfast. :-)

Other facilities :

1. The hotel has a well stocked bar offering Premium & Mid range liquors ( very moderate rates )

   
   




2. The hotel has 2 conference rooms. One with a capacity of 200 people & the other smaller one with a capacity of around 30 people. OHPs , P.A Systems , Slide Projectors & Multi Media Projectors are available on demand and the rates are very competitive.

   
   




3. The hotel has a small swimming pool where one can cool off in summers ( Don't even think of swimming in winters !!! Dehradun is rather cold during winters )

   
   

All in all a very recommended hotel to stay in Dehradun

The address :