Help-Two Months in Dharmsala!!

General request for advice here. I will be staying in Dharmasala or McLeod Ganj for two out of the three months Im in India. October and November '08. Can anyone give me some pointers on finding the best accomodation. I know there are plenty of hotels, guest houses etc. But I think I've got information overload after looking at everything online.
Like everyone Im looking for cheap. But im comfortable with a dry, warm room with a clean bed where I can leave my belongings for the day while Im out. Everything above that is gravy. How much should I expect to pay for such over two months. Can I pay by the day, week, month etc.... I guess I am asking what the process, and ball-park cost is for a place like that.
Btw...this is my first trip to India and I am going alone with almost no planning to speak of. Im not good at itenerary planning really. Adapt, improvise and overcome tends to be more enjoyable for me when I am alone. I expect the delays and frustration inherant in that. Thanks to anyone who can send me in the right direction.

rowdy - I went to the Forum home page here:
http://www.indiamike.com/india/himachal-pradesh-f29/
and put 'Dharamsala hotels' in the Search in Forum option towards the top of the page. There are quite a number of recent threads there with hotel suggestions which you could take a look at, while waiting for someone who has recently been there to reply. There are too many threads for me to make links here for you!

Lovely spot to spend a period of time. I had a few months there long time back - 1991 in fact, and have returned several times since. For me the long term ideal was staying with an Indian family - and there were several homestay options in the village of Dharamkot, about 30 minutes walk into the hills above McLeod Ganj. The family I stayed with ran the "Heena Tea Stall" - may even still be there - lovely traditional house, great room and even better views at a bargain price. I went for the full board option with breakfast and dinner cooked daily. Was a superb experience and I stayed in touch with that lovely family for about 12 years after that.

Would say overall, Dharamkot/Mcleod or Bhagsu are probably better bets for long term stay than Dharamsala town itself.

Thanks for that! I also just noticed that an almost identical post "appeard" just below mine.

As for costs, hard to estimate, but a home stay option definately cost effective. I do remember back in '91 the room and full board was Rs25 per day - which back then was about US$1.75 per day. Now you should probably budget around US15 to 20 for room and meals in village family house. Also plenty of cheap tibetan food options in McLeod itself.

Look Here; Amritsar-Shimla-Dharamsala, in three weeks is this possible?

Try the Pema Thang guest house at Mcleod. They rent out rooms for longer duration and rates are negotiable. Else head for Dharamkot area where there is plenty of accomodation available for rent for longer duration

Im here now at long last. Thank you all for the advice. I ended up with one contact in chandigar through my family. by chance his freinds wife came from Kangra and her father ownes a couple shops in the area, one of which is here in mccleod ganj. He put me in touch with a hotel owner who put me up with a room with a hot shower, soft bed, and a great view for 250rp a night. Its a bit more than I had wanted to pay, but the ability to take a hot shower became an obsession within my first week here. It seems hot showers are my weakness, the whole bucket thing is beyond me. LOL Thank you all again. If anyone ends up here from october to december 08 and would like to grab some tea let me know. its a bit on the lonely side here. LOL

250 rupees is a good price for having hot water, rowdy and you will like this as the weather gets even more cold later! All sounds good, enjoy it!

hey rowdy.
i'm living down in sidhbari which is about a 15/20 minute ride from Dharamsala and 30 minute ride from mccleod ganj.
can you believe the rain at the moment?
let's meet up for a tea next week sometime? how's tuesday or wednesday?
Hope your settling in ok.
Tony

Hi Rowdy,

If you, per chance, check back this thread, what place are you staying at ? I will be in the Dharamsala area in a little while.
Thanks

JF / Samta

Hey, Im off Bhaktsu road. I forget the name at the moment, but its by the grocery market, down the hill. I think we might be in the same place. Do you know Caroline from Argentina???? LOL

hey circus tumbler, sorry I just realized I got a message from you. IF your still around let me know. Sorry,