Empires Hotel Puri — Hotel in Puri

Empires Hotel @ Puri is far better than Taj, ITC and Radisson hotels. It should be given 5-star status.

Room # 116 (photos attached with this review) - When booking any accommodation in this hotel, please make sure that you only stay in their room # 116 which is loaded with ultra luxuries that are out-of-this-world. You need to pay just 7k per day to experience these luxuries.

Cafe - Don't be afraid to take risks in life. Please go ahead and try their Deli Cafe and share your experience.

UPDATE (16-Mar-2024): Today, there is a reply from the owner (with wrong facts) on my review. So, let me provide the actual facts:

1. There were no "several calls" made by me to enquire about a room availability. In the very first call, the representative at the Empires Hotel confirmed me about room availability and booked a room for me after the payment completion.

2. Empires Hotel never mentioned to me about pathetic condition of several rooms. Why will someone book a room if he/she knows the pathetic condition of a room in advance ?

3. In room # 116, the toilet flush was not working. So, the plumber had to come and fix it. The flush system has 2 buttons (small and large push buttons). After several attempts, the plumber could fix only 1 of these 2.

4. The bathroom shower had leakage.

5. I observed that many guests at multiple occasions were arguing at the hotel reception about getting a pathetic room and asking to change it immediately. So, now the people who wish to book a room at Empires Hotel in future, can understand the current state of this hotel.

6. There is a famous saying - "People can lie but evidences cannot". I had already attached photos of the room along with the review. Everyone is wise enough to understand the truth and take a call.

7. Please look at the reviews that are posted by other guests as well. You will observe that the owner will respond harshly to those people who post true negative reviews and will blame the guests only. This is not a healthy way of handling true negative reviews.

UPDATE (30-Mar-2024): After receiving initial response from the owner on my review, I had appended additional comments in this review. After that, the owner has also updated his comments but still there are many true facts missing from the owner's latest updated comment. Therefore, I am providing those additional facts in below points:

8. As the owner mentioned that there was shortage of rooms on my check-in day, they gave me Room # 116 (which was in pathetic condition as can be seen in the attached photos). In that case, Empires Hotel should not have accepted my booking request when I called them for inquiry. They chose to accept my booking request, get the payment and finally allot me a room with pathetic condition.

9. Please note that I had already mentioned previously that this issue is not limited to just room # 116. There were a large number of guests who kept on approaching the reception, argued with the receptionist about pathetic condition of their rooms and asked to change it immediately.

10. Corporate room option: We were not given this option when we checked in. We were taken directly to Room # 116 and asked us to stay there for 2 days. Only after we kept raising the issue of pathetic condition of the room, bathroom, flush system, shower etc., we were shown the Corporate room unwillingly on another floor (2nd or 3rd floor). But we were told that it is only available for 1 day but our stay was booked for 2 days. Also, there were lots of debris near the room as the construction workers had dumped all the material near the rooms on that floor. There was also consistent noise of some work + the cooking smell.

11. The point that I had raised previously stays the same - Why so many other guests have also posted the exact same issues that I have mentioned (i.e. the rooms are in pathetic conditions but the prices charged...

I stayed at Hotel Empires, Puri for 2 days during my religious visit to Jagannath Puri, and it turned out to be an extremely disappointing experience. This property is definitely not worth its 4-star tag — I would rate it 2 stars at best.

Poor Room Hygiene & Unpleasant Odor: The moment we entered Room 208, there was a strong, unpleasant smell. We immediately complained, and the staff came in to spray an excessive amount of air freshener — which only made things worse. Within minutes, the odor returned. For a 4-star property, this kind of hygiene issue is unacceptable.

Unhygienic & Faulty Washroom: The washroom design is absolutely poor. The WC is oddly shaped, and every time you flush, the contents spill out onto the floor due to the water pressure and design flaw. Despite multiple complaints (including one about a leaking flush), no corrective action was taken.

Housekeeping Nightmare: The cleaning staff consistently forgot to clean the room even after reminders. Both evenings, we returned to find the room in the same condition as we left it. We had to call and wait outside until the staff cleaned and changed the linens. Toiletries were never replenished — I ended up bathing with shampoo because the liquid soap had run out!

Terrible Food Quality: The food was a major disappointment. The dal was watery and undercooked, the kadhai paneer was inedible, and breakfast was served in a smelly, dimly lit restaurant. The dosa was so over-crisped it could hurt your mouth! The only saving grace was their chai. We eventually started going next door to Fortune Hotel for our meals, which was expensive but you could atleast eat it without worrying about hygiene.

Poorly Maintained Property: The overall property looks and feels very average. The lawn was waterlogged, and the rear gate leading to the beach promenade was in bad shape. You begin regretting your choice the moment you walk in.

Untrained & Indifferent Staff: The staff seemed poorly trained and largely indifferent to guest concerns. There’s a clear lack of hospitality or ownership in their response . After my complaint about food, the F&B manager came to check on feedback and claimed that I am the first customer complaining about food. And offered me an ice- cream as a gesture.

Missing Basic Amenities: For a hotel claiming to be 4-star, it lacks basic amenities like a hair dryer, in-room slippers, or hair conditioner.

Overall, my stay here felt more like a punishment than a vacation. Please save yourself the disappointment and book elsewhere. Hotel Empires, Puri seriously needs a reality check before calling itself a...

Hello viewer, I hope this review helps u makes an inform decision before finalising this property. I recently visited the said property on 11 and 12 of August 2022. Though the look and feel of the place is just fine, with spacious rooms, lobby, swimming pool, beach access and secluded location, however what this property lacks much in it is courtesy, politeness and hospitality service. Most of the staff are arrogant, self absorbed and doesn't know the meaning of word service. I would like to specially mention few names, both positive and negative.

Starting from the reception and check-in experience was ghastly annoying. Though I was paying them ₹6000/- per night, the then check-in front desk staff, Mr.Sanjeev-bald guy) attended and treated me like I was a free loader and infact I had to request him to force a greeting smile out of him as I badly needed some politeness after a travel of nearly 600kms with kids to check-in there. Only once was he satisfied with the check-in details, the staff offered us a welcome drink.

Moving on, the room, though is big in its space but it very badly planned when it comes to utilisation of space and one will definitely feel the presence of Seepage and pesticidal smell, I had to change rooms due to the same. Property badly needs renovation and maintenance.

Coming to the food quality, I rather would be appropriate to comment it as gut filler than mood filler, they don't have much option in the breakfast menu, when it comes to North Indian food, nor do they have the availability most of the times. Special mention and thanks to one of the staff Krishna who was a little thoughtful to extend a courteous assist in arranging alternatives.

At check out, I must say one shud always clarify what and how they are going to charge orelse they will put all unnecessary amounts at the check out, I had negotiated on phone and clarified everything and thanks to the phone recording I had of my communication with their staff, it helped me at check-in and check-out when none of the staff were co-operative, infact were rather hostile in their attitude. Special mention of appreciation to the watchman one Vishwajeet who lend me a hand in cleaning my car at check out.(another piece of advice, if travelling with family, arrange for your own transport as it is a remote location and does not has access to taxis but only autos) I cud get by as mine was own car and a road trip.

All in all, I sincerely feel the management takes some steps in training hospitality, courtesy and compassion to the obnoxious demeanour of the...