Guest House Recommendations - Chennai Help!

Sama

HELP!

I received an email from Nivas Guest House in Chennai telling me that due to the father's illness, they are closing the guesthouse.

Those of you who "know" me here, know that I will be in Chennai during September to study yoga, BUT NOW I NEED A PLACE TO STAY!!!! Any suggestions???

The school is located at 4th Cross Street, Ramakrishna Nagar, and I'd like to be within walking distance (and that can be 2 miles or so, I don't mind.....) if possible.

I've already emailed New Woodlands, as that place was also recommended by the school -- everyone wish me luck, I hope they have a room!

__________________
My India, 2005-2008

docgirl2005

Hey yogagal,

Whats your approximate budget? How much you want to spend per day? I know a few options and depending on that I might be able to give some suggestions..

Wanderer22

Hello Yogagal, Am sure you will like New Woodlands. It's almost like a small village with shops, good food, and even its own temple. It's pure vegetarian so expect GOOD south Indian cuisine. Very quiet as the rooms are back away from the street. I assume you mean the place on Dr. Radhakrishnan Road, am looking at my room bill from March and it shows that they have 2 other branches in Chennai and one in Bangalore..... The other Branches in Chennai are at Maubrays Road, and Tarapore Towers on Mount Road. A deluxe A/C double in March was 1352 Rps including luxury tax and service charge.
If you want to splurge on dining try the Copper Chimney, a short walk from New Woodlands. Used a car and driver from one of the Woodlands agencies (the one near the pool) and was very happy with the service.

Wanderer22

Sama

Thanks, Wanderer, but let me get a room there first (fingers and toes are crossed -- I have only just emailed them today) before I get get too excited about that great so. indian food!!

docgirl, I will PM you!

Hey, I'll just crash at Nick's place......

docgirl2005

Yogagal,

I am going to be back later tonight. I got your private message just now... Will definetly write you back then. Take care! Dont worry you will find the perfect place for you

mikewill

New Woodlands is very nice - we stayed there in February and March 2003. Good rooms - I think we paid about 900 Rs for an A/C double room. The restaurant IS excellent and the staff are very pleasant. Booked before we left and wnet back when we returned to Chennai.

There's a Saravana Bhavan just down the road which is good for breakfast and if you go the other way you'll come across the Agri-Horticultural Centre (?) which is a quiet spot away from the traffic. Nice birds and butterflies too. It's not such a long walk over to Marina Beach - lots of joggers in the early morning.

We LIKED Chennai![font=Arial]

Nick-H

The What? Please tell me more! Been down that road so many times and never knew about anything like this!!!!

__________________
.


Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

lonelyaztec

Woodlands on RK Salai.
There is Nilgiris Nest - on RK Salai. ( near Nilgiris super market )
Other places that u can try are Gautam Manor, Hotel Ranjit on Nungam bakkam High road. Shelters in Mylapore.

All are nice and rates are reasonable.

__________________
Aztec

My photoblog

Nick-H

Ram Guest House, Royapettah; Apu Guest House, Mylapore, Hotel Shelter.

---Just to make public my recommendations as per PM.

mikewill

Nick

Sorry for the delay - I had to find my notebook. OK, to find the Agri-Horticultural Society:

Turn right out of the gates of New Woodlands. Go across the big junction (Mowbray's Road, I think) and, staying on the same (north) side head up towards the Cathedral. Keep your eyes open and you'll come across the AHS compound on your right, not long before you reach the Cathedral. There are various plots planted up in the grounds. We spent an hour or so mooching around looking at butterflies and stuff. Even saw a golden-backed woodpecker - not so many in the heart of the city.

Still time to find it before you come back. A cool 32C here today.

Sama

Thank you all for the suggestions (have not heard back from New Woodlands yet about a definite reserve), but other than New Woodlands, are your suggestions close to the street where the school is located?

I have no idea what section of the city the school is located in, and I don't want to stay at place that will be an hour auto. ride away, especially since I will have to be at school by 7 AM!

beach

http://www.yellowpages.co.in/result/...alpha=ho stel

If you are looking for some hostel kind of things. Tell your requirements and see if it is matching with the serices they offer.

__________________
Hampi info

Nick-H

Mikewill; thanks for that, I shall go there when I come back later this year.

Yogagal: I suggest that you buy THIS either from the link site or a local travel shop to help you get your bearings before you go. You will find it very useful when you get there as well. Don't worry that the postage will probably cost you more than the book: it si well worth the total.

Strongly recommend you Telephine New Woodlands. Do not rely on e-mail.

Nick-H

Extract from a PM to Yogagal, in case others find it useful...
She said that Hotel Shelter was 50% more expensive than New Woodlands...

I stayed at New Woodlands once and decided not to do it again. I had a huge "deluxe" air-conditioned room, (Rs1500) which was regularly inhabited by mosquitoes and cockroaches. The room is big, but very plain and certainly not luxurious. I was really pissed off by the insect population... I'm told that they have done a lot of renovation there since then and it is a lot nicer now. On that basis I'd recommend it to others as the general ambience is pleasant, it is on a good location, set back from a big and busy but not too unpleasant main road. There's a luxury hotel (Sarveri) next door, Another hotel, Nilgiris Nest across the road, and Nilgiris supermarket there too. I didn't try their more expensive restaurant, but their 'basic' one is very good value veg S. Indian cooking (The entire hotel is vegetarian). Without going back to check the exact address, it is about 3Km from your school

I've never been inside Hotel Shelter, though I walk past it regularly. It is a much more modern-looking place. It has a branch of i-Way internet cafe inside, and (I've always wondered about this one...) a "16-century restaurant" ---at least that is what the sign says. I think I said before that it was recommended to my by a travel agent as their choice of hotel when here on business.

It is in a much more interesting location. It may be more modern in the inside, but you will feel much more like you are in India on the outside. It is just round the corner from Kapaliswara Temple and the shops of Mylapore, which, to me, is the spiritual heart of Chennai (I think they should have called it Mylai!). It is in a small road with small Indian shops and does not have a supermarket nearby. Sai Baba temple is also two minutes away. Sai Baba temple is always busy and often has a row of beggars outside. Just around the next corner is a particularly smelly canal that breeds most of the area's mossies. Don't worry, you only really smell it when going over the bridge.
It is about 1.5 Km from RK Nagar, and, I would think, a perfectly realistic walk. Much closer than Nivas or New Woodlands.

If I had to make this decision I'd give Shelter a try. I guess you could always move if you didn't like it. It is more convenient for the school, and you will have great places to just wander within two minutes of the hotel. You'll feel much more like you've experienced that 'real India' that people talk about. I love this part of Chennai

Either that or I'd go further downmarket and get an AC room at Ram (further away) or Apu nearer than NW, further than Shelter) Guest houses.

Indiaevan

Man, talk about the wrong time to find this thread, I've been in Chennai for a day and a half and its been wearing me out, so much traffic, dust and crazy drivers, not to mention the fact that I arrived sans hotel, sans friends, sans common sense. This is not to say I'm not loving every minute of it, but perhaps its not the place for me to make my first "india encounter," however for next time that I visit here, I think I should message some of you to figure out the top digs.

What freaking craziness....but I'm surviving, off to Mysore for me