Pearl Continental Hotel Muzaffarabad
Following are the good/bad points of this hotel (According to Mar/Apr 2011):
. Rooms: as far as room facilities go, this is definitely as good as any decent 4+ star hotel - comfortable, well furnished, cozy rooms. The charges are quite good too, with the most expensive room being about 11K per night. Much much better than PC Bhurban, which is quite horrible IMHO
Food: I never had the lunch but dinner was quite passable. Hi-tea is great since they offer most Pakistani snacky items like fresh dahi bhallay, jalebi and pastries, cakes etc. The charges are quite low, I remember about 350+tax and the hi-tea runs from about 12 to 6. There is one main restaurant with a huge glass view of the valley and the view of 3 layers of mountain ranges and this is beautiful.
Recreation: There is a small games room with billiards etc. There is a lawn in front where you can relax - there is no point in going into the city though, since it's in pretty bad shape
Weather: it is usually warm during the summers, not the Murree/Nathia Gali type of weather
This place is recommended if you are on honeymoon or are a couple and plan to stay only 2-3 days here. The day/night views of the valley are amazing. The Neelum river (which was brown in March 2011 incidentally and not blue/green) and the layers of alternate green/dry/snow-covered mountain make this a magical place. You are on a hilltop and the whole Muzafarrabad city is on hills and lights up during the night (atleast those parts w/o loadshedding/blackouts). And there are very few of those horribly cloying couples you see in PC Bhurban so that's a relief.
Tip: Get a PC membership card, which costs around 15K(in 2011). This gives you a free room, 50% off food for 2 and 70% discounts. Check beforehand if this is applicable for this place too, because if yes, then this is one of the best value-for-money deals I have seen.
They will ask whether you want a valley view or river view room - try and get one of the very few rooms that are on the corner and offer both.. otherwise, pretty much every room has views of both the valley and river. IIRC room rates change based on which floor you are on. Since the hotel is on a hilltop, this shouldn't matter much
Review by
samiujan
Senior Reviewer
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Rate is double standard room is 191US $ (Rs 17380)
