stimpy

I couldn't find any reviews. Anyone been to this hotel?

Savage25

I've had friends who've stayed there and said its the only decent hotel in the city. That's all I recall, though.

GUWonder

The LeMeridien in Ahmedabad Gujarat is the best option there although I do compare prices/options with the Taj Residency hotel there as well. (The Taj is the same company that manages what used to be the W Sydney hotel, now called Blue, and manages The Pierre in NYC as well.)

There just aren't many options there, but both are fine enough.

stimpy

OK, since I'm here now I can give a bit of a review. There are 53 standard rooms, 8 deluxe rooms and only 2 suites. So I got an upgrade to a deluxe room which is very nice. They must not have a lot of Platinum guests as they had to search a bit for the Platinum amenity form but they found it and I took the points. They had a car waiting at the airport for me and they never said anything about costs so I assume it is free.

Gurjurat is a dry state (home of Ghandi and all) so BYO if you need it. In the mini-bar they have non-alcohol Becks. Bleah. There was some nice fruit and nuts in the room and a welcome fruit drink was brought up. There is a huge plasma TV, but I haven't been interested in turning it on.

It is probably the nicest property in the city. Oh, and the SQ girls were there in the lobby last night. ^

amathur64

Been a while since I was there now, but the GM (D'Souza) was a very nice host who had worked at Oberoi, etc.

The Western/Chinese food in the Waterfall was superior to the Taj I thought. D'Souza said his chefs had worked at some of the fancier Chinese places in Mumbai, and it tasted like it.

I had trouble sleeping through the early morning prayer calls though, and moved back to the Taj, though it was further from my locale.

smcgrath12

I am staying there for couple of nights the coming weekend. Are they stingy with upgrades? I am gold SPG. Also, do they provide transportation from the railway station to the hotel? Do they serve alcoholic drinks there, being that the state is "dry"...

stimpy

If you search here you will find other posts about this hotel. I stayed there a year ago. I don't think they had any alcohol in the minibar or anywhere else that I saw. Also I don't think they have but 2 suites so don't count on an upgrade. They gave me a free car from the airport as a Platinum member. I don't know about the train.

smcgrath12

Thanks buddy. I plan to call them up and see if they can send some transportation. If not, no big deal, the hotel is like 3 km from the rail station.

BCMike

Hi All, just wondering if anyone has stayed here recently? I did a search and found a thread from early 2007 but nothing recent. Also, I'm a new Starwood member. Any advice for a newb in general (other than review the threads here)? I'm just digging through the board now to see what I can pick up on. I'll be staying there for about 30 nights consecutively so I should get to Gold status out of that. Any chance I can get the perks at the beginning of the stay? Thanks for any info or advice. My only history with Starwood is staying at Planet Hollywood in Vegas. I'm currently a silver at Marriot.

Starwood Lurker II

Hi BCMike,

Do avoid staying more than 30 nights consecutively. Most properties cap at 30 nights, not more. Or your stay would not be credited.

What perks are you referring? Credit of points and stay count? Or Gold membership benefits?

Both queries: No.

Thank you and have a nice day!

[email protected]

stimpy

Any updates? I'm heading back soon. Is the airport car still free for Plats?

nswat

I will be there in Spetember for 1 night. Any advice by India experts within *wood? Plan on hitting 8 properties in 7 cities around the country. Yes this is work related, arive in the evening, overnight, check out business all day fly to next city. etc etc.

will post a complete report then

cheers

stimpy

I'm at the LM now. It's the same as before, but less crowded of course. Decent enough food at the restaurant and room service. The service is fine even if you have to deal with the nonsense x-ray and metal detector. I haven't seen any other hotel in Ahmedabad with this level of security theatre.

You really gotta love the Starpoints to stay here though. This area has never recovered from the riots. The rest of the town is growing like crazy but this side of the river is dying.

High-Flyer

The LM in Ahmadabad is the worst SPG property I have ever stayed at. The rooms overlook the river - of course, they fail to tell you about the slums between the hotel and the river. There is an unmistakable odor in the open areas, and most of the rooms need serious refurbishing. There is only one restaurant - food is poor to average and very overpriced for the area.

I've not stayed at the Taj in Ahmedabad, but did stay at the Fortune Lankmark - a much nicer property than the LM and with 3 different restaurants.

SPG should really eliminate this hotel from its program - it misleads people into thinking this is a SPG type property (and it isn't).

smcgrath12

Just an update on my visit. They do provide car to the train station as well, but you have to ask the manager. If done nicely, they will go out of their way to make sure that your needs are met. My kid had an inflatable toy, pretty big that you cannot do it manually by blowing air into it. The property did not have anything to help me out, but they send staff outside the hotel to get the toy inflated for the swimming pool.