Highlights

• New modern hotel with luxury amenities.
• Clean and well equipped rooms.
• Located away from the hustle of the riverside.
• Friendly staff makes a real effort to meet client needs.

Experience

My friend and I stayed at this property a night when visiting Varanasi. We chose this hotel for its #1 ranking on Tripadvisor.

We stayed in the second tier room, an Executive Suite and had breakfast at the buffet.

Location

Having arrived late in the evening the road was quite dark, but the hotels in the area were well lit. The street seems to be a popular row of the larger hotels and malls.

There is a lot of activity in the area (a wedding procession when we were walking by), but it wasn’t overly noisy. We felt safe walking to the nearby mall to browse and have dinner.

Though it is not on the riverside, there were many taxis and auto-rickshaws vying to transport customers.

Room

The Executive Suite was a pleasant surprise. Think “space”.

On entering there is a dining table and seating area to watch TV. The bedroom is separate room, with a walk-in closet and large marble-tiled bathroom.

Furniture is new with modern clean-line decorations.

The facilities were very clean and comfortable.

The bathroom had a large window into the bedroom to let in natural lighting. It would have been a bit awkward for us if there wasn’t a shade to pull down.

Service

The check-in process was smooth and we were shown our room by a staff member.

The concierge recommended visiting the local mall for something to do in the evening, which was in walking distance.
Service in the restaurant was attentive and produced our coffee quickly.

After our tour of Varanasi, the hotel had extended our checkout time and also arranged a taxi to take us to the airport.

We were also able to order coffee in the lobby seating area, while waiting for our taxi.
Though some staff members speak very basic English, they all seemed to do their upmost to help.

Activities

• Touring: Most tourists staying at this hotel are visiting the Ganges and the ghats. The hotel can also arrange tours if necessary, but it’s easy enough to go to the riverside and figure it out from there.
• Pool: There is a shared swimming pool which we didn’t have time to check out.
• Udaya Spa: They also have an attached spa.
• Events: The hotel offers hosting events like weddings etc. I would think smaller parties would be more comfortable for the property.

Dining

There are several dining options though we only tried the breakfast.

• Ocean: The main restaurant attached to the lobby where breakfast is served. They had an ample selection of Western and Indian cuisine.
• Grill by the Ocean: Another restaurant next to the lobby.
• The Bluu: A bar on the lobby floor.

Summary

If looking for the best accommodation in a safe and less hectic part of town, Rivatas by Ideal would be your choice.

Clean and luxurious rooms plus helpful, professional staff put it above the other choices (especially compared to the hostel packed riverside area). I would not hesitate booking this hotel again, if visiting Varanasi!