Hotel West End Karwar town- Review

As I was scouting for a stay option in Karwar, I considered a few places

Jungle Lodges Devbagh Beach Resort: Very popular one, but costs an insane 7000 INR + per person per night. Includes food and few activities but still spending 14-15k for a night for 2 people didn't make sense. This amount includes all meals and a boat ride which is worth 1500-2000 Rs per person if done by private boat operators. You may get these rooms for lot less on weekdays or at about 10k on weekend if you are lucky, but I was seeing higher price when I checked. So decided not to bother.

Next option was Sterling Resort. A luxury option, would have costed about 4500 INR for two people per night inclusive of breakfast and taxes. But a few things turned me off- Sterling Karwar is NOT a resort with independent villas or cottages. Sterling Karwar is a single vertical building, so I would call it as a hotel. Swimming pool was closed due to Govt orders and the property is 5 kms away from city. Some of the rooms offered river view while other rooms offered highway view. After much deliberation, I decided to explore cheaper options.

There were a few cheaper options at around 1500 per night, but I wanted safe parking for the car and some decent rooms. As I was checking, West End Karwar came to my attention. I seemed right- about 2000 Rs per night per room, right inside the city and has all essential basic facilities.

But I decided not to book in advance, just walk in and take my chances.

Arrived at 10 AM on Saturday. Staff quoted same price as shown online- about 2000 Rs rent + tax, taking total to about 2250. I asked for some discount on the grounds that they don't have to pay 20% commission to online platforms. Staff spoke to his manager and agreed to give 10% discount. So I got the room for INR 2016 with breakfast.

Hotel Westend Karwar is made out of an apartment complex. Each floor has large sitting area - hall, kitchen etc and a few rooms. Rooms are small but the large living area is very suitable to sit and relax or for kids to play. I opted for a room that had a balcony which gave visibility into pool and parking area.

Pool was closed for maintenance (I think Govt has banned usage of pools due to covid)

Rooms were standard. AC was working, TV was not working but I said I don't need it. Hot water was not coming when we wanted, had to ask the staff for help. I think they have a solar heater which is ineffective during monsoon and electric geyser costs money (power bill) so they try to avoid switching it on. Given that hotels are slowly opening up for business after lockdown, financially stressed owners are cutting down on regular maintenance so guests will have to bear some inconvenience I guess. As a customer I may be little upset I didn't get full bang for my money, but I understand from hotel owner's point of few. I hope normal maintenance and guest service will resume soon as business picks up

A mini fridge, kettle etc were there. We got good sleep.

Breakfast was more western. There were no veg items. Westend Karwar Hotel had Russian welcome message, Moscow time shown in a clock- clearly indicates who are their target customers.

 Upon asking a set of aloo paratha were made for us. This + bread toast and some fruits were our breakfast.

As we were checking out another Indian family was also complaining breakfast was not good and they would only pay half.

Westend Karwar have an innova- they can possibly offer pickup from Goa, Mangalore airport or nearby railway station for a fee. Parking space is enough for 6-7 cars.

WiFi was good at reception, poor inside the room. Airtel network had decent speed in room but once I tethered to connect my laptop, speed was hopeless. It might be difficult to take office calls from hotel room unless you have a better network.

Because Westend Karwar was right inside the city, we could go for a walk in the city, have our dinner outside, visit few temples, do some shopping and come back at leisure without having to take out the car. There is SBI ATM, More Supermarket, Fast food centers, tender coconut, Panipuri stall and all other things within walking distance from Westend Karwar. Beach is a about a km away. Rock Garden is about 2 kms away. At sterling it would have involved 10-12 km driving.

The West End Karwar has their own website https://www.hotelwestendkarwar.com/ but very rudimentary I would say. This hotel should not be confused with Taj Group's Westend hotels. 

Overall Westend Karwar is a decent hotel to stay while visiting Karwar. You can consider it if you are not keen to spend 2-3 times more on Sterling or JLR. After long time I got to have a hotel stay- it was a nice break.