ITC Hotels identify themselves as luxury personified. The chain of hotels is especially known for its quality food and services. When ITC Narmada was inaugurated in Ahmedabad in August 2022–Amdavadis were looking forward to getting the luxury experience but it seems like people are disappointed especially with the food and services of the newly-opened hotel.
Senior advocate at Gujarat High Court Percy Kavina told Vibes of India that “We tried to book a reservation at their restaurant ‘The Pavilion’ thrice but no luck. We enquired about walk-in guests and when they agreed we visited it they refused us, they didn’t even allow us to look around. Surprisingly, only two tables were booked and the rest were vacant but still, they denied us entry. There seems to be some systematic problem at ITC Narmada. When we go for fine dining we expect elegance and grace in their service but this was missing at the hotel.”
Gujarat’s local touches extend to the table at Adalaj Pavilion. It includes breakfast staples like pancakes and eggs with traditional favourites such as dhokla, jalebi, thepla and fafda.
He went on to social media and wrote: “Their consistent insistence on pushing away paying customers is inexplicable… We went there at 7.30 pm.. There were only two tables occupied in The Pavilion, AND THEY REFUSED US. Did not even allow us to look…My dear Amdavadis.. Pl don’t go there… They already have tooooooo many patrons.”
“After I penned down my experience at ITC Narmada, Himanshu Batra, Resident Manager of ITC Narmada gave me a call and apologised for the incident. He was polite and he proactive in responding.” adds Kavina.
When Vibes of India contacted the resident manager Batra, he refused to comment on this matter.
This hotel is ITC’s 12th property in Gujarat. The 5,900 sq ft suite bearing Narmada River’s name claimed to raise the bar for luxury living with its dining room, living room, walk-in closet, and bathroom.
It is not just Kavina, other guests have similar experiences at ITC Narmada. Brijesh Shah, another guest at ITC Narmada complained that when they hosted a birthday party at the hotel they found the staff untrained and they were also not satisfied with the quality of the food. “We were served half-cooked rotis and stale dal. I think even the roadside dhaba serves better food than ITC Narmada. When I asked a waiter to replace the rotis, the reply was impolite. He asked me to bring fresh rotis only after they are finished.”
Advocate Rohan Majumdar said, “Under the pretext of serving Peshawari “strictly”, they won’t serve you anything beyond their three-line menu card.”
Senior Vitreoretinal consultant of Ahmedabad Manish Nagpal wrote, “I keep hearing this all the time. In fact, a few times when we called to book they always say it’s full…this is a mystery to me.”
Another Ahmedabad resident, Sanjay Shah also faced similar issues. He wrote, “I went there after booking the table and more than half of the restaurant was empty–despite this, they were refusing walk-in guests. This is weird.”
