I would say don’t get me started on hotels India. One thing that I dread about traveling is finding a reasonable hotel. In my definition it means a clean place that is reasonably priced. Is that too much to ask for? I wish I did just two trips in a year, the 2 night 3 days type. Maybe, just maybe, then I would forget my middle class upbringing and stay in hotels priced at 14000 rupees per night. But there is not even a remote chance of that. I would rather travel twice a month than twice a year! And I draw an absolute limit at 2500 rupees per night. Try finding cheap hotels in Delhi or any other city at that rate and you will realize what a struggle it becomes. I know we can find hotels at dirt cheap prices but then they turn out to be dirty too, often in unsafe areas as well.
Last time when I was searching for hotels in Bhuj I became so frustrated. The lowest room rate I could get was 3500 rupees per night. And I was not at all confident about the hotel. In the end I searched for homestays and I hit a jackpot. From now on unless I know a hotel, I am actually going to search for homestays first! However in a hurry sometimes I end up staying at higher priced rooms.
I payed 6500 rupees for a tent at Kutch and I was so disappointed by the lack of cleanliness. At what price do you really get a clean room in India? I mean that was a 100 dollar room! At half of that price I had a lovely room in Sri Lanka right at the beach. I have now been to some other parts of the world. I wonder how they manage to keep the hotels reasonably priced and clean! In Cambodia this five star resort has 100 dollar rooms.
I have nothing against high end hotels say like Imperial Hotel Delhi. They charge a high rate and deliver on it. But should I get a clean room only if I am willing to pay a high price. Why is it that we have nothing in the dollar 25 to 50 range that is good? I know there are a few hotels which will fall in the 25-50 dollar category. But finding them is such a task!
What is your definition of a good hotel? How do you go about finding them? Do you think that we have overpriced Indian hotels?
Added to my GK (general knowledge) 🙂 I have no much experience of traveling for 2-3days. I am a simple person and for me, a good hotel is about cleanliness, hot water for bathing and homely service. I would not stay at hotel except for night. So, nothing else matters for me 🙂
Regards,
Sindhu
Tantu
The Arts & Me
I am not fully agreed with you on this. Though at some places you will find hotels charging premium prices because either they are popular or location is good but as far as my experience is concerned, one can get a decent hotel at 2000 bucks/day in most of the places. But I have not traveled as extensively as you have, so may be didn’t face any problem.
Generally, I called at 3,4 hotels to enquire about the tariff and the availability of room which gives me the idea about the season or rush. Then I book it offline only after visiting the place and bargaining is also possible. I guess online approach is little expensive but it can give you a sense of peace. Directly depends upon your style.
For me a good hotel is the one with clean room and toilet in a decent (non shady) location. Do not care whether there is a TV or not!!
In locations like Chattisgarh, I could easily find rooms < 2k but find it difficult in well known destinations.
Most of time i Travel by Motorcycle and my budget strictly is 500 Rs per night. Hotel is just for Crashing for night and that’s max i think i will ever pay, maybe uptill i remain a bachelor 😉
Also i make a point to first check the room and then bargain for a better deal. i am always ready to walk out if not enough bargain is given.have travelled to Agra/Shimla/Haridwar/Bageshwar and quite other places.
is there a resource where we can have list of all cheap hotels available in a particular area?
I am a very bad traveler with absolutely no idea about hotel room rates and stuff…I leave it to elders or to my husband.. I like to enjoy that is all..:)
I am a very bad traveler with absolutely no idea about hotel room rates and stuff…I leave it to elders or to my husband.. I like to enjoy that is all..:)
Informative post Mridula..
Both hotels and flights are overcharged in India. It is cheaper and better to go on a vacation in Thailand or Bali than to go and stay in a hotel of same standard in Goa…
I absolutely agree. Not only the hotels are expensive, the services are substandard too. Hotels are too much dependent on outbound customers and business customers. Major reforms are needed in the industry
Then what about budget travellers like me… I don’t feel like spending more than 500 per night!…
This time in Bhuj I got a good deal though… not so good room but had a discount coupon from Yatra… so eventually paid only 800 odd for 3 nights…
Very aptly said Mridula. A good hotel according to me and my wife are the ones that provide a clean room, bathroom and beds (with atleast washed linen). I have paid big amounts in Mumbai to end up in bug infested beds and those are called “Star” hotels.
I have always believe word of mouth (word of blogs 🙂 when it comes to determining cheap and best home stays. We only stay at hotels if we can’t find homestays.
Posting on your site after a very long gap. I have stayed in US $90-$125 per night hotels in various Indian cities. Most of these hotels are at par with Motel 6 in the US, which usually costs less than $50 per night. As far as hotel quality and prices are concerned, Southeast Asian countries are budget-traveler friendly. I have never paid more than $70-80 for hotels that were 5* deluxe (according to Indian definition and standards). I have been to Central and South American countries, and they too have reasonably priced excellent hotels. Recently, I made a 14 days trip to Argentina and stayed in good hotels in good neighborhoods, but never paid more than US $70-110.
Unfortunately, India does not have good middle-range hotels. My biggest gripe with Indian hotels (in fact, entire service industry) is their utter lack of customer service – they just do not care.
– Atul.
Agree with you Mridula. I too have often faced this challenge, more so because its only these fancy over-priced hotels are the ones that have the best reviews online 🙁
However, I guess I have smartened up over the years, often calling them up directly to negotiate or if possible, taking the chance of waiting till the last minute to land myself a last minute deal.
This definitely does not address the problem, but is a possible workaround 🙂