Mediocre everything
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 12/16/11
I spent 18 nights in the Sonargaon. The first thing it needs is a thorough scrubbing with pine oil. The second thing it needs is genuine variety in the restaurants. Regardless of the billing, all the restaurants are served from the same kitchen and the Italian food has the same seasoning pack s the "Indian" restaurant. The shops are a joke. The concierge could not fill my request for postage stamps. Don't expect a steaming cup of coffee in the morning, or any other time, it is all instant and luke warm. Having said all this, the most important consideration in choosing a hotel in Dhaka is proximity to your daily destination. traffic is murder (literally) and our 15km trip into the country could take between 45 minutes and 2-1/2 hours, depending on day of week and time of day. The room is okay, aside from the persistent mildew smell. Some of the property has been refurbished and some not. Travelers booking through an agent of any sort get second tier rooms. Book direct with the hotel chain and you will get a first tier room. The staff puts on an air of pleasant formality, but I can't say there is any exceptional service or attention to comfort. I am a working stiff and I generally pick a hotel closest to my work site, so I am not a habitual 5 star visitor. However, I do know good food and exceptional service when I encounter it. The food is pedestrian and the service about what you would expect from a US property managed by a family from India.