Hotel Red Fox by Lemontree Hyderabad
I got to stay for 5 nights at Hotel Red Fox by Lemon Tree in Hyderabad’s Hi Tech City. This post shares my experience, pros, cons & review.
Red Fox hotel is a boutique hotel from Lemon Tree brand. It is located in same building, where one portion is Lemon Tree branding and another portion is Red Fox.
Red Fox is the cheaper option compared to Lemon Tree. While Lemon Tree rooms in Hyderabad’s Hi Tech City costs over 6100 INR per day (for Room & Breakfast option, including taxes), Red Fox Room with breakfast costs a few hundred less at 5850 INR per night with taxes (Rates as shown on official website for the date I had checked- might vary from time to time and there could be some offers/different rates on travel sites like MMT and Booking.com)
The difference in price is not so great. Just about 200-300 INR. Not sure why Lemontree management felt it is wise to run two separate brands instead of operating one large hotels. If there was 30-40% difference in pricing we could have said Red Fox is the budget version, Lemon Tree is premium. Maybe they wanted a hotel that sounds chick and attracts youngsters.
Few other reasons for dual branding could be this
Red Fox, as the name suggests has red inserts force fitted everywhere- bathroom tiles, windows, tables etc. And several graphics related to fox and its cleverness and cunningness are depicted all over.
Rooms: Room was spacious enough. But shower area was too small and writing table was too small as well.
If Lemon Tree management are targeting business travelers Red Fox hotel should offer some bigger table, some notepad & pen, better WiFi and a more comfortable chair so that people can take some office calls/do work comfortably from the room. Only 1 power socket near writing table- not enough these days- need at least 2-3 - one for laptop, another for mobile, maybe one more for powerbank etc. I could do all of these without much issues, but these things could be slightly better- as I have seen hotels charging 5000-6000 INR a night offer much better amenities.
Breakfast:
Breakfast was excellent. But breakfast is NOT standard with room rate. The cheapest room sold doesn’t include complete breakfast. So either plan to have it outside or select the next option where room + breakfast is included.
5660 for room without breakfast vs 5850 for room with breakfast is a difference of about 200 INR. The breakfast is definitely worth 200 INR, so go for the breakfast option.
Facilities
There are no swimming pools
-Gym: yes, decent, bare minimum equipments
-Lobby area: Not too spacious (Lemon Tree has much bigger lobby/reception area
-Lunch/Dinner option: Had to scan the menu and check- I didn’t find any decent south Indian veg options so I had my food outside. Pricing is like 250-300 INR for most items (like noodles etc) You can check for yourself or try Lemontree or have it outside- there are many restaurants within 200 meters of Red Fox hotel
Key for my rooms were old school- one metal key, one access card for lift, one more for power- all these could be handled via one RFID card. When I tweeted this hotel social media called me and said they are in the process of replacing the lock system with modern tech.
Laundry: Decent pricing
WiFi: OK. Didn’t connect first time I tried- I was asked to try after 15 minutes. Worked after that. Not so fast but enough for most regular usage
Bathroom items are chargeable- if you use their tooth brush and paste, it will cost you 40 INR+ tax. Better buy outside whatever you need.
2 liter drinking water complementary per day
There was no locker, no iron
The view: I had view of the metro line and fuel station. I got room in 3rd floor. Few of my colleagues had no good view. Two sides of the hotel building are taken by Lemon Tree so Red fox can offer view on only 2 other sides. So getting good view would need bit of a luck.
Connectivity:
Raidurg Metro is right next to Red Fox hotel, buses are available to Gachibowli and other destinations. So no need to depend too much on taxi if you are comfortable with public transport.
Airport ride may take 45 mins to an hour depending on traffic. I had to pay 1550 INR from HYD airport to reach the Red Fox Hotel using the airport pre-paid taxi. Buses are also available from Airport towards Hi Tech city but you will have to drag your bag for a km or so from the bus stop.
Summary of my review of Red Fox Hotel, Hi Tech City, Hyderabad
Good things:
Similar: FabHotel M hotel, Madhapur * Novotel Hyderabad airport *
Redfox by lemontree @LemonTreeHotels is pretty old school... one key for the door, one card for lift access, one card for power inside the room... pic.twitter.com/YjmzMjPliw
— Shrinidhi Hande (@enidhi) May 10, 2023
Red Fox is the cheaper option compared to Lemon Tree. While Lemon Tree rooms in Hyderabad’s Hi Tech City costs over 6100 INR per day (for Room & Breakfast option, including taxes), Red Fox Room with breakfast costs a few hundred less at 5850 INR per night with taxes (Rates as shown on official website for the date I had checked- might vary from time to time and there could be some offers/different rates on travel sites like MMT and Booking.com)
The difference in price is not so great. Just about 200-300 INR. Not sure why Lemontree management felt it is wise to run two separate brands instead of operating one large hotels. If there was 30-40% difference in pricing we could have said Red Fox is the budget version, Lemon Tree is premium. Maybe they wanted a hotel that sounds chick and attracts youngsters.
Few other reasons for dual branding could be this
- Assuming Red Fox hotel rooms are smaller compared to lemontree, even though per room charges are less, they can have more number of rooms under Red Fox in same or smaller space and make same amount of money or even more (like 267 Rooms in Lemon Tree at 6000 per night is 16 lakh per day, RedFox has 121 rooms that could make about 7 lakh per day)
- Lemon tree is 4 star and Red Fox is 3 star. When lots of employees of a company are traveling - say for a conference, senior people can stay in Lemon Tree while juniors can be put up in Red Fox- Seniors will feel good.
- Lower starting price also increases chance of a hotel being noticed by customers while searching online, as most customers sort by price and won't even look at hotel options beyond their budget. So having a few rooms listed at lower price is better for marketing
Red Fox, as the name suggests has red inserts force fitted everywhere- bathroom tiles, windows, tables etc. And several graphics related to fox and its cleverness and cunningness are depicted all over.
Rooms: Room was spacious enough. But shower area was too small and writing table was too small as well.
If Lemon Tree management are targeting business travelers Red Fox hotel should offer some bigger table, some notepad & pen, better WiFi and a more comfortable chair so that people can take some office calls/do work comfortably from the room. Only 1 power socket near writing table- not enough these days- need at least 2-3 - one for laptop, another for mobile, maybe one more for powerbank etc. I could do all of these without much issues, but these things could be slightly better- as I have seen hotels charging 5000-6000 INR a night offer much better amenities.
Breakfast:
Advantage of going early to buffet breakfast... you can scoop out all the cashews and grapes from the vessels...
— Shrinidhi Hande (@enidhi) May 11, 2023
Sorry other guests... you enjoy some more sleep, I will enjoy the cashews... pic.twitter.com/TRIe8XjbW3
Early morning life lessons at red fox hotel... pic.twitter.com/2UqPVFF0yk
— Shrinidhi Hande (@enidhi) May 10, 2023
Breakfast was excellent. But breakfast is NOT standard with room rate. The cheapest room sold doesn’t include complete breakfast. So either plan to have it outside or select the next option where room + breakfast is included.
5660 for room without breakfast vs 5850 for room with breakfast is a difference of about 200 INR. The breakfast is definitely worth 200 INR, so go for the breakfast option.
Facilities
There are no swimming pools
-Gym: yes, decent, bare minimum equipments
-Lobby area: Not too spacious (Lemon Tree has much bigger lobby/reception area
-Lunch/Dinner option: Had to scan the menu and check- I didn’t find any decent south Indian veg options so I had my food outside. Pricing is like 250-300 INR for most items (like noodles etc) You can check for yourself or try Lemontree or have it outside- there are many restaurants within 200 meters of Red Fox hotel
Key for my rooms were old school- one metal key, one access card for lift, one more for power- all these could be handled via one RFID card. When I tweeted this hotel social media called me and said they are in the process of replacing the lock system with modern tech.
Laundry: Decent pricing
WiFi: OK. Didn’t connect first time I tried- I was asked to try after 15 minutes. Worked after that. Not so fast but enough for most regular usage
Bathroom items are chargeable- if you use their tooth brush and paste, it will cost you 40 INR+ tax. Better buy outside whatever you need.
2 liter drinking water complementary per day
There was no locker, no iron
The view: I had view of the metro line and fuel station. I got room in 3rd floor. Few of my colleagues had no good view. Two sides of the hotel building are taken by Lemon Tree so Red fox can offer view on only 2 other sides. So getting good view would need bit of a luck.
Connectivity:
Raidurg Metro is right next to Red Fox hotel, buses are available to Gachibowli and other destinations. So no need to depend too much on taxi if you are comfortable with public transport.
Airport ride may take 45 mins to an hour depending on traffic. I had to pay 1550 INR from HYD airport to reach the Red Fox Hotel using the airport pre-paid taxi. Buses are also available from Airport towards Hi Tech city but you will have to drag your bag for a km or so from the bus stop.
Summary of my review of Red Fox Hotel, Hi Tech City, Hyderabad
Good things:
- Easy access to public transport, cheaper restaurants around
- Decent rooms with basic facilities
- Good breakfast
- View is fine.
- Give smart card access instead of current 2 card + 1 key setup
- Give 2 or more power sockets and slightly better writing table and chair for business users
- Locker & Iron in room will be nice, at least on demand
- Shower area could have been little more
Very clever hanger design by the hotel... can you guess why it is clever? pic.twitter.com/sSjXddO33k
— Shrinidhi Hande (@enidhi) May 13, 2023
Similar: FabHotel M hotel, Madhapur * Novotel Hyderabad airport *
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