An 'experience'
The Fairlawn arranged to have a car pick us up from the Airport - it didn't turn up (3am on Sunday morning). When we did arrive in our own taxi, they put us in a room directly off the dining room with no windows and ceiling fan noisy enough to be heard in Darjeeling. After much complaining and bribing the night manager moved us to another room - still off the open, ground floor dining area but at least with a small window (albeit covered in zinc security mesh). The bathrooms are best described as functional, not dirty but well past their original intended period of use. Hot water is promised at all times but the definition of hot and 'all-times' is debateable.
The full english breakfast (which I only eat on the third day after the manager asked why we didn't like the food and attend breakfast) consisted of 3 cold french fries, a mass of soggy scrambled egg which tasted slightly bad and (no exageration here) 1 square inch of 'bacon' (seriously I should have taken a picture of it!). The accompanying melon slice was dried out. The toast was ok and swiftly consumed, he he.
The hotel is on Sudder Street which means you can't go ten yards without being offered a taxi or a 'good' hash deal. One morning we were woken at around 7am by a Hare Krishna procession banging drums and clapping their hands - normally I'd enjoy this but the barking dogs had kept me awake until 2:30am.
Two german girls who had been there a few nights were told that despite the confirmation that, because of a mix-up, they didn't really have a room for them and they would have to leave!
Despite all this, though I just can't bring myself to dislike the Fairlawn.
It has an undeniable charm, the decor and ambience is like walking through your maiden great-aunt's house. Every wall-space is covered with photos and newspapaer clippings - normally of the owners family and reviews hotel. There are cupboards containing trinkets and ornaments from the history of Calcutta and the building. It mustn't have changed much since the Canadians military requisitioned it in the second war.
We were pleased to chat to the lady owner - an anglophile Armenian whose family have been there for decades. A very charismatic old lady who commanded the staff with a flick of her hand from her special chair on the terrace, whilst attended in the background by her small,obedient Indian maid.
To be fare, after a couple of nights, they moved us to the 'best room in the place, darling' (according to the Matriarch.) The terrace was a pleasant respite from Crazy Kolkatta, serving great tea and nice cold beer - a seamingly rare oasis in this city. People come to the terrace for a quiet break and in the afternoon, there's always someone interesting to talk to.
Sudder Street is Sudder Street and enough is written it that to complain when you get there seems a bit, well, stupid really. Personally, I liked it - it had a slower pace than the rest of the city and more than enough places to sit, eat and watch a eclectic mix of Indians and Foreigners go about their business.
Unique Quality: The terrace. The sense of history and the uniqueness of the place. It's like being in a rusty old ocean liner, kept afloat by a lot of bailing-out by the staff and by the shear will power and charisma of the captain.
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Fairlawn Hotel
Chowringee Rd, Kolkata
Ambassador Classic taxi in Kolkata
Ambassador Classic taxi in Kolkata
