About Shiva Ganges View in Varanasi

agogovicki

Hello there,

We'll be travelling in India for 2 weeks in February. Since so many people recommended this guest house in Varanasi, we decided to give it a try.

I emailed them and made reservation. However the room rate (now 1500 rupees / night) almost doubled the rate posted on this forum (750~900 rupees / night).

Does it really worth 1500 rupees? Could anyone please give us some adivce, since is totally new to us....

cheers,

Vicki

jarman_ah

I guess February must be peak tourist season, for an outrageous price like that!

I have only seen the Shiva Ganges View from the outside, so my comments won't be as useful as those which will follow it -- there are quite a few posters on this site who have stayed there, from my memories of past threads -- but my impression was that it looked quite nice and was well-located right near the river's edge -- but, then again, so were about 150 other similar-standard guest houses. That's about all they have along the river's edge in Varanasi!

Before you commit yourself to a price as high as that -- and I wouldn't know whether it's fair or not for February (all I know is that we stayed in a riverfront guest house in November for 450 rupees a night, and that included a great balcony view of the Scindhia Ghat) -- my feeling is that you should at least do a bit of comparison shopping. I recall making a short-list of about six likely places, all around the river and all around the same price, from information on indiamike and a couple of other forums, before finally settling on the very-satisfactory Scindhia Guest House, so they're not hard to find. I remember, while strolling along the river, being impressed with the location of one that had a Greek or Italian name (can't remember what -- a woman's name, I think). Several people recommended another which is at the quiet tip of the ghat area, around Assi Ghat. Maybe ALL of these places want 1500 rupees in February, but I could have had my pick of any of them for 500 rupees three months earlier.

For starters, send an email to Kush at scindhiaguesthouse@ yahoo.com. He's a very helpful guy and his guest house is full of balcony rooms with great views. Varanasi is a confusing city, full of laneways too narrow even for a bike to navigate, and we appreciated (among other things) the map he gave us to help us find our way through the labyrinth.

agogovicki

So maybe it would be better to locate a guest house upon arrival? To see, is to believe :-)

I didn't know Febuary is such a high season.......

Vicki

jarman_ah

I don't know if I'd wait until you arrive, because, as I say, there's really not much to choose between all these riverfront guest houses, and you might waste half a day just going from one to the other, for no great gain (Varanasi is a great city, and you don't want to waste a second, I assure you!)! If you are only taling about 400 0r 450 rupees, you are not really going to find it worth your while to run around for a saving of maybe 20%.

And, don't forget, that the only way to do this is to WALK -- there's no autorickshaw that can take you to all these places in the labyrinth of alleyaways that is "old" Varanasi! What you'd end up doing, I expect, is allowing the autorickshaw driver to choose for you; all of them have a list of places which will pay them a commission for depositing you at their doorstep (the drivers will be happy to walk you there, and even carry your bags, for this commission, which, of course, YOU are paying for, in the long run!), and since they don't care whether you have a good place to sleep or not, their choice may not be in your best interests.

A better idea might be to book a reasonable-sounding deal in advance for at least the first night; if, on arrival, you walk past something that appeals more or is even cheaper, you could always move on the next morning (I recall that this is what we did in Panjim). If everyone you contact wants 1500 rupees a night, then that first-night booking might well be the Shiva Ganges View, as it is surrounded by lots of others just like it. However, please don't part with that kind of money without checking a few alternatives first -- I really can't understand why they'd be asking such a huge amount in what is, otherwise, a cheap city (you can go all over town in an autorickshaw for 25 rupees, and spend an hour on the internet for thirty).

agogovicki

hum.... actually our first choice is Chiatanya Guest House. But their email became invalid for unknown reason

Then we did some comparison for guesthouses we found on India Mike, finally decided to book Shiva Ganges View.... all of a sudden they increased the tariff ... maybe it is a "super deluxe suite" they are offering us

I'll do more homework on this. Thanks

Cheers,

Vicki

ps. Do anyone here know how to reach Chiatanya Guest House?

nomadelmundo

we stayed at SITA's guesthouse, with a balcony and open view to the Ganga, less than 2 mins by feet upstream from the main ghat, where they do the punja... paid 800 Rs (this was their super deluxe)for 3 people and had hot water and a rooftop restuarant with an awesome view.

__________________

Visit my forum for backpackers, trekkers & hikers where you can share stories, discuss trails, and upload unlimited amount of travel photos for FREE...
@ PlanetNomads.com

Matty Gee

Sorry are we talking about India here, I've never paid 800 Rs a night anywhere....

Where is the Shiv Ganga, is it new, I can't recall it, is it a modern hotel......

I stay here..... I love the house, the view and the whole thing......



Varanasi is so cool, and I'll be there in less than two weeks


YIPEE!

__________________
Check my gallery out : http://www.indiamike.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser =3636

jarman_ah

Hi, Matty!

Didn't notice the Uma when I was strolling all along the river.... but, then again, there are so many of these places, why should one stick in my mind? The Shiva Ganges View is not, by any means, a new building.... the main reason I remember it was because it is so brightly coloured.... it has obviously just been freshly painted, and the concept of "neutral decor" has not caught on there... on the outside, anyway! It looked.... striking.

I can't recall which ghat it fronts, but I know it was on the south (Assi Ghat) side of the main ghat (whereas, our choice -- the Scindhia, was about three or four ghats north of the main ghat).

04274108

You might want to check the hotel review section. We stayed there in December 2004 and in our view it was worth it, especially if you enjoy people watching. You get a great view of the river, the rooftop is a great place to unwind, watch the faithful cleanse themselves, watch the dhobi wallahs beat the %^*@ out of the laundry, watch kids fly hundreds of kites, marvel at the kabootahs whistling directions to their flocks of pigeons, see cows bathing and relaxing in the river, watch women carry bricks up 4 flights of stairs at the nearby construction site, etc...

Not too many touts around this hotel. A short walk 10 minute to the electric crematorium and the small burning ghat. The market is about 15 minutes regardless of whether you walk along the river or through the alleyways.

If you're a light sleeper, you might be kept up by the Hindu chanting that happens in the evenings and the call to prayers that happens very early in the morning at the mosque. I imagine that this will be an issue wherever you stay though.

We paid 1200 Rs/night.

sharma Gautam

Dear Friend,

it worth only 150Rupees go to Sita Guest House they have Rooms With wonderful View For 500 to 800 Rs you will be very happy.

Contact sita_guest_house@yahoo.com or call 00919415225682 or0091-542-2450061.

you will love the place.

Kind Regards

Gautam

sharma Gautam

Sita guest house have best location and wonderful view with very clean and reasonable rate with friendly people.

Write to sita_guest_house@yahoo.com or call 00919415225682or 00915422450061 Gokul.