hotels in bhopal

salima · Oct 11th, 2003, 21:13

hi folks-
i am in lakeview ashok and it is costing me much more than i realized i would have to pay-1300 rs per night. i read in the lonely planet there was a hotel sonali with rooms a/c about 525 but my friends here dont seem to want me to go to the old city. so i am not a tourist really, and they live here-they are not tourists, so they think it makes no sense to go to the old city i guess because they like the new city where they live.

they also want me to live with a cousins as a paying guest but she has no air conditioning, only a cooler, which i am not sure will work out, and if i have to find another place i would rather know where before i am stuck.

has anyone been to hotel sonali lately?

steven_ber · Oct 11th, 2003, 21:37

You don't sound happy, perhaps you need to be away from your Indian friends for a while.

Sonila gets a good recommendation in Footprint too, Tel 533 880 (extra digits were added to some telephone numbers a while back, not sure if this number is up to date)

pooch · Oct 11th, 2003, 23:57

Bhopal gets cool Nov-Dec and in the summers an air cooler will work just fine. The old city is predominantly muslim and visible in every quarter not that it should scare anyone away but I must admit even by Indian standards the people seem medieval.

wonderwomanusa · Oct 12th, 2003, 00:11

Indian friends almost inevitably expect us to stay in expensive hotels, Salima -- there's a cultural thing there that I have never understood. Stay where YOU need to stay, but don't expect the friends to visit your hotel.

Samsara · Oct 12th, 2003, 13:06

I just read the Dominique Lapierre book about the Bhopal tragedy, very interesting. Bhopal prior to Independence was a centre for Muslim culture. It had a fascinating history, Muslim female rulers for about three generations (they wore full burka in public but were extremely strong, powerful and influential women). Famous Urdu ghazal poets. Wonder how much of that history is left. After Independence the city became industrialized and massively grew in population and poverty.

What will you do in Bhopal? Do you intend staying there for long?

salima · Oct 12th, 2003, 14:32

hello everybody-
the air cooler will work in the summer, but what about the monsoon? i would like to think in time i will get used to it, but the first year would be critical.

my friends had dinner with me at the hotel the night they brought me here, and i think they wouldnt mind. i think they would rather have me here for their sake as well as my own! but i am thinking i can negotiate with the hotel for a better price and a cheaper room. i dont need a window, and the roomm could be half as big-and i dont need complimentary breakfast either. all i need is a/c, bathroom, and internet!

so far i havent seen anything in between luxury and a hovel, that's what worries me a little.

as far as being in the old city, i certainly would want to see it-but if my friends feel uncomfortable going i would have to do without or go alone? they feel it is too far for me to live from them because transportation between us would be costly and time consuming for us to visit and go places together etc. i understand their point of view, actually.

they went to delhi for the weekend so i have had plenty of time to think about it, and i hope to stay here awhile and find out more before making any decisions.

to answer samsara's question-
i want to ultimately do some kind of social service work, and the gas tragedy was one thing that interested me. i want to steer clear of political things, but if there were a program put in place to try and clean up the mess i could look into that. the other thing i could help with is aids victims i think...have experience there.

i want to study classical music also...and mostly i just wanted to live a quiet retiree life with interesting and friendly people to talk to and travel affordably (withint india). my plan was only to come here and see what developes-it wont happen in a week or even a month i would think. could take a year...other cities are a possibility, but i had thought of staying here...

wonderwomanusa · Oct 13th, 2003, 01:14

According to LP, Lake View Ashok (one of the three top-end hotels listed in Bhopal) lists their lowest price as Rs1100, so see if you can do better than that.

You can do much better than that in the Hamidia Road area, but your friends are probably like suburban people everywhere -- they're afraid to go to the old section of town.

You're not going to run into a lot of travellers in Bhopal, I suspect, so you would kind of be on your own if you stay on Hamidia Road. But you should definitely check it out. PM me if you do not have your LP with you and need hotel names to look for.

salima · Oct 13th, 2003, 13:32

if they list their lowest price as 1100, how much lower do you think i could get? i am paying 1300 now and as far as i know they have only air conditioned (not that i could do without of course)

i may just try to stay here about three months and hope i come up with something better by then

vinayverma · Oct 13th, 2003, 13:41

Yes Apart from Hamidia area , The area around the train station & Bus stand. MP Nagar also offer some good valuefor money hotels.mainly targeted towards business community but clean & much cheaper than Ashoka. Only drawback is its bit far from the train station (infact Habibganj stn is closer)

avkaash · Oct 13th, 2003, 15:21

Namaste
Some cheap and decent hotels in Bhopal
Hotel Surya AC Single Rs.500 Ph: 0755 - 2741701
Hotel Shrimaya AC Single Rs.550 Ph: 0755 - 2747401

salima · Oct 13th, 2003, 22:26

thanks, now we're getting somewhere! i guess my friends are taking me to see someplace day after tomorrow, i will let you know which one it is...it is part of a market i understand. but if i dont like it, i am glad to have some other places to check out

Anth · Oct 14th, 2003, 00:01

>>I just read the Dominique Lapierre book about the Bhopal tragedy

'5 minutes past midnight in bhopal' is a great book, i thought.. made me want to stay in the bustees - but i think i would probably change my mind once i saw/smelt them..
(sorry for straying off topic (again))

wonderwomanusa · Oct 14th, 2003, 00:03

If the Bhopal bustees are any like the bustees I once visited in Kolkata, you really do NOT want to stay there. <sigh>

salima · Oct 14th, 2003, 10:16

i know what you mean, anth-

it was my thought that it would be poetic justice for me to settle here, but i am also not crazy-impossible to do any good works with your life is you get poisoned and die.

i read on the web that people are still dying from it, and that there is poisoned land and water...when i asked my friends who live here in new bhopal they say there is nothing of the kind, and it is a lot of rubbish. they have never been to old bhopal and dont want to go either! i notice they cough all the time and it worries me-for their sake i mean.

so it was my thought that instead of all the money and work and people waste on trying to get the people responsible to clean up the mess why couldnt people use their money and time to just DO IT? but i am a follower, not an organizer. if i hear of something like that, i would be inclined to check it out.

the basti around the tragedy was most likely a very very poor area even before this happened...and that is what is so heartbreaking to me that large companies like this and pepsi and coke can go somewhere that no one cares about the people and do whatever they want.

some of my friends' relatives that i met in bombay were there when it happened, and they didnt go into detail. but they live in bombay now, eh?

at the same time i want to keep a low profile, i dont want to get sucked into politics....

Samsara · Oct 14th, 2003, 13:12

There is a very good charity established by Lapierre in Bhopal from royalties from his books. It sounded really good. I'll find the book and post the details here.

Oct 11th, 2003, 21:13	#1
salima Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: america today-new delhi in a week Posts: 189	hotels in bhopal hi folks- i am in lakeview ashok and it is costing me much more than i realized i would have to pay-1300 rs per night. i read in the lonely planet there was a hotel sonali with rooms a/c about 525 but my friends here dont seem to want me to go to the old city. so i am not a tourist really, and they live here-they are not tourists, so they think it makes no sense to go to the old city i guess because they like the new city where they live. they also want me to live with a cousins as a paying guest but she has no air conditioning, only a cooler, which i am not sure will work out, and if i have to find another place i would rather know where before i am stuck. has anyone been to hotel sonali lately?

Oct 12th, 2003, 00:11	#4
wonderwomanusa Maha Guru Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Dhaka Posts: 3,567	Indian friends almost inevitably expect us to stay in expensive hotels, Salima -- there's a cultural thing there that I have never understood. Stay where YOU need to stay, but don't expect the friends to visit your hotel. __________________ The map is not the territory. --Alfred Korzybski

Oct 13th, 2003, 13:41	#9
vinayverma Maha Infrequent Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 1,294	Yes Apart from Hamidia area , The area around the train station & Bus stand. MP Nagar also offer some good valuefor money hotels.mainly targeted towards business community but clean & much cheaper than Ashoka. Only drawback is its bit far from the train station (infact Habibganj stn is closer) __________________ If Life is a journey....travel on...and on..on..on.....

Oct 13th, 2003, 15:21	#10
avkaash Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Kolkata Posts: 41	Namaste Some cheap and decent hotels in Bhopal Hotel Surya AC Single Rs.500 Ph: 0755 - 2741701 Hotel Shrimaya AC Single Rs.550 Ph: 0755 - 2747401 __________________ Pinaki Sengupta Cheap Travel to India http://www.avkaashresorts.com

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Oct 11th, 2003, 21:37	#2
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: London, England. Posts: 9,571	You don't sound happy, perhaps you need to be away from your Indian friends for a while. Sonila gets a good recommendation in Footprint too, Tel 533 880 (extra digits were added to some telephone numbers a while back, not sure if this number is up to date)

Oct 11th, 2003, 23:57	#3
pooch Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Middle East <---->India Posts: 384	Bhopal gets cool Nov-Dec and in the summers an air cooler will work just fine. The old city is predominantly muslim and visible in every quarter not that it should scare anyone away but I must admit even by Indian standards the people seem medieval.

Oct 12th, 2003, 13:06	#5
Samsara Sentient Being Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 507	I just read the Dominique Lapierre book about the Bhopal tragedy, very interesting. Bhopal prior to Independence was a centre for Muslim culture. It had a fascinating history, Muslim female rulers for about three generations (they wore full burka in public but were extremely strong, powerful and influential women). Famous Urdu ghazal poets. Wonder how much of that history is left. After Independence the city became industrialized and massively grew in population and poverty. What will you do in Bhopal? Do you intend staying there for long?

Oct 12th, 2003, 14:32	#6
salima Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: america today-new delhi in a week Posts: 189	hello everybody- the air cooler will work in the summer, but what about the monsoon? i would like to think in time i will get used to it, but the first year would be critical. my friends had dinner with me at the hotel the night they brought me here, and i think they wouldnt mind. i think they would rather have me here for their sake as well as my own! but i am thinking i can negotiate with the hotel for a better price and a cheaper room. i dont need a window, and the roomm could be half as big-and i dont need complimentary breakfast either. all i need is a/c, bathroom, and internet! so far i havent seen anything in between luxury and a hovel, that's what worries me a little. as far as being in the old city, i certainly would want to see it-but if my friends feel uncomfortable going i would have to do without or go alone? they feel it is too far for me to live from them because transportation between us would be costly and time consuming for us to visit and go places together etc. i understand their point of view, actually. they went to delhi for the weekend so i have had plenty of time to think about it, and i hope to stay here awhile and find out more before making any decisions. to answer samsara's question- i want to ultimately do some kind of social service work, and the gas tragedy was one thing that interested me. i want to steer clear of political things, but if there were a program put in place to try and clean up the mess i could look into that. the other thing i could help with is aids victims i think...have experience there. i want to study classical music also...and mostly i just wanted to live a quiet retiree life with interesting and friendly people to talk to and travel affordably (withint india). my plan was only to come here and see what developes-it wont happen in a week or even a month i would think. could take a year...other cities are a possibility, but i had thought of staying here...

Oct 13th, 2003, 01:14	#7
wonderwomanusa Maha Guru Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Dhaka Posts: 3,567	According to LP, Lake View Ashok (one of the three top-end hotels listed in Bhopal) lists their lowest price as Rs1100, so see if you can do better than that. You can do much better than that in the Hamidia Road area, but your friends are probably like suburban people everywhere -- they're afraid to go to the old section of town. You're not going to run into a lot of travellers in Bhopal, I suspect, so you would kind of be on your own if you stay on Hamidia Road. But you should definitely check it out. PM me if you do not have your LP with you and need hotel names to look for.

Oct 13th, 2003, 13:32	#8
salima Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: america today-new delhi in a week Posts: 189	if they list their lowest price as 1100, how much lower do you think i could get? i am paying 1300 now and as far as i know they have only air conditioned (not that i could do without of course) i may just try to stay here about three months and hope i come up with something better by then

Oct 13th, 2003, 22:26	#11
salima Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: america today-new delhi in a week Posts: 189	thanks, now we're getting somewhere! i guess my friends are taking me to see someplace day after tomorrow, i will let you know which one it is...it is part of a market i understand. but if i dont like it, i am glad to have some other places to check out

Oct 14th, 2003, 00:01	#12
Anth Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Brisbane Posts: 32	>>I just read the Dominique Lapierre book about the Bhopal tragedy '5 minutes past midnight in bhopal' is a great book, i thought.. made me want to stay in the bustees - but i think i would probably change my mind once i saw/smelt them.. (sorry for straying off topic (again))

Oct 14th, 2003, 00:03	#13
wonderwomanusa Maha Guru Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Dhaka Posts: 3,567	If the Bhopal bustees are any like the bustees I once visited in Kolkata, you really do NOT want to stay there. <sigh>

Oct 14th, 2003, 10:16	#14
salima Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: america today-new delhi in a week Posts: 189	i know what you mean, anth- it was my thought that it would be poetic justice for me to settle here, but i am also not crazy-impossible to do any good works with your life is you get poisoned and die. i read on the web that people are still dying from it, and that there is poisoned land and water...when i asked my friends who live here in new bhopal they say there is nothing of the kind, and it is a lot of rubbish. they have never been to old bhopal and dont want to go either! i notice they cough all the time and it worries me-for their sake i mean. so it was my thought that instead of all the money and work and people waste on trying to get the people responsible to clean up the mess why couldnt people use their money and time to just DO IT? but i am a follower, not an organizer. if i hear of something like that, i would be inclined to check it out. the basti around the tragedy was most likely a very very poor area even before this happened...and that is what is so heartbreaking to me that large companies like this and pepsi and coke can go somewhere that no one cares about the people and do whatever they want. some of my friends' relatives that i met in bombay were there when it happened, and they didnt go into detail. but they live in bombay now, eh? at the same time i want to keep a low profile, i dont want to get sucked into politics....

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Oct 14th, 2003, 13:12	#15
Samsara Sentient Being Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 507	There is a very good charity established by Lapierre in Bhopal from royalties from his books. It sounded really good. I'll find the book and post the details here.