One of the worst hotel experiences we’ve had ’ completely misleading booking, horrible service, and zero accountability.We are visiting India from Australia and had booked Hotel Le Grand in Haridwar via their official website. The booking process was straightforward, and we were required to pay in full to secure the booking, including breakfast. However, after completing the payment, the confirmation unexpectedly showed we were booked into Hotel LG Residency ’ a completely different hotel we had never heard of.We assumed it was a mistake and drove a long way to Hotel Le Grand, only to be casually told that our booking had been moved to LG Residency. There was no prior communication, no consent, and no explanation. We were confused and shocked ’ we had specifically chosen Hotel Le Grand and paid for it in full.That night, we called the hotel and asked for a refund, but since it was late, they said they’d call us back in the morning. That call never came. So once we returned to our home in India, we checked our browser history to ensure we hadn’t made a mistake ’ and it confirmed that we had booked through Hotel Le Grand’s website and had never been redirected to LG Residency.We called the hotel back to discuss this, but they ignored our first three calls. On the fourth call, they finally picked up but were extremely rude, telling us a manager would call us back ’ which again didn’t happen. We called again and were told there was a function happening and they’d call back later ’ more excuses. After more ignored calls, someone finally picked up only to say the manager still wasn’t there.Eventually, they called us back, but instead of resolving anything, the call turned into a disrespectful shouting match. The manager, Mahesh, was yelling, constantly interrupting us, and wouldn’t let us explain anything. He kept insisting we were wrong about everything, including the videos we had taken as proof, and outright dismissed our claims.He insisted we hadn’t booked breakfast, even though we clearly had and paid extra for it. We had to make him check our booking, after which he admitted it was strange ’ but still tried to claim we didn’t book breakfast. Meanwhile, the LG Residency receptionist himself had said they don’t serve breakfast with bookings, which proves our booking was meant for Le Grand.The room we were given at LG Residency was absolutely filthy:’The sheets were stained, the bathroom smelled like a sewer, and there were termites and cracks all over the walls.’My son was so disgusted that he couldn’t sleep on the extra floor mattress they provided, which had light yellow stains. I ended up sleeping on it so he wouldn’t have to.In the morning, we went for breakfast ’ if you could even call it that. There was no juice, no jam, no shakes, no cornflakes ’ only spicy food that my son couldn’t eat. There was no kitchen staff, and we had to fetch our own plates to help the lone staff member.At checkout, we honestly felt relieved just to be leaving. This whole experience felt like a bait-and-switch scam, followed by horrible customer service, unclean facilities, and zero hospitality.We strongly urge other travellers ’ especially international guests ’ to avoid LG Hotels altogether. This is not how guests should ever be treated.
Anurag Katariya •
Family • Apr 2025