At Hotel Royal Palace, Bhadrachalam

 

This hotel is very near to Sri Sita Rama Chandra Swamy temple, just less than half a km. We went very late in the afternoon. Two hours before reaching Bhadrachalam I informed the hotel manager about my booking details and was surprised to learn that the hotel authorities do not honor the booking made through the travel agency I had chosen. However they told me that I could book rooms by paying the amount again. I made many phone calls to the travel agency to explain my plight, but received only a dry and indifferent response stating that the agent would contact me soon. As we were going through forest route we had no signals to communicate with the agent. At last the agent contacted me and assured me that my paid amount would be refunded soon. The receptionist at the hotel informed me that they had told the travel agency people many times not to book tourists and send them to their hotel. Still they go on their booking spree without caring about the troubles faced by the tourists. So it would be better to contact the hotel people before trusting these travel agencies who are too eager to book rooms and grab money just for their commissions. Better select a hotel where one can pay at the time of check-in.

The hotel rooms are o.k. with facilities like free wifi, ward robe, cable T.V. and hot water. But there is no phone facility. Though it is called a three-star hotel, except a piece of soap no other accessories were provided. It would be better if they provide a dental kit, shampoos and a coffee-heater. There is no in-house restaurant in this hotel. Of course there are many small restaurants in the vicinity. There is free parking space in the cellar. There are nearly 25 rooms spread over three floors with lift facility. Laundry and doctor-on call and twenty four hour front desk service are available here. As this is a popular pilgrimage center, it would be better if some pamphlets and photos are displayed in the hotel giving information about this temple. The check-in and check-out timings are from 12.00 noon to 12.00 noon. The nearby temples are Sri Krishna temple, Abhayanjaneya temple, and Ayyappa temple. The Godavari Ghat is also not so far.

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                 27th December, 2019                           Somaseshu Gutala