Vrindavan – Mathura advice needed

hfot2

We intend to visit both Vrindavan and Mathura over four days in November.

Should we get hotels for two nights in each?

Has anyone stayed in the Shubham Holidays Hotel in Vrindavan?

How about the Agra Hotel in Mathura? It's right on the river and looks like an ideal location for us; but reports of its room quality vary.

wonderwomanusa

Get a hotel near the train station; a ricksha between the two is inexpensive enough to visit for the day.

I was day-tripping, so never looked for a hotel there. ISKON has a huge presence there; you can probably stay with them!

__________________
The map is not the territory. --Alfred Korzybski

hfot2

Thanks wwusa.

Thing is, we'll have car&driver, so can bob back and forth at will. Our big concern, though, is to be at each venue for morning and evening aarti, for the photo-ops; and that's most easily accomplished by staying on site.

Hence, Shubham Holidays Hotel in Vrindavan, which seems closer to the action than the Hare Krishna hotel; and Agra Hotel in Mathura, which, though perhaps grotty, is smack dab on the ghats.

So, again, does anyone know these hotels?

dharm43

I think Shubham Holidays is a nice hotel.It is near the vidyapith chowraha.I never have stayed there just seen from outside.I am familiar with vrindavan,if you wanna know anything u can ask me.

Paleface

Bobbing back and forth from Mathura ghats to VVN is an hour or so. Do you mean morning and evening arati on the ghats or in the temples? Shubham i know the family, it's fine and food on site and close to Banke Bihari, Radhavallabh - easy Riksa to Radharaman and Keshi ghat for evenng arati on Yamuna, well what there is left of Yamuna anyway, come November there should be some water flowing!! Old Mathura, from Holi gate down to the ghats is it's best side, otherwise i care little for Mathura and wouldn't advise at all staying anywhere outside of the Ghats. Agra hotel? Don't know it but must be bearable for a night or so. Vrindavan is far more interesting culturally, centre of Vaisnaivism, and concentrated, surrounded as it is by Yamuna. Stay away from Iskcon unless you want the experience - although do they do bash out a foot tapping Kirtan..

__________________
Only a mediocre person is always at his best. Somerset Maugham.

hfot2

Thanks, dharma 43 and Paleface.

@ dharma 43: It is welcome news that the Shubham Holidays looks good. It seemed so from the website, but there's nothing like advice from people on the ground.

@ Paleface: Likewise, good to have reassurance about the Shubham. It must seem bizarre that we should want to move just a few kilometers from Vrindavan to Mathura. The thing is, we want to be able to tumble out of bed and get immediately to the ghats for very early light, and we hope to stay out till well after dark. It seems easiest, therefore, to stay a few nights at each town. Mind you, it sounds very much as if the Shubham Holidays is the better hotel.
P.S. Brad is indeed cute.

Keshava

I don't know about the hotel you mentioned - but you don't want to stay in Mathura. It's a hell-hole. If you want a really nice place to stay MVT Guest House in Vrindavan is really nice. I'm no fan of ISKON who owns it - but the rooms are comfortable and clean and it's central to many of the things you will want to visit in Vrindavan. To my knowledge - there really isn't anything to see in Mathura except a quick visit to the ghats. Bengali Market there is fun for shopping - but I'd spend the whole time in Vrindavan if I were you. Mathura is mostly really nasty.

hfot2

Thanks, Keshava, though your news is disturbing.

Can you explain what is really nasty about Mathura?

Coming from the city as you do, and travelling around India as much as you have, I imagine you know nasty when you see it. But might this be a case of one man's poison be another man's meat?

Keshava

Mathura is just another polluted, dirty, hot little town lined with garages with broken rickshaws parked in front and beat up pie dogs roaming around giant pot-holed streets. Vrindavan has lots of magic and charm. Mathura has zero. Like I said you can visit the ghats there if feel you must go to Mathura - but it's not worth the schelp. In Vrindavan there are so many sweet places to visit. In Vrindavan when you walk the Parikrama you will stroll down the ghats along the Yamuna and have a much nicer darshan of Yamuna-Ji. My guru's ashram is in Vrindavan and I've been there many times over the last 12 years and I never stop finding great new places to visit and interesting new people to spend time with. Mathura is just a big hot nothing. If fact - Mathura always feels about 20 degrees hotter than Vrindavan. Everywhere in Vrindavan the streets are lined with trees. There are peacocks in the branches and there are still many parts that have lush green fields. In Mathura - nobody even knows what a tree is.

hfot2

Thanks again, Keshava. That's pretty definitive.

As the French are said to say, it gives one furiously to ponder.

paratmoshe

I stayed at the Agra hotel in Matura. The building is nice, right on the Yamuna river, but the rooms are dirty , the place is not run in an efficient way(to put it politely) and at ten the hotel gate was locked , I guess to keep the numerous stray dogs out ,who were roaming around all over the place!
It could be a nice place if it was better managed.
And I also prefer Vrindaban ,it is quieter and more beautiful.
I found Matura an interesting place though, if you're interested in spending time in temples .I had many good moments sitting in some of the many temples listening to the singing and watching the people.

hfot2

Thanks, paratmoshe.

It sounds as if the Agra Hotel may be even a little worse than we'd feared. Between that report and Keshava's advice, we're beginning to wonder about Mathura.

Paleface

Base yourself in VVN and then if you feel the need, visit Mathura for evening Arati - if it is a festival day then it can be photogenic, thumbs below of Mathura ghat and one of Keshi ghat VVN in monsoon.

Attached Thumbnails

     

Paleface

Around Vrindavan

Attached Thumbnails

         

 

hfot2

Thanks, Paleface.

The consensus is clearly that we should give Mathura pretty short shrift.

And then you go and provide us with those excellent photos that make it seem like the very place we want to be. But they, I take it, are from quick visits limited to the ghats and temples nearby.

Part of our problem is that we actually like places that are kinda grotty and nasty, at least for a change of pace. We are tempted by the interior of the old town, but Keshava is dead set against it as you can see, and you yourself seem pretty lukewarm.

What about the museum?