Very Good Mid-price Hotel in Bombay(Mumbai) and other India Hotel/Accommodation Reviews

This was one of the more pleasant hotels that I stayed while traveling through India. The West End is in a reasonably good location 5 kilometres from the Main Train Station and not too far from the Crawford Market. The hotel has a nice sunny breakfast room/restaurant and a decent bar(not too many of those in India). Not only that but of all the establishments that I stayed in while in India, this one had the best plumbing.

Unique Qualities: There is a colonial feel to this place. This is especially so when you go beyond the reception desk and see the old courtyard.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Address: 45 New Marines Line, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400 020
Directions: Across the street from the Mumbai Hospital.

The Hilltop Palace was ultimately one of the best hotels that I stayed in while traveling to India. The rooms are large, air conditioned and have cable TV. The is a great breakfast room with fantastic views of Udaipurs lakes. The hotel also has a fine pool for swimming(it was rather hot while I was there so you may want to) and a very good bar which can be a rarity in India. The one downside was the chipmunk size lizard that I found on the vanity in my washroom one morning.
The Hilltop was somewhat above my budget while I was traveling through India but I decided to stay there because I felt that it would be best to book a decent room since I would arrive in Udaipur late at night. Therefore I would not probably recommend this hotel if you are traveling on a tight budget. However since there were a large number of American businessmen here with their families, I could say that this is the ideal place to stay if you are among that sort of crowd. It is rather upscale

Unique Qualities: Great pool and pleasant bar. As the name suggests the Hilltop sits on a hill in a wealthy neighborhood in Udaipur. Some rooms have stunning views but you will pay extra for this.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: 0294/432245
Directions: Ambavgarh, three kilometers north of the old town of Udaipur.

Adarsh Niwas is not anything special other than it is very clean, reasonable priced and in a great location. What makes the hotel more attractive is that it is the home of one of the best restaurants, The Kalinga, in Jodhpur.
Furthermore there is a decent bar, cable TV and the staff was helpful. If there is a downside here, it is that the rooms could use some cosmetic maintenance with cracked walls and such.

Unique Qualities: The Adarsh Niwas is a great place to stay for location. There are several good restaurants in the area and it is virtually across the street from the Railway station. Also private bus, like the ones I road in on, stop nearby.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Directions: Very near the Railway startion.
Website: www.hotelfinderindia.com

The Narayan Niwas Palace was the most overpriced hotel that I stayed in India. It looks great from outside but don't judge a book by its cover. For top rupee by Indian standards I got a very plain room with weak plumbing and only moderately clean. Oddly enough it did not even have a TV. Not that I travelled to India to watch television but for 1100Rs I expect a TV.

Unique Qualities: Well someone in the hotel did offer me a hooker but I declined. Actually there are other forms of local entertainment offered by the hotel in the way of folk music and dance. The restaurant was good and affordable. The courtyard bar was a good place to suck back a Kingfisher in the sun after touring Jaisalmer. There is a pool but it is surprisingly gloomy.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Directions: Northwest of the fort by 2km.
Website: www.narayanniwas.com

When I arrived in Pushkar I found myself under budget so I thought time for a little luxury. So I sot out one of the nicer hotels in town to see if they had any rooms. I lucked out at the Pushkar Palace where I was put up in one of the more pleasant rooms that I stayed in, in all of India. Big fluffy bed, 24 hours hot water and great view of the lake.
Actually the quality of the rooms vary greatly here. Some are mere holes in the wall for a cheap price of 200 rupees. Mine was quite lovely at 1150 rupees ($30.00US). They all are well kept and the location is great.
The staff here did a great job in getting me a room in an equally nice hotel in Kota and arranged a car and driver to that city.

Unique Qualities: The hotel is very peaceful and has a great courtyard garden where you can relax, drink tea and have a snack. There is also a very nice breakfast room. The palace used to belong to a maharaja and has a very upscale and old world feel to it.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$20-40  » Currency Converter
Phone: 0145/772001 or 72401
Directions: East side of the lake.
Website: hppalace@datainfosys.net

This is a relatively new establishment with extremely helpful management. The rooms (there are just ten) are spotlessly clean and modern. Baths are heated with a hot water tank located in your washroom. Excellent plumming for India. I highly recommend this hotel. It was value for my rupee the best place I stayed in throughout my trip to India.
A strange thing happened while I stayed here. At 7am on the first two mornings I stayed here, I was awakened by a group of people singing. After the second time I asked the owner more out of curiosity than a complaint, what was up with the singing. He seemed embarrassed by my inquiry and told me that it would not happen again. On my third morning at the hotel there was no singing. I realized afterward that the singing was the family who owned the hotel conducting somekind of religious service. If I had been aware of that initially I probably would not have mentioned anything.

Unique Qualities: The owner of the Palkiyi Haveli in Kota will arrange for tours that you can take throughout this underrated and largely overlooked region of Rajasthan.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$20-40  » Currency Converter
Address: Kota, Rajasthan
Directions: Near the City Palace(the only hotel in this district)
Website: IndiahotelsandResorts.com

This was a relatively stress free place to stay for a couple of nights. The rooms are not particularly decorative but they were clean and had hot water. The hotel had a restaurant with decent food. It was also a great place to meet other travelers.

Unique Qualities: I found this hotel to be very helpful in my quest to see a tiger at Ranthambhore. Firstly, I needed to get to a bank to cash some traveler cheques and these people actually drove me all the way to the bank. Secondly they made all the arrangements for my safaris into the park.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 322 001
Address: Ranthambhore Road Sawai Madhopur
Directions: 8km from Ramthambhore NP

I accompanied a Dutch couple that I met in Sawi Madhopur to this hotel and we were all quite pleased. The rooms are quite large for the price. Also Arya Niwas seems to be popular with Western families coming down from New Delhi. The hotel is not that far from the train station. It staff was quite helpful and assisted me in planning daytrips around the Jaipur region and with getting bus tickets. Prices for a room very according to whether you have a TV or AC in your room. They start at 400R to 800R. I paid 600R for my room.

Unique Qualities: The hotel has a large garden compound where you can sit and have tea. The Chitra Cafeteria is very affordable and quite good, serving local cuisine. There is also a book exchange and reading room where there is also a common TV if you have catch up on world events.
The hotel is located relatively close to the west end of the old town and all the major attractions in Jaipur are within walking distance. The bus station is also nearby.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$20-40  » Currency Converter
Phone: +91 (141) 2372456
Address: Sansar Chandra Road, JAIPUR - 302001
Directions: Behind Amber Towers
Website: www.aryaniwas.com

The Bharatpur Forest Lodge is the only accommodation available within the Kelodeo National Park. It was not my first choice for a place to stay but as the first hotel that I visited was booked up (a rarity during my trip) I decided to check this place out because it was suppose to be swank. It probably was at onetime but I fear that it seems to resting on its laurels somewhat. The rooms were a good size with nice furniture but the TV did not work and the plumbing was suspect. Basically I thought that it was overpriced.
This was one of the noisiest hotels that I have ever stayed at. This was not because of any manmade noise but because of the wildlife especially coyetes fighting amongst themselves.

Unique Qualities: The hotel has a very good restaurant and a small bar where a I shared a beer with an executive VP of Heniken. They also rent out bicycles here which came in very handy.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Address: Bharatpur Road
Directions: About 2km from the park entrance

I was very fortunate when I stayed in this hotel. As it turned I got quite sick while in Agra and I spent alot of time in the room. Thankfully they had satillite TV. Not that you have come all the way to India to watch television but when you holed up in a room for a day you need the company. As for the hotel itself, the Amar is rather smart. The rooms were very large, clean and quite modern. The hotel had a large breakfast room and a bar which I used when I emerged from my room for air. The service here was really helpful as I arranged couple of taxi tours from here. My one problem with the Hotel Amar is that it lacked something when it comes to character. As you can see from this photograph, it is very much a cement blocklike structure

Unique Qualities: The hotel had a pool which for me was a rarity in India. The walk here to the Taj takes about 10 minutes. There are a few good restaurants nearby including the Pizza Hut if you had enough of Indian food like I did at this point in my journey.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: +91-562-2330299
Address: Tourist Complex Area, Fatehabad Road
Directions: 1 kilometer south of the Taj Mahal