Where to stay in Paharganj...

It does seem that the question of where to stay in delhi's Paharganj area is one of the commonest questions on this and other india travel forums and i thought it might save a lot of repeat posting by putting a few general pointers up and letting others add their recommendations/warnings.

I think the main point i would make is that, from my experience (and i have stayed in paharganj on about 10 different occasions) most hotels/guest houses in Paharganj are much of a muchness.
Yes, they all have their idiosyncrasies and everyone seems to have a favourite, but you pretty much get what you pay for.

Price
Most Guest-houses are in the 300-500rs/night for a single/double (or were a couple of years ago), though expect to pay more for air-con.
They all seem to have attached bathroom and Tv as standard. Exceptions to this are the Navrang which is one of the last-remaining old-school guest houses...cheap and very very basic, but this appeals to some!

There are, however, increasingly more expensive options if you want to pay, with increasing levels of comfort.

I will make some more specific suggestions below.

24 hour check-out
This very specific term can cause some confusion. It doesnt just mean that you are free to check-in or out at any time of the day (though you can)...what it means is that you pay for the room for a 24 hour period from when you check-in. So, for example, if you turn up in the middle of the night at, say, 3am,you can keep the room until 3am the next day. This is very useful if you plan to arrive at night and leave later on the next day, in the evening for example, as i do.
If you were in a 'normal' hotel, your daily rate would mean that either you would have to either check-out at noon the next day or pay for an extra day just to be able to stay on until the evening.

Hotels that offer this service include the Ajay, Hare Rama, Anoop (i think)

Airport Pick-up
For a very reasonable (in most cases...not the Metropolis please note!)fee, a lot of the larger guest-houses can arrange to have you met at the airport and taken to your guest-house. This can be a very wise option for the 1st time traveller to delhi. You tell them your flight details and agree to pay around 400rs(?) and they will send a man to meet you.


Recommendations
As i have said, most of the budget places are really very similar. There are none that i would say were fantastic, nor any awful. A lot of the smaller places seem to have been refitted on the last few years and seem to be in better nick than the larger places, such as Ajay, Hare Rama/Krishna etc.
There are literally hundreds of guest houses if you start to look down the small alleys and you may want to have a look around before you decide.
It is worth noting that most places are quite noisy, pokey and often have either no window or a window that looks onto a wall about 6 inches away! If you want a view, you're gonna have to pay for it!
Please note, you can almost always haggle in the budget places...at least 50/100rs or so off the asking price. (this counts for everywhere in india)

Ok, these are just some of the places i have stayed and would recommend:

Ajay and Hare Rama
These two, large guest-houses, situated in a small alley opposite one another are very popular with the Israeli community. Though a little run-down and not the cheapest option, they offer all the services you could need...24 hour check-in, 24-hour cafe (Ajay), great roof-top restaurant (Hare Rama), travel service, pool table, parcel-sending, airport pick-up (very good and cheap service) etc. etc.
The Ajay is part of the Anupam group which includes the very similar Anoop and Hare Krishna

Namaskar
A favourite with the guide books, this offers a very similar service to the above two guest houses. It is located a little nearer to the train station along main bazaar.

My Home and Downtown
I haven't actually stayed at these two but have looked at the rooms and they are nice and clean, and reasonably priced.

Lord Krishna
This is situated right on Tooti Chowk (the 'round-about' where the market road joins main bazaar). This is slightly more upmarket than the others mentioned above and is very clean and well-appointed but, if you are prepared to haggle, you can get surprisingly good offers.

Metropolis
Nice large rooms, some even have balconies. Used to be 7-800rs/night but i fear they have hiked their prices up lately. Good roof-top restaurant which sells beer!

Prince Pollonia
More expensive still (1400/night a couple of years ago) but you get what you pay for. Large, clean rooms, balconies, good service. Swimming pool out of service last time i was there (probalby indefinately).

OK, hope this saves a few of the 'where can we stay in Paharganj' threads?! Please feel free to add/amend any info...Kieran

Hi Kidsan, great info for newbies, just 1 correction Prince Polonia charge around RS1100-1200inc breakfast & the swimming pool is up & running again........although not sure how often they clean it! KK

They actually have a range of prices. I paid 1400 for a top-end room but assumed that the prices would have gone up...seems not. Didnt get breakfast though


Great news about the pool...clean?? hmm...would probably risk it on a hot sweaty day in delhi

will serve as good info for members!....but my advise still stands

I saw in a recent thread - possibly the one called just 'paharganj' that there is a metro station up and running not far from the Imperial Cinema. Which might make the 'far end' of main bazar a better bet.

There certainly is. It's actually just past (i.e. west) of the Metropolis and down a small street...called Ramakrishna Ashram Marg station.

However, it's not great for New delhi railway station as you have to change metro lines and then, at New Delhi, you appear on the wrong side of the tracks (as it were) and then have to fight your way back over to the main entrance. Great for other locations though.

I think there's another thread running parallel to this one, but I'll add it just for those who only read this one!
Cottage Yes pLease and it's new sister hotel opposite Metropolis, Cottage Crown Plaza (not sure about full name though). They are very clean, up to date, newly renovated, near to the Rama Krishna Ashram metro, and at the quieter end, so it's calmer. Only a short cyclerickshaw ride to the station in the monring. No worries!

Thank you kidsan.

Real helpful!

Guys, im looking for somewhere to stay in Delhi, im a serious backpacker kinda guy and dont mind abit of the basics. Im not into all this TV and breakfast in bed, ive lived in dorms for months and love to just chill out share stories. What are the best hostels in Delhi?? and do any have dorms?? also a few hippy bars wouldnt go amiss if anyone can reccomend??.. fly out next weekend, cant wait. P.

If you're that cool about it, I'd recommend just rocking up in Paharganj and picking some place that takes your fancy. They're all much the same, and it shouldn't be very difficult.

Dorms aren't very common anywhere in Delhi I don't think, but I suppose there may exist some. As for hippie joints, it's sadly pretty hard to escape from them in that area

Other than that, search around this site some, please, it must be one of the more-covered subjects. This thread was really meant to collect some good tips, not to become the umpteenth "where do I... [find an easy answer]" thread. Try the site's Hotel Listings. And if it's a TV-less adventure you're after, be prepared to accept it will be less likely to be in a book or on the web.

We stayed down that end at Cottage Yes Please and we just walked up to New Delhi Station with our bags - it only took 10 minutes in the early morning up through the main market and 15 or 20 in the middle of the day. If you have a lot of bags you can pay someone a small amount to help, or catch a rickshaw - doesn't take long.

the hotel on top of the restaurant called "appetite" isnt bad either. and is cheap. "appetite" is also value for money and serves a mix of indian and western food.

Ringo's (off Janpath near CP) has a dorm and I believe Sonny's Guest House (down the street, same owners) does as well. Can't say what current prices are; you'll have to ask when you go there.

Not to pester you, but I thought you'd mentioned before that they had abandoned the dorm in recent times (over the past few years)?

I'm really unaware of any dorms in Delhi (but now that you mention, I remember Ringo's and some other places around there being said to have them. A basic grubby room in Paharganj was cheaper at the time though), but they must be around. Possibly and more likely in guesthouses that don't and are not allowed to take in foreigners though. I think the Y's must have them, but they're not rumored to be the cheapest deals, so kind of defeats the purpose from a financial angle at least (some seem to just really like to stay there, esp. the YWCA seems to have something of a reputation. But again, not for being the cheapest of options. And I think many of those favorable reports refer to single rooms with them anyway.)

ps To stick to the thread title, none of these are in Paharganj. Connaught Place is less than a half-hour's walk away though.

Camran Lodge (main bazaar) had dorm with maybe 6 or so beds in it when i was there a year ago. I think the beds went for about Rs. 70 or so. Double that price and they got a single room with attached bath. Creepy place, but in a good way.