The hotel room door locked properly
KOG108 Solo travel
Apr 23,2018
Ouch! where o where o where to begin?
I missed my Kolkata to Delhi flight, and as there were no other flights until the following day, I pulled out my old trusty phone to search for hotels nearby. Settled on a place close to the airport by the name "Orbit Hotel".
My phone had trouble downloading images, so I decided on the place sight unseen.
The prepaid taxi dropped me off with little fanfare, honoring my request to not leave until I confirmed that there was a room.
The hotel had posted an online price of just under 1000 rupees or twenty Canadian dollars, and seeing that I could part with that somewhat easily, I approached the hotel with immense justified trepidation.
The girl at the reception spoke decent English, but would not hear anything about advertised prices. They had me over the proverbial barrel and we all knew it. The initial price was 1800 rupees, but she immediately dropped it down to 1500 + 12% GST taxes.
I slid four 500 rupee notes across the counter, and she handed one back to me. "This is going well so far" I thought
"Have you got free wi-fi here?" I asked. "Yes sir, but it is not working so well" she replied. "I appreciate your honesty" I thought to myself.
The helpful bellhop escorted me to the elevator drew back the heavy iron gate and off we went. Plunking my suitcase on the floor of my newfound room, he coughed a couple of times and stared at the floor. A small tip and he was on his way.
I cautiously took in my surroundings. The walls had been painted a shade of yellow probably sometime in the last century. Large patches of unpainted wall remain. Affixed to another door was a lighting fixture I was expecting to fall off anytime. Mounted to the wall at a comical angle at the end of the bed was a small television.
I ventured into the bathroom surveying the surroundings. A small lamp housing dangled above the mirror. I flicked all the switches in the room on and off hoping to illuminate the first room along Paradise Alley. None of them worked.
In the upper corner of the bathroom hung a small hot water heater - or what they call a geyser in India (and England). I flicked on the power switch, and after a fifteen minute wait I was awarded with enough lukewarm water to wash my face.
Tumbled into bed, glad to be somewhat insulated from the never ending cacophany of car horns three floors down at street level
Half an hour later I was roused from slumber by room service asking if I needed anything. Assuring to know that the phone worked.
A rumbling and a groaning sound made sleep difficult. Rolling over, I got out of bed to identify the source of the noise. Turned out to be the antiquated elevator whose cables were in sore need of lubrication. Back in bed I noticed the pillow case had some old blood stains on them, so I rolled up a couple of shirts to place under my head, and flung the pillow into the bathroom. The air conditioner worked - somewhat. It didn't cool down the room, but kept the outside stifling temperature at bay at least.
In the morning, I was again called by the reception informing me that breakfast room would be closing in an hour's time. Couldn't imagine the culinary delights that awaited me upstairs, so after a quick shower, I bolted up the stairs.
Diluted orange juice, a couple of overly spiced vegetarian preparations sitting in banquet style cookware (thermostatically controlled temperature in bygone ages), and some white bread. I made a beeline for the coffee pot, and as the dining room attendant poured me a cup, the coffee leached out from cracks in the cup. I suggested that the cup be replaced and not just fixed.
Once I extricated myself from there, it was back to the room to get my suitcase and make a clean and final break.
Spent the next 20 minutes or so in the lobby as hotel staff contacted Uber to arrange a ride to the train station downtown.
I must say, however, that both the bellstaff and the restaurant staff had a good attitude. A bit left to be desired, but that could easily be looked over by the hospitality factor.
Would I recommend this place for a honeymoon? Naah. Fugitive? Probably not. But cheap accommodation close to the airport, in a relatively clean area away from a lot of noise - it's not such a bad place