Other states were quick to get in on the act, and these days you can stay in fabulous Tamil mansions, colonial tea bungalows in Coorg or the Nilgiris, wooden, gabled-roofed tharavadus (ancestral homes) in the Keralan backwaters and Portuguese palacios in Goa. Brimming with old-world atmosphere, they deliver a quintessentially Indian “experience”, often in the most exotic locations, with turbaned bellboys and antique automobiles adding to the colonial-era ambience. Rajasthan started the trend, with old forts, palaces, hunting lodges, havelis and former hunting camps converted into accommodation for high-spending tourists. Holding more appeal for foreign visitors are the heritage properties that have mushroomed all across the country in recent years. Note that many top-end hotels offer significant reductions to their rack rates if you book online. Formal five-star chains such as Taj, India’s premier hotel group, charge international rates – as most of their guests are on expense accounts or staying as part of discounted tour packages. Because competition among them is rife, tariffs tend to represent good value for money, especially in the upper-mid-range bracket. Pitched primarily at visiting businessmen, smart, Western-style hotels with air-conditioning and swanky interiors are to be found predominantly in towns and city centres.
Roughly speaking they fall into three categories. Recent years have seen a proliferation in the number of luxury hotels throughout India.
Bedbugs and mosquitoes are other things to check for – splotches of blood around the bed and on the walls where people have squashed them are telltale signs. It’s always wise to check out the state of the bathrooms and toilets before taking a room. Most places now offer en-suite bathrooms (or “attached” rooms, as they’re known locally) and hot water, either on tap or in a bucket, though shared showers and toilets with only cold water are still fairly common at the bottom of the range – in our reviews in the Guide we have assumed that establishments have attached rooms and noted exceptions. The cheapest rooms usually have flimsy beds and thin, lumpy mattresses. It’s most expensive in Delhi, Mumbai, Goa and resorts of Kerala, where prices are at least double those for equivalent accommodation in most other parts of the country. Even cheaper still are dharamshalas, hostels run by religious establishments and used by pilgrims.īudget accommodation varies from filthy fleapits to homely guesthouses and, naturally, tends to be cheaper the further you get off the beaten track. The rock-bottom option is usually in a dormitory of a hostel or lodge. Once the trip is finalized, the directors ensure a follow up at every step of the journey, just like the client was a part of their family.While accommodation prices in India are generally on the up, there’s still an abundance of inexpensive hotels and hostels, catering for foreign backpackers, tourists and less well-off Indians. Additionally, the staff at Chetak personally vet the destination and hotel before proposing them to various clients.
The directors, along with their team, use their extensive knowledge, experience and network to meet the requests of each client and create a personalized itinerary. With this spirit in mind, the directors first spend considerable time listening to each client to understand his/her wishes, objectives and expectations for every trip. Just like a custom-made handcrafted dress, we believe that a customized itinerary is a work of art and needs to be given due thought, time and care to transform into a journey of a lifetime. Chetak’s team is proud to create personalized travel itineraries in India and abroad, for travellers who seek experiences that go well beyond run-of-the-mill touristic routes and sites.
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