Palace on Ganges
Location: B-1/158, Assighat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, 221001, Varanasi, IN
Star Rating: 3 Stars
Property Type: Hotels
About this Property
Welcome to Palace on Ganges, where luxury meets tranquility in the heart of Varanasi.
Relax and Rejuvenate
Indulge in a blissful escape at our onsite spa, offering an array of soothing massages that will leave you refreshed and revitalized.
Culinary Delights
Savor exquisite meals at our restaurant or relish the convenience of 24-hour room service. Unwind with your favorite drink at our chic bar/lounge, enhancing your relaxation experience.
Comfort and Connectivity
Our 42 air-conditioned rooms are thoughtfully designed for your comfort, featuring minibars, complimentary Wi-Fi, and cable programming to keep you entertained. Benefit from modern amenities, including a business center and concierge services, making your stay both enjoyable and productive.
Don’t miss out on this exceptional experience—book your stay at Palace on Ganges today!
Important Information
- No pets and no service animals are allowed at this property.
Policies
Check-in: 12:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Amenities & Facilities
- Full-service spa
- Newspapers in lobby (surcharge)
- Free WiFi
- 24-hour front desk
- Terrace
- Garden
- Luggage storage
- Designated smoking area
- Concierge service
- Wheelchair accessible
- ATM/banking
- Conference space
- Hiking/biking trails nearby
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Library
- Safe-deposit box at front desk
- Full-service spa
- Tours/ticket assistance
- Self parking (surcharge)
- Newspapers in lobby (surcharge)
- Horse riding nearby
- Upper floors accessible by stairs only
Rooms Available
-
Basic Room
1 Queen Bed
Individually decorated room
Internet - Free WiFi
Entertainment - Cable channels
Food & Drink - Electric kettle, minibar (fees may apply), 24-hour room service, and free bottled water
Sleep - Bed sheets
Bathroom - Private bathroom, shower, and rainfall showerhead
Practical - Safe, desk, and phone; rollaway beds (surcharge) available on request
Comfort - Air conditioning and daily housekeeping
Smoking And Non-Smoking
Max Occupancy: 3 (3 Adults)
- Minibar
- Shower
- Safety deposit box
- TV
- Telephone
- Air conditioning
- Hair dryer
- Desk
- Private bathroom
- Electric kettle
- Bottle of water
- Daily housekeeping
- Ceiling fan
- Room service (24 hours)
- Free WiFi
- Rainfall showerhead
- Smoking and Non-Smoking
- Bedsheets provided
- Toothbrush and toothpaste available
- Toothbrush and toothpaste not available
-
Deluxe Room
1 Queen Bed
168 sq feet
Internet - Free WiFi
Entertainment - Cable channels
Food & Drink - Electric kettle, minibar (fees may apply), 24-hour room service, and free bottled water
Sleep - Bed sheets
Bathroom - Private bathroom, shower, and rainfall showerhead
Practical - Safe, desk, and phone; rollaway beds (surcharge) available on request
Comfort - Air conditioning and daily housekeeping
Smoking And Non-Smoking
Max Occupancy: 3 (3 Adults)
- Minibar
- Shower
- Safety deposit box
- TV
- Telephone
- Air conditioning
- Hair dryer
- Desk
- Private bathroom
- Electric kettle
- Bottle of water
- Daily housekeeping
- Ceiling fan
- Room service (24 hours)
- Free WiFi
- Rainfall showerhead
- Smoking and Non-Smoking
- Bedsheets provided
- Toothbrush and toothpaste available
- Toothbrush and toothpaste not available
Guest Reviews
- Machiel (4/5): - The property was being painted inside resulting in the room smelling like chemicals. The internet was terribly slow and kept disconnecting. The aircon is old and noisy. The floors were quite dirty. Rest of the room was perfect
- Rishi (6/5): - This property was well located but the rooms were not as clean as I would like, there is lots of dust and because they are renovating there was a paint smell. Breakfast area is quite poor and needs to be renovated , the food was great from the kitchen and the staff friendly
- Salil kumar (10/5): - Amazing experience !
- SusannahP191 (6/5): Adequate - Good location near the Ganges. Hotel has seen better days, but it served us well. We had a basement room, which was nice and quiet. Dinner was less than satisfactory. Shame no alcohol was served as the hotel has an enviable rooftop restaurant.
- PullarC (2/5): Hotel cancelled pre-paid booking with less than 24 hours notice. - I was part of a group travelling to Varanasi during the Kumbh Maya. Our tour operator had booked, confirmed and paid in advance for 10 rooms for two nights.
Our booking was cancelled by the hotel by email the night before check-in with no satisfactory explanation given. We can only assume that, with the success of the Kumbh Maya, the hotel realised they could get significantly more per room.
It doesn’t matter how great a hotel might be if you risk being left stranded with nowhere to stay. It shows an utter disregard for the welfare of their guests and no sensible traveller should be booking with them.
- Ajay (8/5): - Hotels in a good location. Food was excellent. Room had no window. Only one power point in the room. WiFi was variable and needed to be reactivated every time you went out.
- NickS32 (8/5): Heritage experience very close to Assi Ghat. - This is a heritage hotel, very close to the Assi Ghat. Given the age of the building, do not expect a modern clone but engage with history and enjoy the unique character of the place. There is a roof-top restaurant to be enjoyed.
I cannot fault the staff for their friendliness and willingness to help, with a particular mention for Ranjeet and Ankit, who always seemed to present!
- Meander41211967797 (2/5): An Unholy Hotel in a Holy city - Firstly, read the negative reviews before you book this expensive hotel.
At check-out, I was told my Wisecard transaction was invalid and accepting this to be the truth, I then paid with my credit card. Consequently, there was a double-charge which I realised when I checked my bank statements several weeks later (the hotel did not alert me). There followed many months of bank-led investigation until the Hotel was forced to repay the overcharge.
Room: nice, with a small balcony facing a crazy-loud-round-the-clock street. Furnishings nice enough, bathroom smelly
Room service: slow++
Restaurant: verandah for dinner-good food but slow++ with a pushy waiter. We were offered free meals as some sort of recognition for being the first (?) tourists of the season (now feels like a scam to me).
Breakfast: OK on the gloomy basement floor
Decor: nice, some historical instruments, earthenware on display
Location: reasonably close to the ghats, but so are other hotels
Recommendation: go elsewhere.
- sherazz (10/5): Wonderful place, a home away from home - Absolutely amazing hotel which makes you feel like you're home away from home. Travelled with my family consisting elderly and kids and had encountered some issues, however, Mr Vivek helped us sort it out quickly and efficiently. The team made us feel cared for and were warm although in a foreign land and they quickly made alternate arrangements for us on last minute notice. Kudos to Mr Vivek and team for the wonderful experience. Rooms wise we got the Assam room and the Punjab room and although it didn't have windows, the rooms were cozy and quaint. Decent sized, clean rooms with a great restaurant on the rooftop. Would definitely recommend.
- travellers8881 (4/5): Horrible management with almost no services - We visited this prooerty on 27th oct with family thinking it will be a convenient location and a good experience but shockingly this was our worst ever stay.
No geyser facility- we took cold shower.
No drinking water on demand- we slept thirsty.
No cleanliness- rooms were not even mopped
Mist of the things were falling apart.
You keep calling the reception, they either do not pick up or don't send what you need.
We accidently made double reservation through agoda and they refused to refund money . For no refund policy , we understand the money being charged in case of no show but this is completely a fraud by property and Agoda collectively.
In the property , we kept on asking for the manager he neither showed up nor picked up our phone. They simply don't care .
Pathethic people, pathetic experience
- SwatiChakravorty (10/5): Hospitable Team - Excellent service, good Indian food. Mr Sashi in reception n his team were very helpful as I was travelling with family ( Sr citizens) we all were very comfortable there.. it is right on Assi Ghat. Looking forward to more stay with them. Wishing them all the best. Hope they come up with the lift soon.
- Sightsee09152040980 (4/5): Horrible experience - Very bad experience. The staff is unfriendly and non cooperative. Dirty and dingy rooms . Very small washrooms . One can hardly move one’s arms while using washroom.
Be prepared to not receive the order if you opt to order some food in your room.
- Shashi25 (2/5): Terrible - Hotel located near to assi ghat which is main attraction. And hotel owner knows that and that is why hotel charges are equal to five star rate in the same city.
No windows, WiFi is horrible because once you go out of hotel you would need to reset the phone again for WiFi. Breakfast was horrible only paratha and vegetable sabji, bread butter. Although in room menu they offer eggs items but not in breakfast. No dosa no idli . Croissant were cold brought from other place.
No elevator in the hotel. And if you want to stay after 12 pm if you have flight to catch they charge you extra even if the hotel has less occupancy.
- ryanmattyb (6/5): Perfect location - Amazing location but the black mold in the shower was disappointing.
Palace on Ganges is a heritage hotel, located just steps away from Varanasi’s Assi Ghat. The close proximity to the ghat is without doubt, the most attractive feature to this hotel. We booked a twin share “luxury” room on a “high” floor as room only costing more than double what we paid per night in Jaipur and Agra in the nights prior, which were both 4+ stars and highly recommended (Raddison City Centre and Royale Sarovar Portico Agra respectively).
On check-in we were told the roof top restaurant is open for dinner only and breakfast is only downstairs. We booked a room only rate and we knew breakfast would be an additional charge but only had toast and coffee as per the continental breakfast option on the menu but were charged the full buffet rate (which had barely scraps left by 9:30am)
The room was quaint, nothing special and mostly clean except the shower which had black mold spores all over the floor grout and bottom tiles. The provided toiletries were dusty from not being used - I used the tooth brushes to clean the shower a enough to be bearable, complaining seemed hardly worth it with the language barrier. The air con leaked on our clothes (it’s only was so just dried them off) and our “high floor” level 2 of 3 so not 1 or basement as other reviews shared.
Pros:
+ 1 minute walk to Assi Ghat which comes to life morning and night for Ganga Aarti and Subah-e-Baranas.
+ Quick auto-Rickshaw ride (they park out the front and all quite nice to chat to) into main circle for shopping and markets
+ Ok view at the restaurant and great view from the top level balcony
+ Restaurant staff and housekeeping staff were very kind and accommodating
Cons:
- Costly
- Misleading on views, don’t expect one at all unless booking a Commodore room on the second or third floor
- Breakfast is terrible, eat somewhere else
- Cleanliness was not great
- infoI3557PN (2/5): An absolute no-go! - Since I had seen on the internet that the hotel also offers windowless rooms in the basement, I had booked a double room on the upper floors. I was given a windowless, stuffy room on the upper floor, right behind the reception. After an almost sleepless night, I changed the hotel without being refunded the 4 other nights I had booked. An absolute failure of a hotel.
- 416renees (6/5): Binod our favorite waiter! - Had a lovely meal at the rooftop restaurant at Palace on the Ganges . Binod our waiter was so friendly managed to anticipate our every need! Live music was really fun and staff and were fantastic. Food was great and a good price. I would visit again purely because of Binod ! Thank you
- Resort22952819068 (2/5): Pathetic experience - 1 rooms are stinking badly . There is no ventilation
Reception staff is very rude .
Their website is misleading.
They are telling us for lower floor .. which is basement . It is stinking like public toilet
The staff is not ready to cooperate.
In the name of hertiage building they are proving us stinking rooms
- Explorer09693791265 (10/5): Come for the view stay for the Kofta. - Vinod was very hospitable. We had malai kofta and aloo jeera. The prices were only slightly more than average, but it is a beautiful property with a gorgeous view. There was also live music. We were sat immediately and all staff were attentive and professional. Thanks Vinod for your wonderful service.
- SharonC403 (6/5): TOO LOUD - Nice hotel. Nice staff. Nice room. Clean room. Ok food; breakfast buffet is extremely limited. If you want anything other than a traditional Indian breakfast your options are toast or toast. No eggs or anything else that resembles western food.
But despite all of this …. This hotel is TOO LOUD TOO LOUD TOO LOUD!!! Located near the Ganges in a busy area - the car horns, dogs barking, and religious chanting literally NEVER stops.
- Ramesh (8/5): - Wonderful staff and convenient to all places close but cannot get into hotel in the evening as road blocked off by police, they need to fix it as very inconvenient to guests arriving in the evenings to carry in baggage
- naina (10/5): - This is a great place to stay next to Ganges river. The staff is so polite and respectful. Food is amazing. The outdoor restaurant is my favorite. You can walk to the Aarti and to all the ghats.
- Andrew (8/5): Great Location! - The location is great, right on the Assi Ghat with great morning sunrises and evening prayer ceremonies. The stay was comfortable, the staff was friendly, and the food was good and affordable.
- Verified traveler (6/5): - It was in a great location but unfortunately most of the staff were not attentive to details nor did they action any request that you made.
2 gentlemen who were probably managers were good.
- T.B. (10/5): - Very clean and neat hotel , the rooms are too small for three adults but worth the effort. Everyone is wouderflly polite and helpful.
- Verified traveler (6/5): Basic, quiet, reasonably convenient but overpriced - Does the job of providing a clean bed and place to rest in an easily accessible location. However, the circuit breaker to the room power tripped twice in two days. Compared to the general cost of living, it is overpriced.
- Verified traveler (4/5): Good Location, Not too pleasant. - No window in the rooms. Nice rooftop but breakfast is served in the 'restaurant' on the ground floor which is a bit dark. Found small cockroaches in the bathroom. Location is very good because Assi ghat is one of the few ghats in Varanasi that can be reached with cars and auto rickshaws. Boat ride we booked through the hotel was okay, but it ended with our boat being tied to a motored boat because the boat driver didn't want to paddle the way back, which exposed us to constant smoke from the back of the motored boat. Recommend booking boatrides elsewhere with lower prices.
- Uno (6/5): Good basic hotel at the Ganges river - It's a bit difficult to rate this hotel. The hotel is small, rather old, very basic, my room smelled moldy/musty (for the first 2-3 minutes when I entered the room), restaurant on top of building is very basic but the food was delicious (and it didn't ruin my sensitive stomach). My room window was facing a wall (1 meter away) which was not super but also not a big problem.
Hotel is located 200 meters from Assi Ghat and the river. Location is very nice although quite a walk (1-2 miles) from the more interesting Ghat's. I did enjoy the walks along the river so it was not an issue. Area and surroundings seem safe and I didn't have any issues whatsoever.
Wifi was ok but not great. At times I was able to stream a bit of Youtube ..
I could not see the river from the hotel.
Service level was in general ok. Some of the people working there were eager to assist - others couldn't be bothered.
Compared to a 5-star hotel in New Delhi the hotel is rather bad but compared to the rest of Varanasi the hotel was actually quite good. I enjoyed my stay there and would recommend it to anybody. There was a lot of other foreigners staying in the hotel during my stay.
- Lou (6/5): - Service good. Property ok. And that’s all I have to say about that.
- Rachel (6/5): Basic - The hotel is v. basic; no frills or fanciness here, though it is a step up from a hostel. There is free wifi for up to 2 users per room and the staff are generally agreeable. The restaurant is just so-so. It's on the rooftop (which isn't all that pretty) and we got eaten alive by mosquitos in the evening.
The location is great; it's right near Assi Ghat, which is the neighborhood I recommend staying in, as it's much quieter and cleaner than the Main Ghat. I recommend going to morning aarti on Assi Ghat; it is v. serene and beautiful.
My main disappointment comes from the fact that we paid a similar room rate in Delhi, Jaipur, Chennai, and Mumbai for 5-star, luxury hotels. But that's also because we were here during Holi. I would actually recommend staying at the adjacent Hotel Ganges, as they have a lovely rooftop area and much more attentive staff. (We visited Hotel Ganges for breakfast and to watch the Holi festivities from their rooftop, as it was much closer to the action.)
- Vicki (4/5): Location, Location, Location - The location of the hotel was excellent, but that's where the compliments stop. For the price paid the hotel was poorly furnished, not real clean and staff were always less than helpful. We stayed there for 3 nights and was able to access the Ganges as much as we liked, however, the hotel was not a good standard for the $