Query to Chennai BHPians about travel to Sriperumbudur & nearby accomodation

[comfortablynumb]

Hi,

One of my friends is going to visit the St Gobain Glass factory in October for some work. It is located in SIPCOT Industrial Park, Sriperumbudur, Kanchipuram District.

He will be staying in a hotel in Chennai, so wanted to ask you all which will be a convenient area for him to stay, considering that he will have to travel to Sriperumbudur and back? I was going to suggest that he look for budget hotels in Koyambedu / Annanagar, but if there are better options, please do let me know. Also, any pointers regarding decent budget accomodation in these (or any other suggested areas) areas would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
Vikram

[Gansan]

For how many days, and how does he plan to commute to sriperumbudur?

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by Gansan

For how many days, and how does he plan to commute to sriperumbudur?

He will be there for 2-3 days. If he stays in Koyambedu and if there are frequent buses to SIPCOT from CMBT, then he will take those; else he will hire a call taxi for the commute to Sriperumbudur.

Thanks!

Cheers,
Vikram

[pypkmsrikanth]

The better option for him is to stay somewhere closer to Porur and possibly take the Volvo which plies between the city and Kanchipuram / Sri Perumbudhur. If budget is not an issue he can always stay at Days Inn closer to Sri Perumbudhur

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

The better option for him is to stay somewhere closer to Porur and possibly take the Volvo which plies between the city and Kanchipuram / Sri Perumbudhur. If budget is not an issue he can always stay at Days Inn closer to Sri Perumbudhur

Days Inn will be a bit of a stretch for him, budget wise. I will ask him to consider the Porur option too when he is searching for accomodation.The reason I thought Koyambedu would be better was it's proximity to CMBT, so that he can board the bus at the 1st stop and not have to search for the en-route bus stops.

Thanks!

Cheers,
Vikram

[ikoneer]

What is the budget of your friend, if you are looking for a accomodation near SIPCOT, then the tariff would be actually more. It would be wise for him to stay near Porur / Poonamalle.

Commuatation options are plenty, along with the metro bus & Volvo (a/c bus), he can also board the buses travelling towards Vellore, Bangalore cities.

Call Taxi, Autos could be a costly affair comparitively. St. Gobain is about 45+ KM from chennai.

[Gansan]

OK, I will contact a friend who works for St.Gobain and revert asap.

[suren181]

Well if he is there during a weekend ask him to get to the track. I have heard that there are a group of Aeromodellers who come in and fly their models during the Sundays (I presume). It'd be a sight to see.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by ikoneer

What is the budget of your friend, if you are looking for a accomodation near SIPCOT, then the tariff would be actually more. It would be wise for him to stay near Porur / Poonamalle. Commuatation options are plenty, along with the metro bus & Volvo (a/c bus), he can also board the buses travelling towards Vellore, Bangalore cities. Call Taxi, Autos could be a costly affair comparitively. St. Gobain is about 45+ KM from chennai.

I am not sure, but from his previous business trips, I guess his budget will be approx. Rs.2000/day for a double room, as he will be travelling with his cousin. As you said, that will rule out hotels in the SIPCOT area. I think your and pypkmsrikanth's suggestions about staying in Porur/Poonamalee and taking a bus to SIPCOT make a lot of sense. I will apprise my friend about the same.

If he gets a call taxi from Chennai Central to Porur/Poonamalee/Koyambedu after reaching Chennai, nothing like it; if he doesn't, it'd be approx Rs.130-150 by auto (after bargaining), right?

Originally Posted by Gansan

OK, I will contact a friend who works for St.Gobain and revert asap.

Thank you so much!

Originally Posted by suren181

Well if he is there during a weekend ask him to get to the track. I have heard that there are a group of Aeromodellers who come in and fly their models during the Sundays (I presume). It'd be a sight to see.

I will do that!

[MuraliR]

Did you try Paramount Inn, SriPerumbudur? Not very sure if they operate under the same name yet.

[ikoneer]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

If he gets a call taxi from Chennai Central to Porur/Poonamalee/Koyambedu after reaching Chennai, nothing like it; if he doesn't, it'd be approx Rs.130-150 by auto (after bargaining), right?

here's the approx rates by call taxi.

A/c - Rs 120 for 5kms and additional km - Rs 12
or
10 hrs pkg for 100 kms by a/c car is Rs 1300 approx and additional km around Rs 8-10

Autos's will ask for an arm and leg, definitely not safe for highways travel and not worth it.

Ask your friend to reach out to Fast track call taxi 2473 2020

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Gansan

OK, I will contact a friend who works for St.Gobain and revert asap.

Contacted my friend. He recommends two hotels at Sriperumbudur, namely Le Waterina (Rs 2000 - 2500 per day) and Paramount Inn (about Rs 1000 per day). Commuting to the factory will have to be Taxi/auto which the hotel can arrange.

Alternatively he can stay at Poonamallee or Koyambedu area and travel by bus. But he will have to get down at Sriperumbudur and take an auto or taxi from there. This factory is 5 KM outside the town on the B'lore highway and normally none of the through buses will stop there. Distance from Chennai city to Sriperumbudur will be about 35 KM, and call taxis will cost around Rs 12 / KM. If he wants the thrill of his life, he can go by auto but I will not advise it. They will charge almost as much as the taxis anyway!

He can also stay at T'Nagar area. There is a regular volvo service from there to Sriperumbudur. But the frequency will be less when compared to services from CMBT. Hope this helps.

[comfortablynumb]

Thanks ikoneer and Gansan! I will convey your suggestions and inputs to my friend. They will definitely make his tour a lot smoother. :-)

Cheers,
Vikram

[doomsday]

Paramount Inn is an acceptable budget option ONLY if your friend is planning to use the room only to sleep and will be spending his entire day (including meals) outside. I would strictly advice against it otherwise.

La Waterina is a much better place overall, to spend time- it has a Sports bar (but they mostly play movies on the projector ) unless you ask them something specifically, a decent buffet (for b'fast/lunch and dinner) and lots of outdoor area to relax in and a swimming pool as well. Its a resort, actually. The rooms are 1000x better than Paramount, too.

A much better place to relax IMO after a hard day of work.

This is on basis of my extensive experience (actually only once in Paramount) of staying at both places during my jaunts to the MMRT.