Shivakashi Guest House — Hotel in Uttar Pradesh

The location of the property is very good, only a very short walk from the main ghat! |Breakfast was delicious, toast, butter, jam, eggs to your liking, coffee that actually tasted like coffee and a very good fruit salad, the only thing missing was a little smile from the staff.|It was really funny to watch the monkeys from the window||I booked this room solely based on the reviews and I must say that I was very disappointed. |The room was VERY( too) basic, I had booked a room with balcony but there was none. The bed could have been a little bit more confortable and the bathroom a bit more maintained. I would recommend a bedside table with lamp so you don’t have to read at night with the big ceiling neon light in your face.|Everything seemed quite dirty, there was some stains on the sheets and towel (but that isn’t the first time that it happens in India). We could see that no one was really interested in cleaning in the 3 nights we spent there, the same 3 empty bottles of water were on the floor in the stairs... |We have been traveling India for now 3 weeks and it is our biggest disappointment so far. Maybe we were expecting to much based on the reviews. |What disappointed me the most was the manager, I was expecting a nice and caring host. He was nice indeed but not really caring, he cared more about judging my studies and professional choices or giving me patronising life lesson rather than giving me useful advices on the city. It did not feel like home AT ALL and I think the value for money is very bad. You can find other places way more welcoming in Varanasi at a cheaper price with better facilities. |Booking website says it has a in-house restaurant but it doesn’t. However, the manager will order what you need from trusted places he knows around the neighbourhood. |The terrasse has a good view of the Ganga but after breakfast hours, we felt that it was the space for their 2 (really cute) dogs to run free. |Also WiFi wasn’t great, it kept...

My sister and I stayed in this hotel at the end of March. For us, Varanasi was a trip highlight and this hotel certainly contributed to our overall experience in this fascinating city.||||The hotel offers modest but comfortable rooms at a very reasonable rate. Lots of stairs, which was a challenge sometimes! The location was amazing, minutes from the river and from the main ghat. It offers a good breakfast and it is also close to many other excellent restaurants. We arrived by air and appreciated the pick up service. As the hotel is deep into the maze of old Varanasi, the car or even a tuk tuk cannot drive anywhere near it. However, they have a very smooth system to help transport luggage to the hotel or to a cab when you leave. I was initially overwhelmed at the narrow alleyways and was worried I would never figure out how to navigate these intricate streets with all the cows, oxen, motorbikes, pilgrims etc. Of course, we did figure it out, at least enough to get around. ||||What really makes this a special place is the manager, Mr Sanjeev.. You will notice in the reviews how often people refer to him. And for good reason. He treats you like a friend. He has an excellent sense of humour and we enjoyed his intelligence, passion for the city, kindness and advice. We noticed that there are many repeat clients and they return, in part, because of him.||||I hope I will be lucky enough to return some day to Varanasi and would certainly return...

I stayed for 4 days in this place which made my stay at Varanasi very enjoyable and memorable. The rooms are good , comfortable and nice. It could be made much nicer/cleaner with little effort - I found cob webs - but this doesn't matter much to me. Bathroom was good. AC was working. Breakfast was delicious and has a fantastic view from the roof top. The chef - Gullu was fantastic. He is a shy person but when he is free - he is a wonderful person to talk to. Other 2 young boys - Dipak and his cousin are wonderful helpful and jolly kids. The gem of a person is the manager - Mr. Sanjeev. We all called him lovingly - Sanju Bhai. He does his best to make your stay comfortable. He is very resourceful. He will get the best auto/tuk tuk driver to go to Sarnath or airport or station. He will suggest you the best place to have food. He can help you with the best way to go around Varanasi . He can help you with your travel needs. He helped me a lot to get my ticket for the onward journey. I used to wake him up early in the morning to open the door for my daily walks to the ghat.||Best part of my stay was the location - in a minute I was at the ghat, there are lot of good places to eat around, all the holy places / temples are within few minutes of walk.||I had a wonderful experience...