Hotel Sunset, Orchha – Review

Hotel Sunset is a budget hotel located near to the Ram Raja temple in Orchha. Orchha being not a very popular tourist destination has the dearth of good quality hotels. Most of the hotels were priced at either a few hundred rupees or more than two thousand rupees, with not many hotels in-between range. As I was travelling solo, I was not keen to spend more than a thousand rupees for a hotel. After going through lots of hotels on different hotel booking websites, Hotel Sunset stood out from the crowd because of the glowing reviews and rating. I did not waste time to book Hotel Sunset for a single night for Rs 300 through Goibibo.

I reached Orchha in the morning at 9 AM and straightaway went to see cenotaphs and Betwa river. Orchha is a small town, and all the tourist places are closely located to each other and can be easily covered on foot. I spent close to two hours seeing the beautiful cenotaphs architecture and sitting on the banks of the river. It was around 11 AM and I decided to check into the hotel, take some rest and then leave for the exploration.

Hotel Sunset is a budget hotel located just 400 metres away from Ram Raja temple. My room was a basic room with even no common amenities like AC and TV. Since it was the time of winter and I travel most of the day and need a hotel for sleep only, I did not find the need to book the room with both AC and TV. The hotel does not have any restaurant and hence, does not serve food. But you can order tea and coffee anytime.

My room’s toilet jet was not working and the staff upgraded me to the AC room. I rested for almost one hour and then left to explore the rest of the attractions.

I first visited Orchha Fort which includes Jahangir Mahal and Raja Mahal in its complex. After getting awestruck with the stunning architecture of Jahangir Mahal, I went to 500 years old Chaturbhuj Temple. Afterwards, I visited Laxminarayn temple which is another old temple in Orchha.

It was almost 5 PM and I had seen all the attractions of Orchha barring Ram Raja Temple which stays closed between 1 AM to 8 PM. I went back to the Sunset hotel and slept in no time. I woke up at 8, thanks to alarm otherwise, I would have slept through the night.

Orchha is a unique tourist destination which sees more foreign than domestic tourists. You can make out of that fact by just looking at the menu of all the restaurants. The town where you will hardly get famous Indian delicacies like Dosa or Chola Bhatura was full of restaurants serving English dishes like Porridge and scrambled eggs at exorbitant prices. And calling them proper restaurant would be an overstatement, they were more like Indian Dhaba serving food at a higher price than most of the mid-range restaurants of Delhi.

I already had two below average meals eating at those English mimicking restaurants and I was craving for a good Indian meal. I asked the owner cum receptionist of Hotel Sunset about the place where I could get the Indian meal that would satisfy my Indian taste buds. He suggested me to go to Rimjhim Dhaba and even offered me to drop there which I instantly accepted. I hopped onto his bike and started our 2-minute journey together. He told me that he gets more booking from foreigners than Indians. And I along with one other are the only Indian in his hotel and rest are foreigners.

He dropped me to the Rimjhim Dhaba and left. It was the pure India vegetarian dhaba. I ordered half plate matter paneer and two roti. The meal was tasty and satisfying.

After filling my stomach, I went to Ram Raja temple which was my last attraction in Orchha. I had a quick darshan of Lord Rama and went back to the hotel and slept straight away.

I woke up the next morning, had a quick bath and check out from the hotel and left for Jhansi to visit Jhansi fort.

My Verdict

I loved my stay in Hotel Sunset. My original room might not have had the beautiful walls and decor or AC or TV or bathroom with lots of toiletries but I did not want them anyway. Although I was upgraded to a room with AC and TV, I did not use them.

I only look for two things in a hotel when I travel solo which is a comfortable bed and a clean bathroom. And Hotel Sunset had both those things. It also provided free wifi which is a luxury in Orchha since I struggled with mobile data signal everywhere in Orchha.

The staff was courteous and always willing to help. The hotel owner even gave me a ride to the restaurant which I can’t even expect from even mid-range hotel. The level of personal touch provided by staff to make me feel like at home was unparalleled and what I believe every hotel should focus on than any random amenity.

If you are a budget traveller like me and are not looking for any fancy amenity then you should definitely go for Hotel Sunset. But if you are looking for a hotel with all the modern facilities and beautiful room then you would be disappointed.

More information

Hotel: Hotel Sunset
Address: MP SH 37, near Ram Raja Temple, Orchha, Madhya Pradesh
Average Price for a couple: Rs 300

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