XCELSIOR HOTEL AND SPA

-initially denied check-in. rude behaviour by the hotel’s gm who threatened to throw us out and throw the luggage out repeatedly (in the 3-4 hours that took to resolve our check-in issue). -extremely poor hotel, amenities, and functionality for the price they quoted -the hotel had only four staff members at all times who are acting as multipurpose workers (cleaner cum waiter cum reception manager). -none of the staff knew how a hotel is expected to function: for example, no dusting was done in the rooms during the routine housekeeping. we as guests had to clean all the surfaces in the rooms before we started using it. -the used coffee cups that were left near the bathroom. sink were also not cleaned. neither was there replacement of the coffee sachets/sugar sachets, which we had to buy from outside the hotel for our daily use. -the basic utilities like body wash, shampoo were not replaced, even upon request multiple times. -shillong, being an extremely cold place, guest would expect reasonable functioning of the geyser and provision of a hair dryer. there was access to hot water only for one minute at a time, after which there was freezing cold water in the bathroom sink and showers. -bath towels, and hand towels were dirty with visible, black and pink stains on them (obviously left over by the prior guests’ lipstick and possibly other make-up). -the bathroom in the executive premium room 102 did not have a bulb/light on the bath side. -there was water stagnation with port drainage of water in the bath in executive premium room 102, resulting in all the water flooding out into the dry part of the room living bathroom as a water puddle. -the so-called cupboard did not have a door, causing dust accumulation over all our luggage during our stay. even the clothes hanging rack and the extreme small locker provided were non-functional/broken. -during the check-in, the hotel staff have agreed to provide us extra mattress for the third person in the room. however, when we asked for the mattress later, the hotel staff informed that they do not have any extra mattresses. so one of us had to adjust on the extremely narrow sofa (not a sofa bed). -one of the utility kids provided for my co-traveller had used razor in it. -there was a constant beeping noise (? from the fire alarm/security alarm) in the corridors throughout the night, almost every one minute or so. -when we checked with the hotel staff, we were informed the breakfast will be ready by 6:30 am (we had our day scheduled from 7 am onwards). when we got down to the lobby at 6:30 am on our first morning, it was pitch dark with nobody manning the lobby, kitchen, restaurant or the main gate. even the shutter was locked at the main entrance, making it impossible for us to leave the hotel unless we found a human in sight, who could let us out of the jail/hotel. -we eventually found our way using torchlight to the dingy basement and screamed for help, when one of the staff/waiters came out. we even had to wake up the hotel “chef”, who walk directly to the kitchen, and said breakfast is ready in exactly 3 minutes. i doubt he had any time to wash his hands or mouth after he woke up when we asked how he could arrange the breakfast in just three minutes unless he warmed up the leftovers from previous day, one of the hotel staff mentioned that “that’s what happens everywhere”. at that point, we were scared that we would all get food poisoning if we ate drank anything in the hotel restaurant. so we never entered the restaurant or even had a meal/drink during our entire day. if had already paid for six guests’ breakfast for three days, i suggest you take it back. -due to the initial mixup cause during the check-in period, tassured us that he spoke to the hotel’s central management and they would try to make this day as comfortable as possible and provide some complimentary services like coffee, tea, et cetera. let alone comfortable stay or complimentary services, we were charged for the half litre bottle of water that we had asked for. -even during checkout, they refused to provide us with the receipt/bill for our stay, which in my experience, all the hotels provide during checkout, whether it was completely prepaid trip or not, whether it was booked through a third-party or not. -i have stayed in several hotels within india and internationally room charges ranging from rs. 2000 per day to 1.5 lakhs per day…. nowhere have i received such poor treatment, service or attitude thus far. it’s appalling to say the least!