Hotel similar to Divya/Ganges View?

Magsemail

I love the looks of Ganges View Hotel and Divya Hotel in Varanasi, but Ganges View is all booked up. I can get into Divya, but it doesn't really have a Ganges view - is that correct? They say it has a view from the balcony, but I assume that must be a kind of obstructed view. I'd love to find something similar to Ganges View or Divya, with space, and a Ganges view -- that is, something a little bit nicer than the average backpacker joint. Anyone have any ideas? Or if you think I should stick with Divya, do let me know. Thanks!

Darmabum

Hotel Temple on Ganges, very near the Ganga and Asi Ghat. They have a website. The Divya, if they have a view, is of a hotel that has a view of the Ganges. It is not a view of the Ganges, per se . . . my last six month stay in Varanasi I lived across from the Hotel Haifa, itself just a pakora's throw from the Divya. A shame for you about the Ganges View; magnificent place. I lived there for a month - June - the hottest month, and the AC was nice. Great owners too.

__________________
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure - Marianne Williamson

Magsemail

Thanks for the info on Divya. I've looked at Temple on Ganges' website, and it looks just a tad scuzzy inside, though the view does look nice. Any idea if it is really scuzzed up compared to Divya? I'm looking for something slightly fancier than the average backpacker place...

Magsemail

How about Sita Guesthouse? Know anything about that one?
http://www.sitaguesthouse.in/index.php

Darmabum

"the average backpacker place" . . . while I never stayed at the Temple on Ganges I did (during another six month stay in Varanasi in '99-'00) have a good look inside . . . the Rs400/night rooms there looked "above average" to my Rs100 room . . . but in the end, I did prefer where I stayed, so much more for me about a hotel than scuzziness. You might look into the Hotel Haifa, just down the road from the Divya. It's new, about four years old, and replaces the now-demolished "old" Haifa that was so much more atmospheric . . . During the heat of the monsoon I checked into the Haifa's "suite" @ Rs1000 just for a cold bath and a taste of AC . . . nice place, clean, pretty good food at their restaurant, short on scuzz . . . kinda like a Motel 6.

In the Asi area those are, in my memory, the nicer places. Of all your alternatives to the Ganges View the best view will be from the Temple on Ganges . . . another place comes to mind . . . a little on the scuzzier side, but right on the walkway to Asi Ghat, very near the Ganges View . . . I believe it's called the Sahi River Lodge . . . in my mind, not as nice as the Temple, but much closer to the action . . . During both my six month stays in Varanasi I've stayed in the Asi area, so I don't know much about other places . . . if you're dead-set on that area, those are, I believe, your choices; lots of other places with perhaps more of what you are looking for, may be found closer to town. Enjoy your stay. Varanasi is amazing.

Magsemail

One more thing - Haifa doesn't have a river view, right?
Thanks.

Darmabum

No, no river view. View from the Haifa is essentially that of the Divya . . . although, after an especially big snow melt/monsoon, the Ganga can come up and flow at the doorsteps to either place . . .