Amritsar accom

kristinm

Looks from this site and a couple of others that there is nowhere in Amritsar to stay that is good clean midrange accommodation??? Anyone found an alternative? Is there an expensive hotel that's worth a night or two's budget blowout? Homestay?

wp7713

When I was last in Amritsar I stayed at the Grand as it is just across from the Railway Station ( across the station car park, cross a road, walk a little, then there. Say 5 minutes from the station portico. That was the reason I chose it.
OK. AC. But nothing as grand as the photos in its website suggest. But it was October 2003 when I stayed there, and so may have had work done. Prices are fairly similar to what I paid:

http://www.hotelgrand.in/index.htm

For me, it was the closeness to the station ( and hence local transport too-easy to hire autos, able to get to the places I wanted easily) that was important.

Food OK, nothing special; also nice to be able to get a beer with it.

I really did enjoy Amritsar on this stay though ( had passed through many times before).

kristinm

It is a must go for us I just emailed Ranjit's SVAA - apparently I can have a room for R5,700 + 900 for the extra bed!!!! I'll definitely have a look at the Grand! It's just that nothing seems to have a good review!

hfot2

We were there a few weeks ago - it's directly across from the Golden Temple. We upgraded to a top story suite - there are 3 on the top floor and we had balcony views directly into the Temple - perfect for photography with a long lens though partly obstructed by other buildings in the Temple complex.

A very easy walk to the entrance to the Temple (so close you can walk across the little dirt road barefoot to the pavement, thence into the temple without having to deposit shoes at the shoe minding station) and a short walk to Jallianwala Bagh.

Jorge Reverter

Stayed last December at CJ International. 1450 Rs good and clean double room, cable TV, big and clean bathroom etc. The hotel is in front of the Golden Temple.
Have a look in the web site: http://www.cjhotel.net

Jorge

kristinm

Goodness!!! That settles it - if I am to be welcomed with finery and fervour then who could ask for more! All I wanted was clean sheets and a clean bathroom...

I'm starting a collection of Indian hotel websites - I just love reading the blurbs and this one is one of the best I've read yet.

manreet_16

i 'll get u coz my friend knows each and every place in AMritsar..plz do let me ur budget..u'll love it after reaching there

hfot2

We looked again at our late night photos taken from the balcony of our suite.

If you are after photos from on high of the Hari Mandir, splurge for one of the 3 suites.

abfab

Thats if you can get a suite!

I checked in at the CJ International a couple of weeks ago, with a confirmed reservation for one of the suites, emailed direct from the hotel,yet when we arrived, we were told that the suites were occupied and instead were given a really tiny nasty room at the back of the hotel overlooking a building site, yet were charged for almost the same price! No apology or explanation.

They claimed the room they gave us instead was a 'semi- suite'. The room was really tiny, with stained matresses and damp sheets, a broken fridge, and a tiny bathroom with no bath. How this could be called a 'semi suite' is behond me.

Another guy who was waiting in the reception at the same time as us had exactly the same thing happen to him, yet the manager boasted how he was prepared to wait a day or two till a suite became free.

The 'Airport pickup' was late, leaveing us waiting outside the terminal for 30 minutes, and when it arrived they parked outside the airport (to avoid the parking fees I think) rather than picking us up from the terminal, so we had a long walk to the car.

We had only booked the hotel because of its 'famous' suites, but we really couldnt cope with the room they had given us instead, yet dispite the fact that we had a confirmed reservation for a suite, we were forced to pay a 50% cancellation fee before we were able to leave, plus the transfer costs, and another 200 rupees to take us to another hotel.

All in all, a really horrible experience.

Sadhu

Behind the Nivas (guest houses) there is a small park, alongside which is a pretty decent hotel. It was roughly the same standard as CJ, and was about 1200rps I believe. Farther out there is a place called Mrs. Bhandari's Guest House which is very nice, has a pool etc. The Mohan is the 'nice deluxe' hotel in Amritsar, though not really close to the Temple (you could take a rickshaw).

__________________
'Walk the Earth, Have Adventures'

himadventures

I think CJ is good- so go ahead !

kristinm

Maybe I'll make sure to have a backup in case they try to scam us into a small smelly room!

DianeTravels

We were quite happy at Mrs. Bhandari's Guesthouse's a year ago. It's a bit out of the way, but has an almost rural feel with gardens and water buffalo.

See http://bhandari_guesthouse.tripod.com (& be patient because it's slow) or visit frommers.com

Rates are ~1200-1800 Rs.

kristinm

Water Buffalo!

hfot2

We originally were given a small, dark room but one with a slight view of the Temple. We were told that because we were staying for 3 nights we were given a room with a view.

When we pressed for a better room with better view, the manager, Sumeet Singh [Sammy] appeared. He took us up to the top floor and showed us the suites - one with one king size bed, and two even larger rooms with two kings [if we remember correctly.]

We said yes, we would take the small suite and pay Rs 2400 [800/night] extra. [He said he would prefer USD, but we paid in rupees which was a better deal with the exchange rate at the time]

I suspect they only book the suites to people who are staying more than one night. While we were there, one other suite was occupied for the last of their three night stay by several Spanish women; this same suite was later booked for one day by a couple who did not stay there at night. The third suite was full of luggage belonging to people who were traveling elsewhere and paid for the suite but were not staying there - an expensive way to hold luggage! For most of our stay [26 Feb - 01 Mar 07] we had the top floor and the entire balcony that joins all three suites all to ourselves.

I recommend trying to contact Sumeet. The mobile phone number on his business card is 91 9876444000 - this may be his private mobile or the hotel's.

Good luck - if you get a suite it really is worth it, in our opinion.