[Benni]

Hi. my girlfriend and I are looking at going to India for about three weeks in summer '09 after we've finished our A-levels and I was wondering if anyone has any advice on where to stay.

Were looking at New Delhi and low cost budget hotels, nothing luxury, just as long its clean and has the basics.

Had a bit of trouble, looking at hotel websites which tell you it's all wonderful, only to go to a different website and read reviews saying its dirty and horrible!

I thought I might try and get some advice from people who have been there!

Thanks!

[WonderWomanUSA]

Ringo's and Sunny's guest houses are very inexpensive and have the same owner.

I have several times had a single room with bath at Ringo's for less than $10/night. They also have rooms with shared bath, and those are even less expensive. There's not much in the way of decor there, but the place is clean and has a terrace where you can sit in the sun and watch the birds migrate to Bharatpur and watch the monkeys doing their monkey things. These two are on the same block of New Delhi (just off Janpath, near Connaught Place), and very convenient.

Others stay at one of the many hotels at Paharganj, which is off one side of New Delhi rail station. I don't like that area very much so I can't recommend a place there.

[kullukid]

Unlike WWUSA, I prefer to stay in Paharganj area which is convenient for ND rail station & seems to be where the majority of backpackers congregate. At the cheaper end 2-500Rs there is star view palace & a bit further along Hare Krishna GH which is very popular with Israeli's. I tend to go slightly upmarket nowadays & stay at Prince Polonia which is very clean & just around the corner from the main drag of P'ganj so tends to be much quieter at night they charge from Rs1190 inc Breakfast inc taxes you can email them at polinter@vsnl.com
http://www.hotelprincepolonia.com/

KK

[dzibead]

Another suggestion: the YWCA Blue Triangle Family Hostel
http://www.ywcaofdel...triangle_hostel

[jyoti]

The prices I was given in Paharganj are 450 for non A/C double room (same price one or two people) and 650 for an A/C room. I was only there for a night, so it was sufficient, but neither of the places I stayed at had much to shout about. They were reasonably clean, I didn't see any bugs, but the bar of soap in the bathroom had been through several guests and never been removed. If you're not going to be in the room itself much, it's fine, but 3 weeks seems like a long time with no TV and barely enough space to turn around in. Perhaps with more looking I would have found something nicer. There were bigger nicer hotels in Paharganj, too, but more "expensive". I was only looking for a place to clean up between trains so cheap was better.

[cyberhippie]

Some good suggestions above. I stayed in the Star Paradise, on the main Bazaar Paharganj for years and I'm generally pretty happy there.

Paharganj is a bit more frenetic than WWWUSA suggestion of Ringos/Sunny's which are in a quieter area, near to Connaught Place.
Paharganj is pretty full on, most either love it or hate it. What will you do?
It's well situated for the train as New Delhi Station is just a short walk away. Being a traveller's hang out or ghetto (depends which mood you find yourself in) it has it all, change money, restaurants, internet cafes and more cheap hotels than you could shake a stick at. You'll almost certainly find a hotel that suits you amongst the huge choice.
Another popular choice is Karolbagh just a few kilometers down the road which is an altogether quiter option than the two mentioned. Can't help you on hotels there but I know there are quite a few to choose from.

[KABAARY]

YWCA as suggested in #4 above is a good choice...also, YMCA....Master Guest House near Karol Bagh gets favourable reviews......I wonder though whether they fit into your definition of low cost budget hotels.

Apart from the numerous in Paharganj, Wonghden House in Majnu ka tila seems a favourite.

[AlanD]

We also stay in Paharganj these days though we also have stayed at Mrs Jain's guesthouse near the Jantar Mantar and the YMCA a couple of times.

Paharganj is certainly a bit more hectic than those areas - crowded narrow streets, noisy and with a certain amount of hassle from people wanting to sell you all sorts of things. You'll either love it or hate it - depends what you're looking for.

We usually stay at RAK International (impressive sounding name but it's not part of a worldwide hotel chain - it's only international in the fact of travellers of many nationalities staying there) It was reasonably clean when we last stayed there (four years ago) and from a more recent photo I see it has been painted up outside. Anyway, we will be giving it another go when we arrive in Delhi this coming October. It's a little bit back from the main bazaar road, set in a small square, so not as noisy as some other places (see the map) Here is their website address

http://www.hotelrakinternational.com/

Edited by AlanD, 24 June 2008 - 04:36 PM.

[kullukid]

Here's a list of Hotels & phone No's in Delhi;

http://www.annonline...laces-stay.html

Here's a couple of good articles on Paharganj;

http://www.roadjunky...craziest-street

http://delhibaba.blo...nj-bazaars.html

[Benni]

thanks everyone i'll look at them! one other question.. is june a good time to be going? ive been having a look and id rather not be caught up in monsoon season! chears!

[dzibead]

Some of the Delhi inhabitants will chime in, but it's usually REALLY HOT in June!

[cyberhippie]

Just got back and it is indeed hot and AC was a godsend. It's more humid than hot actually but then the rains arrived early in Delhi I believe.

[AlanD]

Benni, on Jun 25 2008, 10:02 PM, said:

thanks everyone i'll look at them! one other question.. is june a good time to be going? ive been having a look and id rather not be caught up in monsoon season! chears!

If you can cope with the possibility of 40C+ degrees and high humidity then you will be OK otherwise you will be spending most of your time in air con buildings and an air con room will be essential so that you can sleep. Does it definitely have to be Delhi in June? Or are you just passing through Delhi en route to other places in India?

Edited by AlanD, 26 June 2008 - 01:05 PM.

[jyotirmoy]

The rains have disappeared... hot & muggy days now.