Place to stay in Manali? Also, Keylong?

Hi. I'm leaving Leh on Tuesday morning and heading to Manali via Keylong. Have never been to either place before and am wondering if anyone can advise on good mid to low budget hotels to stay in?

Also, I am wondering is it possible to hitch a lift from Keylong to Manali if I stay an extra night??

Have heard that old Manali is best place to stay. is this right?

Thanks

James

My fave place to stay in Manali is Sunshine G/H, they charge rs350 here's my pics the first 17 & last 6 are of Sunshine. KK
http://picasaweb.google.com/kullukid...gNCPrFJK4Y1dzY

The Outlook traveller guide on Hill Stations in India and the Lonely Planet, give details on great budget accomodations and reasonably priced hotels.

You can stay in a bed + bath simple acco in a apple orchard for Rs. 150 to Rs. 300 per day.

I too would second Sunshine GH. I stayed there on 21 and 22nd May 2007. Its steal for Rs.350 per night.

Its located on club house road. You can book by talking to its owner Thakur Dharamchandji at cell 9816427711.

Wow - I paid Rs. 350 in Oct 05, based on which I wrote in another thread that it's prob 400-450 now. It's great to see Thakur saab is not one of the money-grubbing type. How was the food?

James - In Keylang, the HP Tourism hotel is reasonably priced. Haven't stayed there though. There are a few others, which u cud check out in a few mins.
For HPT hotels, also in Manali check this link: hptdc.nic.in/tariff.htm

Hotel Dream River in Old Manali near the bridge is a good option. Clean rooms with running hot water at Rs.550 with balcony opening to the river a few meters away.

Try TASHI DELEK in Keylong.About Rs.500 / double room.

Check this link:
http://www.himachalpradesh.us/webs/h...piti/index.htm

Keylong is nice and hotels are many.However at Leh..I usually stay at Hotel Zar la in the centre of the town.

Having finally made my first, exploratory trip to Keylang and passing time the first evening by checking out the hotels, here's my report -

They can basically be divided into 3 categories. Prices given are for double-rooms, all have attached bathrooms with geysers for hot water.

At the top-end are:
1) Hotel Tashi Deleg, upper part of the bazar. Double-rooms are Rs. 850, nice and clean, big, TV. Private parking. Restaurant on ground floor, open to public.
2) Hotel Dekyid, near the Police Ground. Rooms as above, Rs. 500-800, depending on the floor. Parking on the Ground, 30 metres away.

Middle category:
1) Hotel Valley View, just above the bazar, near the (old?) Circuit house. Rooms on ground floor are Rs. 300, clean, no TV. 1st floor rooms are Rs. 400, TV added. 2nd floor Rs. 500, TV added. Private parking.
2) Hotel Snowland, a little further up from Valley View. Rooms are Rs. 400-500, clean, TV. Private parking.
3) Nordaling Guest House. Below the State Highway. Approach road from the PO, on highway. 4 or 5 rooms only. Rs. 400, clean, big. Parking outside the gate.

Some of the 5 hotels listed above have family suites, though I can't remember which.

Bottom-end:
3 hotels in the dead-centre of town/bazar (Rash Behari Bose Park), close to each other. All charge Rs. 200-250 a room, not very big, but fine for that price, no TV of course. All three have restaurants on ground floor, open to public. Parking on road. Of these I found the Hotel Gyespa the best, followed closely by the Lamayuru, then the Dupchen.
Normally I don't like bazar hotels, but the good thing about Keylang is that the bazar road is so narrow that trucks and buses can't use it, only light vehicles. Consequently the nights are very quiet and u also don't get woken at 5 or 6 am by the sound of blaring horns.

1) Hotel Gyespa. Stayed here as it was adequate for my one-night stay. Room was clean, altho the carpet needs a shake-out/brush-work. Spanking clean bathroom, everything works, amazing in that price range! And I paid only Rs. 150. They wanted 200 initially, but I talked them down on the basis that it's end-season and I'm alone. Total of 9 rooms, some with unattached bathroom, so I guess those are cheaper. Back of hotel looks onto potato fields and the Bhaga Valley.
2) Hotel Lamayuru, across the road from Gyespa. 4 rooms only, approach a bit dodgy next to the kitchen, but rooms are ok. Cemented terrace on one side of building where one can sit out.
3) Hotel Dupchen, same side as Gyespa, a few doors away. Rooms like the above two, but lighting not very good.

There were another 2 inexpensive-looking PG places on the highway which I didn't check out.

Of course there's also HPTDC's Hotel Chandrabhaga which is the most expensive of all and seriously over-priced in my view all things considered, espesh since they hiked the prices by a few hundred bucks, so I didn't bother to go in even. Stands isolated above the highway, which runs above the town/bazar, but it commands a great view of the valley and Khardang Gompa on the other side. U can either limit yourself to eating here, or walk half a km to some dhabas on the highway, or down to the restaurants and dhabas in the bazar. Not very appealing on a cold, blustery night.

Thanks Dilliwala for a detailed info. on Keylong hotels.

Ronak.

No problem at all. As I hinted, that was the evening's entertainment for me , as there isn't much to do in Keylang itself.

there is one beautiful hotel called hotel Pine view about 5 minutes walk towards old manali from Johnson Cafe. it has great double bed rooms with tv and western bathroom , all for rs 200 a day. btw Johnson Cafe is one of the most costly places in manali. A ham sandwich cost me 100 bucks.

We stayed at The Orchard Greens at Manali in last week of Oct 07. We paid abt 7K for four nights and 05 days on MAP. Its a really wonderful place to stay. We were just surprized by their service, food and courtesy. Also the location is terrefic.You can see the snow peaked mountains from your terrace....A memorable stay at The Orchard greens.

I stayed at Keylong in 2001 in the HP Tourism Guest House (old). It was nice. It is an old building below the highway but I liked it very much.