A Complicated Stay At Shelton’s Rezidor In Peshawar
- Konrad Tillman
- Mar 18
- 3 min read
Intro
Following a decently long drive from Islamabad Airport to Peshawar, I was all seat and ready to check-in to the hotel that I had arranged months in advance.
Shelton’s Rezidor is one of the top hotels in Peshawar, located on University Road right by Domino’s and KFC. At 50 USD per night, it’s also quite a good deal considering the quality of the hotel…
Check-In… Yeah…
Arriving at the hotel, I was more than ready to go to bed. In fact it got to the point where I was ready to pass out from exhaustion. Well, as it would turn out, the hotel had no record of my reservation from hotels.com.
But of course, they made the case that “we cannot accept payments through third parties” to me, even though I saw plenty of other bookings on the screen right in front of me…
Whatever, it’s 50$ and I am way too tired to pay for another hotel, so I just fussed up the extra cash and headed off to my room.
The Rooms
Escorted upstairs by a staff member, it was time to tuck in for the night.
Each of the rooms featured the basic neccesities with a nice bed, a desk for working, a couple of chairs for coffee/chatting, and somewhat of a bathroom. The one thing I will say is that the hot water didn’t seem to work in my room even though I fiddled with it for a quite a while.
Whatever, as I woke up 7 hours later ready for the day ahead to the call of prayer. An okay nights sleep, not the best, but not the worst either.
The Morning
Calling downstairs, I still failed to realize it was Ramadan. Everyone was fasting since the sun had just come up, and no restaurant was open nearby. However, I decided on some coffee which was brought up to my room complementary: I’ll take it.
I will say that minus the late shenanigans, the service at the hotel wasn’t bad at all. They offered free unlimited water, complementary coffee, and the people were friendly. It’s just the check-in process that got to me.
You Need A Military Escort…
Getting ready to head out to the Afghanistan embassy, I had just called my car when the front desk told me to wait. Apparently, those staying in hotels on University Road need a military escort when leaving the property, even when walking 20 meters to the local shop…
Huh…
Final Thoughts
Look, Shelton’s Rezidor isn’t the worst place to spend a night, especially at 50 USD per night. With decent rooms, a comfortable bed, free coffee, and friendly people, it did the trick. However, I personally wouldn’t stay here again after the whole check-in debacle, and the fact that I cannot walk around freely. Perhaps now I know what it is like to visit North Korea, without actually visiting North Korea…
However, might I add that it also isn't just Shelton's Rezidor where you need a military escort. If you stay at an upper-end hotel, they are mandated to report it to the police, and the police provide the escort.
Comments