Booking A Room in Calcutta: Monica House

Stephan Gerhardt

I was hoping to stay at Monica House near the St. James School. Does anyone know an address, phone number and email for Monica House? My trip isn't until March of 2010 but I'd like to book something now.

chief61

Hi Stephen,

Welcome to I.M.

Monica House is an inexpensive guest house for volunteers. It is managed by the St. James Church. Monica House is across the street from the Missionaries of Charity's Mother House on A.J.C. Bose Road. A bed in a dorm room is 115 rupees a night, breakfast included. Lunch and dinner are 35 rupees each. People report that Monica House is a clean, nice place.

Cheers

__________________
Rainbow Warrior

Stephan Gerhardt

Thank you for your response. Do you have a PHONE NUMBER OR EMAIL for Monica house?

sarkar

Monica House is in the campus of St. James School and Church.
You can call the school and get the Phone Number of Monica House.
Check this page for contact details.
http://www.indiastudychannel.com/sch...es-School.aspx

Stephan Gerhardt

Thank you for your assistance. Do you actually dial all those numbers? And do you use the + sign? Never called over seas before.
Let me know?
Thanks again for your help.
Stephan

Khak

from USA you need to dial 011 91 33 22841546 or 011 91 33 22842788.

please keep in mind that time zone in India is UTC+5.5

__________________
~Khak~

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

sarkar

91 is India's Country Code

I think for international calling you just have to dial

011-(country code)-(region code)-(Phone number)

011-91-33-22842788

I Called one number but it was busy.

chief61

St.James Church Phone No. 91 33 22844503

Web Link http://stjameschurchcnikolkata.org/index.shtml

Cheers

atala

Make sure your reservation does not get lost. Repeat it a few weeks befor you actually travel.

Reservations by e-mail generally (perhaps always?) do not work. Not reliable at any rate. That is just a general reminder to readers here. To be part of the modern world, hotels also provide e-mail addresses, but people have to go to an Internet-joint to read their mail, do so only occasionally, and would not have the reservation chart with them.

Front desk people in budget to medium hotels do not know english well, have a low salary and not necessarily any interest/experience in Internet exchange.

chief61

" Monica House " is not a Hotel , its an accommodation service
provided by St.James Church exclusively for the volunteers
for the Mother's House, Its quite an Reputed Church in
Central Kolkata.

"Front desk people in budget to medium hotels do not know english well, have a low salary and not necessarily any interest/experience in Internet exchange"
By the way Mr Atala , do you think low salary will disqualify somebody to be an Internet qualified ? I have a strong reservation on this comment, it sounds biased.


Cheers

atala

My comment is meant to inform people new to India. it is not a judgement on the people working in India. In the West we are used to make e-mail-orders all the time, and get more or less immediate response. In India this does not work many times.

A lot of people unaware of the situation in India think they can just mail a hotel, even a high-class-hotel with an inquiry, and get a reliable response.

I also meant to say (and said in those words) that front desk people, like most hotel staff, in budget to medium hotels do not get a high salary. In european hotels you have to be a highly qualified person to work at the front desk. To be able to handle Galileo, the international reservation system, is a minimum. It is a well-paid job. I am sure Indian front desk people also need to meet some requirements. I am always happy with their services, and they are generally very nice people.

In addition, I think many of these people have to feed their families, with little extra cash or time for long breaks at Internet-cafés. It is not normal yet that every household has an ADSL Internet-connection at home, as is the case in Europe and the U.S. Even most (budget) hotels won't have an Internet connection. People inquiring from abroad may be unaware of this at the moment they ask. Additional background information allows them to make the appropriate choice of action in terms of how to use the means of communication for a reservation.

In blunt words: Never make a reservation in India with just an e-mail.

Mr. Chief61: It must be possible to say these things without stirring up a hornet's nest.

theyyamdancer

Even in expensive hotels the reservation by e-mail needs a back-up reminder nearer to the time. It has been my experience in Kolkata that I needed to send at least three e-mails in order to be sure of a reservation. I don't think this is abnormal.

__________________
"Wandering seemed no more than the happiness of an anxious man." - Albert Camus

Hel

Hi- Just to let you know that I met a girl yesterday who was staying at Monica House and she has bed bud bites all down her legs. There are definitely bites from bed bugs. Needless to say she has moved accommodation now.

palerider

can't quite work out why you'd stay in a dorm, when you can have a room to yourself for fairly low money. I found a place for 300 which was pretty good, and in the middle of things.

__________________
I always wanted to be someone when I grew up, I realise now that I should have been more specific.

tmac100

Any places near to Mother House? Last year I stayed at the Broadway Hotel. That hotel was good! The service and Indian-style room with NO a/c was good value. It was a bit of a bus trip getting to Mother House and then on to the assignment. I would rather walk from my hotel to Mother House and then go to the assignment.

Any suggestions for a place similar to the Broadway, BUT near Mother House?

TIA (thanks in advance) :-)