Scindia Guest House vs. Shiva Ganges View

I am trying to decide which hotel in Varanasi I would prefer to stay in. At this point it's between the Scindia Guest House and Shiva Ganges View. Obviously the Shiva hotel is more expensive, but aside from expense, for those of you who have stayed in either place, how did you find the rooms/bathrooms - would you recommend it?

We thought Scindhia was just great -- VERY good value for money, satisfactory rooms, and an amazing view from our balcony: Schindhia Ghat, which is virtually underneath you, is the ghat that fell down before it was ever finished. Planned as the most elaborate and expensive of the ghats, it sank into the water like the Titanic, and the original spires are still there, sticking up at a crazy angle, like something in a science-fiction movie.

I expect the Shiva Ganges View will do the same thing, but one "plus" for Scindhia is that they give you a map of the old town with the location of the guest house clearly marked. We got hopelessly lost every time, anyway, and soon learned that the ONLY way to find your way back to a Ganges-side guest house is to just walk along the river bank until you happen to spot it.... but it was a nice touch, and typical of the care taken of their guests.

jarman - nice to hear your comments, seeing as I'm staying at Scindhia for a week in January!!

One bonus of staying at the Schinda was the complimentary pick up service from the train station. It was lovely to get off the train and know someone was coming to meet us.

I found the manager of Schinda to be very accommodating and welcoming and the owner to be rather moody. I suspect he may have a blood sugar level problem.

There's a great restaurant called Ganaga Fuji near to Scindia. It's located in the old city so difficult to give directions to here. The food was great!