The Promenade Pondicherry

I stayed here for 2 nights in the premium sea-view room. Loved: * The spaciousness of the room. * LOTS of natural light. * The sea view and also the promenade view was great for people watching. If you can stretch your budget to get the premium room, imo it is worth it. * The food was surprisingly good. Better than the two meals I ate at well-reviewed restaurants; e.g. Coromandel was a major let-down (hard overcooked fish and undercooked carrots, wtf). * The restaurant too has lots of natural light, and the AC is much-welcome after wandering around in the heat. * Restaurant service was good, a bit on the slow side, but that seems to be the norm in Pondicherry, so I didn’t mind. Did not like: * I was frustrated by the lack of table space and counter space in the room (to put things on and to write/work on a laptop). There is one small 2’x2’ table, but it’s knee height. Then there is a small alcove in the corner where they have optimistically placed a desk chair, but you cannot use it as a desk because it is too narrow and there is no place to put your legs! * The restaurant has some nice tables by the window. But in the morning for breakfast, direct sunlight hits the space, so it’s too hot to sit there. The hotel should think of some creative solutions for this to allow one to sit there, without compromising on the view and the decor - seems doable to me. * In the restaurant they only placed bottled water on the table, and I had to ask for "normal" water and only then they brought it. The normal water was not cold; I had to ask for ice. In a hot place like this, don't you think cold water should be available without having to ask?

This hotel is in a great location overlooking the beach. The promenade is a nice walk. The rooms are clean and the restaurants are good. The location is a very easy walk to the attractions and sights of Pondicherry and shopping.

Very enjoyable stay at the hotel. Very good vibe. Food and drink excellent. Staff super friendly. Must mention Priya who went above and beyond to make our stay enjoyable. Priya reserved us a table at the roof top bar and came to make sure we had a great table and that everything was fine - it’s the small touches that make a massive difference to a hotel stay - thank you.

The hotel was good on the whole, our room was a superior and was very comfortable but it was on the back of the hotel which was a little noisy. We were only staying for 2 nights so didn’t bother to ask if we could change it. The main restaurant bar area is very nice and seems quite a trendy place on the local scene, the problem is the staff in the restaurant are totally disinterested and it takes 15 minutes to get a cup of tea which is only a half full and none of them understand what the problem is. Also in the evening it took the same to get a wine menu and the same to get a glass. All told the hotel restaurant could be great with a bit of staff training.

On the promenade lovely location friendly staff could do with some updating Extractor fan was very noisy

We went to Pondichery for celebrating my daughter’s birthday . I asked Ashis , the Rooms Division Manager about any nearby store where I could get some card , flowers etc . To my great surprise , Ashis asked one of his team members to take me to the stores in his personal vehicle. I am really grateful to him , that I could get the gifts which my daughter really loved . I was initially allotted Room 25 , the bathroom exhaust of which was not working . On pointing it to Ashis he promptly shifted me to Room 27 which was perfectly fine . I am a repeat guest of the hotel and felt that the quality and service of Food & Beverage has gone down . The linen and towels could also improve . I also thank Prabu , an erstwhile Front Office staff , who came to meet me on my departure . My overall experience was nice and I’ll surely visit the hotel in near future .

Lovely location , and good food in the dining areas. , but everything else was far below our expectations . The hotel is in need of a complete makeover. The rooms are tired looking with furnishings from the 70’s. Our first room. (3) was directly over the kitchen with a very noisy extractor fan than ran from 5:30am to 11:30pm. We switched room to the third floor which was quieter during the day but next to the top floor restaurant and kitchen plus a smoking area directly outside our room for the restaurant guests. The room was very dated and hasn’t been renovated for a very long time . The layout was particularly awkward as it was impossible to get past the wardrobe with the door open or put the bags inside the wardrobe . The room itself was large but the empty space was wasted , adding an extra chair would have gone a long way to making it a more comfortable room. There were plenty of staff , but most just standing about doing very little , getting a tea and coffee at breakfast was a 10 to 15 minute wait , despite at least one person standing idle at the machine. The reception was unable to organise any tours for us , which we felt was odd. Pool although a little small was nice and warm , but did not have a shallow end ( 5feet throughout )so it would not be children friendly

Property needs to be upgraded.

This hotel was great for a short stay. The hotel itself lacks a 4star luxury feeling, but it has more of a small boutique hotel feel. It's also a great location. It's a walkable distance to the boardwalk/ocean front, which was nice. At night, the area was lively and safe. We walked around and even went to a few shops then came back and had a specialty coffee beverage at the hotel restaurant. If you choose to sit outside when you dine, the view is beautiful. Also, we received SPA treatment here which I thought was FANTASTIC. I did have to wait for my treatment for a long time, but I did not prebook. I chose the coffee scrub down, and it was excellent!

Overall standard was high - the highlight though was the restaurant. Excellent food.