During our first trip to India I was extremely surprised that when we showed up to our hotel for the first time at 5:00 in the morning, not only was there a person behind the desk ready to check us in, but there was at least eight other staff standing around with smiles on their faces ready to get us whatever we needed and carry our bags up to our room. In America, when you show up to a hotel during off hours you generally consider yourself lucky if you are able to walk into the hotel and not have to press a bell to get a staff member to help you out. That is not to say that hospitality in America is bad, but just that at hotels here in India, they view warm welcomes a little bit differently.
Also, when I go to a hotel in the US, I consider it to have good hospitality if they offer me free cookies when I check in and greet me with a pleasant good morning when I pass by the counter on my way out in the morning. Although Indian hotels don't generally have fresh cookies waiting for you on your arrival, they do have a fleet of staff there to help you with everything and anything you could need. At first, I thought having this much staff at a hotel was a bit excessive; especially since it seemed like there was always four or five people who seemed to be just standing around. But I guess in a country with 1.2 billion people, having that many staff is not excessive, but simply the hotel businesses way of helping give as many of these people a job as they can.
As mentioned in the last post, before Shruthi left to visit her grandparents, she made sure that the hotel staff new that I was not feeling well and that they should check up on me. I assumed they would give me a call in the evening and if I was feeling fine, that would be the end of it. I was surprised to learn that it was not just one person who had been assigned to check up on me, but at least 5 different people. Even today, after most of them knew I was feeling better, I got two visits to the door, a phone call from the front desk asking if they could bring anything up to me, and a personal chat with the chef who had made me some bland food yesterday asking if he could make me anything specific for breakfast. I'm telling you, the people here are great and really want to make sure your stay is as pleasant as possible.
Later in the day, Shruthi and I went down stairs to the lobby to have a snack and watch as lots of extravagantly dressed people filed into the hotel for a wedding. While we sat in the crowded lobby, the chef came up to us again and asked how I was feeling and if he could get us anything. We both had eaten dinner earlier, so we told him no thank you and decided to just enjoy some of the free snacks they put out on the table. Not even ten minutes later, the chef was back at our table holding a delicious looking plate of sundried tomato and parmesean stuffed chicken with pesto. He put it down on the table and mentioned something about Christmas and holiday spirit, and left us to enjoy this delicious snack (on the house).
Although I had no idea what people meant when they talked about Indian hospitality before I came here, I have really enjoyed interacting with all the staff and having at least five people wish me a good morning [or afternoon or night] and offer to help me with anything I need anytime I walk through the lobby.
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