SUNDAY, February 11,
2018 -Same Old, Same Old...
From year to year, it
astounds me that our team is continually and consistently housed at the ROYAL
PLAZA in Delhi. Yes, it is convenient to the attractions in the city,
yes, there is flexibility in being able to check in at any hour of the day and
night, and check out similarly. The hotel facility, however, lacks in many ways,
not the least of which is hospitality and quality of rooms!
When my grandson, John, and I arrived at about 11:00 p.m. last evening, coming directly from the airport, we checked in and I know that over the past ten years, I have stayed in the actual room where we were assigned. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING has changed! The furnishings are absolutely the same, the decor has not changed, i guess when one enters the hotel lobby, and one is taken back to a century ago when there was glamour and glitz, but the appeal ends there. I suspect that if perchance I had made a mark on the wall in our room six or seven years ago, the mark would still be there. Crystal chandeliers and marble columns in the lobby does not offset the fact that there has been no updating or upgrading at this hotel for at least ten or fifteen years. Again, it is convenient.
What is not convenient is the fact of nickel and diming the public for every service, not the least of which is access to Wi-Fi. One can choose from either a one-hour plan or a twenty-four plan, but the plan is good for only two devices - guess if I had read the fine print, it does not provide for using only two devices at one time, but rather only two devices, PERIOD. Therefore, if I am using my phone as one device and John is also using his phone... if i turn off the Wi-Fi on my phone and choose to go to the lobby (which is where I am currently) and decide I want to write a new post for the BLOG, I have to pay for yet another device in order to access the Wi-Fi and Internet. I spoke to the concierge and told him I had paid already, but he then informed me that it is only for two devices, regardless if I have turned one of them off. A small charge, generally, but an annoyance, nonetheless. Furthermore, since our travel company puts people up at those facility, by the hundreds each year, one would think that perhaps a courtesy be extended to the guests of this company, but alas, it is not so!
So much for the rant... it was nice to settle down on a real bed, rather than a seat on the Boeing-777 on the flight. With the aid of medication, I was actually able to get a total of about nine hours of sleep out of the fifteen hours of the flight. Upon arrival, we were met by our dear friend, Bani, and driven to the hotel. We settled in and got a bit more sleep - for John, about the first real sleep he had had in the last day.
When my grandson, John, and I arrived at about 11:00 p.m. last evening, coming directly from the airport, we checked in and I know that over the past ten years, I have stayed in the actual room where we were assigned. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING has changed! The furnishings are absolutely the same, the decor has not changed, i guess when one enters the hotel lobby, and one is taken back to a century ago when there was glamour and glitz, but the appeal ends there. I suspect that if perchance I had made a mark on the wall in our room six or seven years ago, the mark would still be there. Crystal chandeliers and marble columns in the lobby does not offset the fact that there has been no updating or upgrading at this hotel for at least ten or fifteen years. Again, it is convenient.
What is not convenient is the fact of nickel and diming the public for every service, not the least of which is access to Wi-Fi. One can choose from either a one-hour plan or a twenty-four plan, but the plan is good for only two devices - guess if I had read the fine print, it does not provide for using only two devices at one time, but rather only two devices, PERIOD. Therefore, if I am using my phone as one device and John is also using his phone... if i turn off the Wi-Fi on my phone and choose to go to the lobby (which is where I am currently) and decide I want to write a new post for the BLOG, I have to pay for yet another device in order to access the Wi-Fi and Internet. I spoke to the concierge and told him I had paid already, but he then informed me that it is only for two devices, regardless if I have turned one of them off. A small charge, generally, but an annoyance, nonetheless. Furthermore, since our travel company puts people up at those facility, by the hundreds each year, one would think that perhaps a courtesy be extended to the guests of this company, but alas, it is not so!
So much for the rant... it was nice to settle down on a real bed, rather than a seat on the Boeing-777 on the flight. With the aid of medication, I was actually able to get a total of about nine hours of sleep out of the fifteen hours of the flight. Upon arrival, we were met by our dear friend, Bani, and driven to the hotel. We settled in and got a bit more sleep - for John, about the first real sleep he had had in the last day.
Hopefully, the flight will be uncomplicated and we will then be driven to our dam site where we will enjoy the tent "village" set up for our stay. It will be wonderful to see Dinesh and Makhan and the rest of the construction team, as well as to work alongside the locals and the other Rotarians from the Megapolis Club.
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