Top 5-Star Hotels in Kolkata

I shall start from arrival at the hotel. We were a family of four who had booked two rooms at the property. We arrived around 14:30 Hrs (at least 30 mins after the designated check-in time). First of all, although the check-in desk at the hotel is quite huge, there were only 3 staff members ***ning the desk, all of them occupied. We had to wait for around 15 mins, looking here and there like *****s with our bags on before someone greeted us. And I do not mind waiting for check-in; what I do mind is that despite multiple staff members seeing us wait, not one of them acknowledge our presence and asked us to take a seat and wait. They would all look at us and carry on. Forget a warm smile, forget a namaste, we were made to feel like fools just standing there without anyone attending to us. When we finally did get a chance to check in, we were given two adjacent rooms. The key to one room was handed over to us, and we were told that the second room is not ready yet and that as soon as it is ready the key would be sent to us in our room. We said okay and moved towards our room. Once in our room, all four of us sat waiting in one room for around 45 mins for the key to the second room. We were not able to unpack because we wanted to unpack in our respective rooms. Tired and hungry, we left the hotel to get ourselves some lunch and some sightseeing, hoping that by the time we return our second room would be ready. When we returned and asked for the key to the second room from the reception desk, we were told that the room that was allocated to us had been now given to someone else -- and we were given some other room that was ”close” to the first room. I understand that asking for adjacent rooms is a mere request and not a right. But had we been given a ”close” room earlier, we could have gotten the keys earlier at the time of check-in! We waited for a room for so long, only for it to be given to someone else. Fast forward to the next morning's breakfast. The spread was quite good and quite diverse in variety. However, again the entire staff at the breakfast looked tense for some reason. And they kept messing up with live counter orders. No one had a smile on, no one welcomed you with warmth, and no one made you feel as if you were staying in a 5-star hotel (which The Lalit considers itself to be). Our entire experience with The Lalit was below par at the very least. It was not the kind of experience you would expect from a branded property that so conveniently calls itself a luxury 5-star property. I honestly feel for the money that I paid, I could and should have gotten a different property and that would have been definitely better. For the foreseeable future, and till things change, I do not see myself staying at any Lalit property.

The new landmark building by ITC SONAR is a relatively stylish hotel in the area. All the facilities are new, but the smell of the decoration will be greater due to new reasons. There are Chinese restaurants and Chinese chefs, and you can order your favorite dishes. This is the most advantageous, the consumption level is not low, the buffet is 180.

The hotel's food and beverages are fantastic (pictured), the breakfast is very rich, and the Chinese buffet is also the same (the RMB is close to two hundred). The service was very considerate. One night before check-out, the front desk called the room to get information about the flight. When I knew that it was a flight at 5 pm, I immediately indicated that I could extend the check-out time to half past two. Every time I go out, the staff of the Concierge will use the uber to call the car, and I will not bother. The room cleaning was also very careful. Next time, I will choose to live. The downside is that the market on both sides of the door is too embarrassing, and I can't go out for a walk at night, but the hotel is soundproof, and entering the iron gate is another quiet world. Also, the toilet flushes and needs strength. In addition, perfect.

I passed this time and arranged a south-facing room for me.

Honestly speaking, the hotel was great. The location was a bit far from the airport, BUT it is located at one of the cleanest places in Kolkata, making it a huge plus. Now for the details: Room: 5/5. The decoration, the ambiance, the wall art. Lobby and other places: 5/5. Absolutely loved the design and hotel architecture. Bathroom: 3.5/5. Honestly, it is a basic bathroom, but I expected more from a 5 star hotel, even on the cheaper rooms. There was no bathtub, which I feel is fairly common everywhere I’ve stayed in. ONE PROBLEM: A major issue I have faced was after turning on the water. It had a smell, which I am guessing is from the river beside it. I feel like the Hotel should add a water filter to avoid this problem, because the smell doesn’t go away until the water is turned on for at least 5-10minutes. If I wasn’t South Asian, I probably couldn’t have taken the smell as easily as I did. I would put this in High Priority to fix for attracting ***y more customers. Bar and Food: 4/5. Good collection, great taste but very expensive. Lastly, a shoutout to Al Jabbar and Al Sahid from the Housecleaning service, they were extremely polite, fast, very thorough with their cleaning and very well ***nered. Absolutely a delight to talk to and learn about the local areas. I would definitely stay at this hotel again. Very rare to find such good hotels, with some minor flaws.

The place was in a good location. The place was clean. The service was bad. In the restaurant upon the food were flies and the staff was not attentive. The room service is bad they don't pick up the phone calls. Everything is over priced. In the spa the massage was the worst and it was very pricey

Very good service. Very clean. Staffs were extremely helpful and friendly. Room dining and restaurant dining menu selection can be wider. Hope to stay there again.

I had a amazing experience in Taj Bengal , I am here for the first time. Ms Nunte gave us a Great exposures toward the services of Taj and specially offered us Jhalmuri and Chai. She is very humble and ground to earth person, I am glad Taj has employees like Ms Nunte. Keep up the good job☺️

Was a part of the Bank group came for conference. Team ITC Sonar was excellent in taking good care of us at every point. It was a great experience to stay as it had a beautiful lily pond which gave a lovely feeling to mind. Thanks to Mr. Sujoy for taking care of us . Will plan to revisit with family again .

Clean,Food is very nice,quick check in and check out.closer location to airport.