Close to the Thousand Year Old Porn.
Written: Apr 05 '07 (Updated Apr 05 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Close to the 1000 year old Porn
Cons: Limited dining, badly cared for public toilets and crap bar.
The Bottom Line: If you want the porn, you have to go there!
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| vodkaboy's Full Review: Chandela Hotel |
Ok, that's basic and uncalled for, but face it, 90% of people visiting Khajuraho, 370 miles from Delhi in India, are doing so to see the "erotic sculptures". The other 10% are those who have convinced themselves they have come to see tantric yoga sculptures. You say tomayto, I say tomarto...
And "porn" it is. There's sculptures of one-on-one, one-on-two, masturbation, bestiality, voyeurism, gang-bangs and more. There is boy-girl, boy-girl-girl, boy-horse and all in beautiful detail. (These words should increase my google hits !!) The stone sculptured girls are feminine and shapely and the men are all well endowed (comments, ladies?) and the carving is accurate to bracelets, anklets, sari hems and even maternity stretch marks!
So when you want to go see these, where do you stay? There are several so-called international chains, but most of these are far short of the international standard. There are local independent hotels but only one was reviewed favourably on any site that I checked. Or there is The Chandela, which is part of the Taj group. The Taj it ain't but it is good enough.
Arrival and The Lobby
I had booked a transfer from the airport and, sure enough, there he was holding a piece of paper with my name on it. He took our bag and helped us to the car, an Indian Qualis 4x4 which is a bit basic but large, comfortable and with working AC - it was in the high 30s.
The hotel is barely ten minutes drive from the airport and, when we arrived, we ushered into the air conditioned cool where we were greeted with traditional necklaces of orange flowers and a red bindi on the forehead, given a refreshing glass of mango juice and escorted to check in.
The lobby is large and expansive, with a cluster of shops on each side, then the Reception desk. Next to Reception is a door out to the pool. Further along the lobby is a triangular bank of sofas on either side, followed by a small bar on one side and the coffee shop on the other. At the far end is the restaurant; from here, the rooms to one side face the pool and to the other side face a garden.
There are toilets half way along the lobby; the times that I used these, I found them in need of maintenance. Blocked urinal, empty soap dispensers, no towels - they needed basic attention, and this was disappointing.
Check in itself took just a couple of minutes for passports to be copied, while someone disappeared with our suitcase. Once we were checked in, someone carried our key and led us to the room, where our care was already on the luggage shelf, and he the hovered to show us the light switch, the kettle and room safe before I managed to get rid of him.
The Room
I had opted for a "pool view" rather than a "garden view" so as a result our room looked out onto the medium sized pool. The pool is overlooked from two sides by rooms and from a third side by the hotel lobby; the fourth side is a separate building which is the Health Club.
The room was a little above average size, with a king sized double bed, a small writing desk, a TV on a drawers unit and an armchair. In the hallway was a cupboard containing the minibar which offered two cans each of cola and diet cola, two bottles of water and a chocolate bar. On top was a kettle with tea and coffee. There was a wardrobe with real hangers and a safe.
The bathroom offered a bath with shower, a good stock of towels and a wide range of toiletaries including bubble bath, shampoo, face wash, body wash and more. Some were a bit violent in colour - bright blue? - but the quality seemed ok.
A door opened straight out onto a patch of lawn, beyond which was the swimming pool surround with sun loungers. As soon as we appeared out of the door, an attendant wandered over and offered towels and asked we if wanted to move a couple of sun loungers onto the lawn in front of our room.
Overall the room was comfortable. The AC was quiet and effective, the bed was a little hard but we slept well. It was a bit basic, and the minibar somewhat disappointing, but it was clean and comfortable.
Facilities
Most people coming would be there for the temples, not looking for distractions in the hotel, but still there were several passtimes available.
The pool is a good size, with loungers and chairs around. At the far end of the pool is the Chetana Health Club which is rather grander in name than nature - there is a small gym, a massage room and a "beauty salon" which offers manicures, pedicures and barber/hairdresser.
Outdoor activities are mostly offered around the pool. These include archery (a rather tired bow, battered arrows and a perforated target set up at one end of the pool); volleyball, croquet, badminton, tennis and what they call "beginners golf". There is also a table tennis table, a carrom board and darts.
The main activities in demand, though, would be trips to the temples and the neighbouring areas. These can all be arranged through the hotel. The car they arranged for us to the temples cost Rs500 (US$11) and the driver was good, spoke english, and waited at the entrance for us.
For non-recreational activities, the directory offers a business centre. However I was at reception booking a car and a lady came up and asked to use the computer. When I turned around a few minutes later, she was sitting at a desk at one side of the lobby, between the bar and the door to the pool. I had thought that desk was for Guest Services - maybe that was the business centre?
Food and Drink
There are three restaurants and a bar. The same menu is offered in both restaurants, though one does have a supplementary menu too!
On one side of the lobby is Rim Jhim, a 24-hour buffet restaurant where we had breakfasts and one lunch. The food was average, though the service was friendly and helpful. Breakfasts offered both Indian and western choices, with eggs cooked to order.
Rasana is described as the multi cuisine restaurant, though the same menu was offered to us at Rim Jhim. Most dishes were Indian, though they also had some western and one or two Chinese dishes. They also offer buffets for main meals. The service was pleasant, helpful and the food was quite good.
There is also an outdoor barbecue restaurant, though that is closed in the summer when it is too hot.
24 hour Room service seems to offer the widest choice of food - several items on that menu were not offered at either restaurant.
The Sura Sundari bar is at the side of the lobby, opposite Rim Jhim and the same size and shape. There are a few tables and chairs, a friendly bar man, but no atmosphere at all. There is a complimentary pool table which almost makes up for it - or maybe not!
Service
One of the best parts of the hotel was the friendly, helpful and natural service. Everyone was very pleasant, helpful, friendly and spoke reasonable English. The waiters were patient and informative, the Receptionists were welcoming and assisted quickly with booking cars. Poolside, as soon as we appeared, someone wandered over with towels and matresses for the loungers.
Sometimes it was almost too much - when I got our 1-year old out of the pool and started deflating one waterwing, the attendant started trying to deflate the other. When I started pulling down swimming diaper and he tried to help, I said enough!
The people also seemed multi talented; the poolside attendant also did the massages, as well as haircuts and shaves in the beauty salon!
Around and about
Well, if you are in Khajuraho then the chances are you are there to see the pornograph...er...I mean Tantric Yoga sculptures from the 11th century. There are three sites, all close to the hotel. The main site has 11 temples of which there are three or four main ones. Most of the sculptures are of hunting, dancing or preening; only a handful of carvings on 2 or 3 of the temples are sexual.
A second site has 4 or 5 temples, of which two are large and detailed. There is a third, lesser site that most people don't bother with. We took the "most people" option and didn't either.
The sites are all five minutes's drive from the hotel.
The other main local attraction is the Panna Wildlife Reserve, 30-40 minutes by car from the hotel. This is a nature reserve covering over 530 sq km, with tigers, leopeards, antelope, monkeys, deer and other wildlife. You probably have as much chance of seeing a tiger here as at the better known Corbett Park. (I failed at both!)
Cars and guides can be arranged by the hotel.
Summary
If you are visiting India, and in any way interested in history or culture, then Khajuraho is worth visiting. If you do, then there are 4 or 5 hotesl to choose from.
The Chandela may not be up to the same standards that Taj offers elsewhere but the room was comfortable. The food was of limited variety but was good enough. The people really took care of us, the service was good. Just some of the public areas (ie lobby toilets) really needed attention.
Recommended:
Yes
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vodkaboy
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I've been thinking. That's an improvement.
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