艾莉邊走邊聊Wander Talks

說老實的,如果不是因為我必須要來印度清奈工作. 我可能一輩子都不會想到要來這個城市. 事實上清奈能逛的並不多. 就算上網查遍了旅遊網站,也會發現清奈並不是熱門景點. 當然, 在Tami Nadu省裡,離清奈需幾小時的車程可到的地方可就不同了. 總而言之, 這篇文章是關於清奈Radisson Hotel的評價. 至於清奈的介紹會在之後埔給大家!!

首先, 我習慣在每一篇裡都會分享一些旅遊過程裡值得注意的事.請加入飯店的會員俱樂部(Club Membership). 當然前提是你認為你有可能在未來會想要待在同一間飯店集團下的其他飯店. 幾個有名的集團The Taj, Sheraton, Starwood, Radisson, Marriott...等等. 這些飯店集團為了獎勵忠誠的客戶, 常不時在網站上或是Email中通知最新的優惠. 基本上, 這些優惠都會比你在一般旅遊平台(Expedia, Zuji, Eztravel..)上訂到的還要好. 而且, 有個重點一定要跟大家分享一下. 跟Hotel直接訂的好處就是, 你不用先付款. 通常在住房的一周前取消也不會被索取任何費用! (現在越來越多平台也願意讓你免費取消了)

我幾年前加入Radisson Club Carlson 之後就慢慢累積了為數不少的點數. 當然最終目標都是希望可以換到未來免費的住房. 所以這次當我看到Radisson Blu Chennai 有個很不錯的deal (double reward points, room upgrade for club member, free drinks daily...)我就決定就是它了!!

總之, 在我短暫住過的幾間Radisson裡, 這間可能算是最好的. 也許是因為在印度這種人工不值錢的地方又或是因為他們認為花得起錢的就是大爺. 我只能說只要你願意多花點錢住進4.5星級的飯店裡, 你就準備當國王皇后了!!

飯店離機場只有大約15分鐘的距離 (其中有7分鐘是無可避免的塞車). 不過在我一搭上飯店準備的轎車後, 我就已經拿到我飯店的鑰匙了. Check-In速度之快的確讓人滿意. 之後到了飯店門口後, 旅客都會被要求通過安檢 (規格就如同機場一樣). 這可能是因為印度也是個常有恐怖攻擊的地方所以飯店業者都會儘可能的做好安全準備.

在我住過的兩間房型 (Deluxe Room and Business Room) 都是實心木板地. 一走進房間馬上就可以感覺到濃濃的英國殖民地的味道. 至於為什麼會這樣感覺我也說不上來, 但總之房間散發著一種英國舊式套房的感覺. 印度也特別喜歡使用大理石還有花崗岩. 也許是因為這些石材一樣給人高貴的感覺. 在房間的廁所也是看的到的. 房間除了印度與生俱來的高濕度以外, 大概沒甚麼是我想要抱怨的. 因為在印度吃的太好, 我也強迫自己去了健身房跑步, 好笑的是, 一進去我就發現有個身材非常給他好的男生跟進來. 原來他是私人教練!!!天阿, 這飯店也太照顧我了吧!!只可惜我除了想跑個步以外, 並不想做任何重訓. 真是浪費了阿!!!

最後要跟大家提醒的是這間飯店離機場非常近, 通常也就代表離Downtown市區很遠. 是的, 雖然離Downtown大約只有12 miles的距離(20km)但白天到傍晚的塞車一定是個40分鐘跑不掉的車程. 好在Downtown沒甚麼好玩的 (大家要是真的去了,就不用浪費時間想找景點了). 可惜Radisson附近也很荒涼,所以我都在飯店裡吃晚餐. 以一頓晚餐來說, 大約介於700-1000盧幣. 大約都在美金15元以上. 以印度的生活水準來看, 飯店吃飯可以算是搶劫了!好在食物還不錯吃. 最便宜的Pizza 500 ruppes左右就能搞定, 對於怕吃不慣印度菜的朋友們. 真是不用擔心了!! 

總之, 不要忘記訂飯店前, 順便看一下飯店網站有沒有更好的deal再決定. 常常你都會發現意想不到的好康!!

If it weren't because I had to come to Chennai in Indiafor work, i'd probably never visit this city in my whole life. To be honest, there is not much to see in Chennai since it was never a popular tourisy city. Anyway, I decided to stay at Radisson Blu Hotel after I did my research on this hotel and it seems it's a place I can give it a try!

So here's the tips. Join the hotel member club if you like the hotel and convince that you'll want to stay at their hotels sometime in the future again. These chained hotels reward their loyal customers by sometimes offering great deals that most of travel booking websites can't compete. It is important to check out the hotel website for best deals!

I joined Radisson's club many years ago and this membership somehow reminds me to check their website for promotoins. It is not suprising to see that they did have a good promotion deal at the time i planned to make resertation. The deal was an complimentary upgrade for club members and free wifi and free daily breakfast. The price is not really cheaper than Expedia or other major booking websites but you get the extras if you book directly with the hotel.

Anyway, I want to share my expereince with Hotel Radisson Blu Chennai with all of you here. I'd say this is the best radisson I've ever stayed. Perhaps it's because I was in India where money really talks or it's just how they treat cusomters here. It didn't take me too long to find out the hotel shuttle driver after I left the airport. I was already given my room key when I was still on the shuttle. The security system at the hotel was tight which requires every single person to walk through the scanning door and have personal belongs been checked out by the X-ray machine.

The hotel room was decorated with old english style with hardwood floor!!!The hotel has a very elegent, upscale tone which is so adorable that you will probably fall in love with the hotel at the first sight. I had a really great time staying at this hotel despite I felt the humidity level in my room was a bit too high. Still, this is a hotel that I really have nothing to complain about. The staff were nice (especially Mr. Kumaresan at travel desk). One day I wanted to check out the fitness center and the miniute i walked in, a super buff guy followed me and I realized he's a personal trainer on-site! Are you kidding me? They have a personal trainer at the fitness center just in case you need him!!

I know this hotel sounds great but there's one thing I do need to point out to you. The hotel is located very close to the airport, meaning very far (40+ mins) from downtown chennai. There's nearly nothing to check out in the neighborhood around the hotel and don't think you can get a taxi and hop around the city at night. The traffic is terirble and it's not easy to spot a taxi at night in the neighborhood. You'll end up dining at the hotel. We all know hotel food is never cheap. A dinner is about 700-1000 rupees. That's about USD 15-20. Considering the living standard in Chennai is not high, I figure out a USD 15 dinner is actually quite expensive. Food is delicous tho, especially dinner. Breakfast is buffet style with good amount of food. If you stay in Businss class (I booked deluxe room and was upgraded to business class), you should get drink coupons where you can redeem at any restaruant in the hotel. I used my coupon to get my first bottle of Kingfisher!

I typed this draft at the Radisson Club room where I was offered free drinks and food. Join the hote club, you'll see perks!