GUEST RELATION

That whiff of mogra around your room; that hot bath scented with rose petals; the impossible restaurant reservation and that sets the whole world right. Every now and then, you come magical deep tissue massage that across little moments of magic.

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AT YOUR SERVICE

Service need not equal servitude. In hotels across the world, when staff members take pride in their jobs, it shows and leaves a lasting impression on guests, writes Shunali Khullar Shroff

I started composing my one-star hotel review on our second day in Cabo. At an ultra-luxury resort, where every villa came with a butler and private plunge pools overlooking the Sea of Cortez, every request was met with studied indifference. Nobody seemed invested in making our stay memorable. We kept calling for water. Restaurant booking requests were met with shrugs.

At the award-winning spa, I was informed that guests paid a hundred dollars per head just to access the steam room and sauna-before any treatments. A spa that charges you to enter and then charges you for treatments isn't practising hospitality, it's running a toll booth. The toiletries were top notch, our bed felt like a cloud and we watched whales migrate from our deck, and yet we were left feeling underwhelmed.

Contrast this with my stay at the Aman-i-Khas. We had only just checked into the Ranthambore hotel when my mother, who'd flown in from another city to join me on our brief vacation, came down with a fever.