Warning for Foreign Tourists: When we first arrived at the hotel at about 3pm we were informed that we would not be allowed to leave the hotel without paying for a tour guide, and organising armed police security. This could not happen until the following morning so we could not leave the hotel before then. There was no communication from the hotel regarding this before we arrived. The tour would only last for four hours, and so as the hotel explained to us when we arrived, this would be the only time we could leave the hotel in Multan throughout our 3 night stay. While we had read about mandatory police security in Multan before our visit and which we were very happy to accept, if we had known about the additional need for a compulsary tour guide we would not have come to Multan, as this was very restrictive. I still don't know if the need for a tour guide alongside police is a Multan wide policy, as the hotel stated to us, or just the hotels own interpretation of the local policy, as communication from the hotel on this was very unclear and contradictory, and it was missing from their own guidance. From what I can gather other hotels in Multan may have a less strict interpretation of the local policy.
Pros
Breakfast was excellent, good amenities (bottled water, toothbrushes, razors) available in the room, security, waiting staff and cleaning staff were all exceptionally kind and welcoming, as were the vast, vast majority of Multan people we met. Hot water in the showers.
Cons
Alongside the issue with needing to hire a tour guide, there was wider issues with the hotel itself, including the hotel cancelling two nights of our booking without informing us, and exceptionally poor communication and professionalism from reception staff, such as frequently contradicting themselves, for example telling us the tour would last for seven hours despite it being for four hours. Throughout our stay reception staff were very passive aggressive and made us feel that we were an inconvenience they didn't want to have to deal with. The need for security meant we had to wait for nearly two and a half hours for them on our final evening in order to leave the hotel. Our room lacked any large windows and so we had to spend our whole afternoon and evening on the first night in this, as the hotel lacks common lounge areas or outdoor space. It has been my only negative experience of a hotel throughout our two weeks in Pakistan, including numerous other cities that require security escorts. Please avoid this hotel.