[JoseVijay]

I am planning for a pilgrimage trip to Velankanni in the coming months. Please suggest a decent and affordable stay for my family.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by JoseVijay

I am planning for a pilgrimage trip to Velankanni in the coming months. Please suggest a decent and affordable stay for my family.

Seagate Churchview Resorts http://www.hotelseagate.co.in/Seagateresorts.html

[aviral2122]

Had a chance to stay at a property in karol bagh.
It was decent and reasonably priced, and next to the metro station too. Parking was not too convenient but that is expected in karol bagh, overall a satisfactory day stay while I got the equipment fixed. I suppose their corner rooms are larger and better equipped so try and negotiate for them while booking.
The name is hotel metro view.
Decent staff, good food and neat place. People coming to Delhi can have a look at it, priced around 2500 INR but can be bargained a bit I suppose.

[sumannandy]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

We need to visit IIT Kharagpur for a 1 day workshop for my son during August. Since accommodation options are very limited in Kharagpur and we will get half day to spare for sightseeing on both Friday and Sunday, we are planning to stay in Kolkatta.

I am an alien to Kolkatta and is looking for your suggestions to find a suitable accommodation

1. We need to reach Kharagpur by 8.30 am on Saturday, plan is to take a cab (or train) from Kolkotta on Saturday morning and come back same day night.

2. Would like to visit few landmarks including Belur Math in Kolkatta.

3. My budget is in the range of 10 K for 3 people for 2 nights, can be flexed for good options

4. We are foodies and would like to explore good food and fish while there.

5. We have to depend on Cabs for all our commutes.

6. We are flying there, so it is better to have something not very far from airport (not more than 1 to 1.5 hours of commute)

Considering above, could please make suggest good places for accommodation.

Stay in Monotel or Sonnet or De Sovrani. All of these are good hotels are should suit your budget. You can also try novotel / pride / regenta / howard johnson in new town. All these hotels are close to airport.

You can go to kharagpur by car. Take the route through airport dankuni if you are staying at new town. While coming back come back through dankuni airport even though it is little longer.

If you are staying over sunday you can go to belur. It is close to airport. Take a ride in ferry if you are comfortable.

You can also visit few other landmarks.

Good food is available in most of the restaurants in kolkata. try biriyani in Aminia / Arsalan.

For any help in kolkata call me at 9008168822.

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by sumannandy

Stay in Monotel or Sonnet or De Sovrani. All of these are good hotels are should suit your budget. You can also try novotel / pride / regenta / howard johnson in new town. All these hotels are close to airport.

You can go to kharagpur by car. Take the route through airport dankuni if you are staying at new town. While coming back come back through dankuni airport even though it is little longer.

If you are staying over sunday you can go to belur. It is close to airport. Take a ride in ferry if you are comfortable.

You can also visit few other landmarks.

Good food is available in most of the restaurants in kolkata. try biriyani in Aminia / Arsalan.

For any help in kolkata call me at 9008168822.

Many thanks sumannandy for the details and sharing your telephone no

We had a bad surprise from IIT, they informed us that the workshop is cancelled.

On checking with the airlines, we realized that cancellation charges will be more than 18 K for the 23 K tickets for 3 people to Kolkata and back. Losing 18 K for nothing prompted us to go-ahead with the plan and use the time to visit the city of Kolkata

We have booked room in Radisson Ballygunge and is hoping that we have made a good choice.

Below is the tentative plan, please let me know if any suggestions

We are 2 families and would like to hire an Innova for our sightseeing trips, especially on Saturday where we get a full day. Please share if there are any recommended cab guys who can provide this service. We should be doing around 80 Kms as per Google and would need the car for the whole day.

Plan:

Day 1 Friday – We land at 12 noon, expecting to come out of the hotel by 3 pm for sightseeing. Use Uber/Ola for the trips
- Visit Victoria Memorial
- Come back to Birla Mandir (temple opens only at 4.30 PM, hence keeping it as 2nd item and need to traverse back after Victoria visit)
- Go to Park street, shopping and dinner

Day 2 Saturday. Hoping to hire Innova for the whole day
- Visit Belu Math (open till 11.30 am)
- Dakshineswar Kali Temple on way back (Open till 12.30 pm)
- Lunch (Please recommend good Non-Veg places, can try the suggested
biriyani places if that is nearby)
- Mothers Wax Museum (till 7.30 PM)
- Mother House (till 6 PM)
- Howrah Bridge
- Back to Hotel
- Kalighat Temple (late evening – open till 10.30 PM , or Sunday early morning – Opens at 5 AM)

Day 3: Our return flight is at 3.15 PM. I am considering visiting Science City on the way to airport. Checkout at 11 am. Reach Science City at 11.30 am, spend time till 1 pm and then proceed to the airport.

Please let me know any suggestions on above plan, it is open to changes

[digitalnirvana]

Skip Mother's Wax Museum and go to Eco Park instead or better still, stroll around the Maidan and do some shopping at Esplanade as your base is Ballygunge. Mother's Wax Museum and Eco Park are in New Town and very far from Mother House.

Instead of Mother House you could also add more time to Howrah Bridge visit and go for a boat ride on the Ganges, and also visit the Town Hall.

Edit the more I look into the second day itinerary it is clear that you have to skip mother house. Base your day around the Belur math, Dakshineswar temple, then come back to the river bank and have your lunch at Flotel and ice cream at Scoop. Then take a boat ride and visit town hall. Then go to Kalighat and have dinner at Park Circus at Aminia, Arsalan or Shiraz. Then probably shop at the Quest mall nearby and then back to hotel.

For day 1 when visiting Park Street try to cover St Paul's cathedral (by 6pm, after a quick stroll at the Maidan and after seeing the Victoria) and make prior reservations at Peter Cat or Mocambo. Ask for their specials. Chelo Kabab is quite famous. If you can, also squeeze in a show at the Birla Planetarium. So the Victoria then Maidan (maybe a horse ride) then St Pauls then Birla then a roam around Esplanade for shopping and finally food at Park Street. Tight but doable. Skip whichever you want

For day 3 try lunch at 6 Ballygunge Place for authentic Bengali food. But then you will have to skip Science City or have an early brunch

[Arka]

In addition to 6 Ballygunge Place, another must try for authentic Bengali food is the Aaheli restaurant at the Peerless Inn. Since you will be in the neighborhood, absolutely do not miss the Nahoum's bakery in New Market. I guess its more than a century old, and a Kolkata landmark.

And considering that you are going to be in Ballygunge, hop over to the Gariahat market, if you want to experience shopping the authentic Kolkata way. Bargaining is legal and is a must have a skill!

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by digitalnirvana

Skip Mother's Wax Museum and go to Eco Park instead or better still, stroll around the Maidan and do some shopping at Esplanade as your base is Ballygunge. Mother's Wax Museum and Eco Park are in New Town and very far from Mother House.
..............................................
For day 3 try lunch at 6 Ballygunge Place for authentic Bengali food. But then you will have to skip Science City or have an early brunch

Originally Posted by Arka

In addition to 6 Ballygunge Place, another must try for authentic Bengali food is the Aaheli restaurant at the Peerless Inn. And, considering you are in the vicinity, do not miss the Nahoum's bakery in New Market. I guess its more than a century old, and a Kolkata landmark.

Many thanks for the very useful suggestions, I will realign the plan based on this.

Looking for inputs on getting an Innova (or similar vehicle that can fit in 6 adults) for the whole of Day 2. I also heard about day packages from OLA/Uber, but yet to check on details

[abhikb]

Hello Bhpians

Can anyone suggest good 3 star places to stay in Phuket and Krabi.

[smrtdvl]

Originally Posted by abhikb

Hello Bhpians

Can anyone suggest good 3 star places to stay in Phuket and Krabi.

No idea about Phuket but krabi we stayed in Deewana Plaza. Got a fantastic deal when booked directly. We stayed in pool access room.

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by Arka

In addition to 6 Ballygunge Place, another must try for authentic Bengali food is the Aaheli restaurant at the Peerless Inn.

Thanks for this wonderful suggestion. We tried their Thali for lunch and it was excellent though prices are on the higher side (INR 1850 per plate).

[sanjaykk]

I'm looking for a budget accommodation (guest house type) for 1 week in Pondicherry.
Any suggestions?

[strawhat]

Originally Posted by sanjaykk

I'm looking for a budget accommodation (guest house type) for 1 week in Pondicherry.
Any suggestions?

A quick lookup on Airbnb threw these results:
- https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/19667949?s=51
- https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/2560973?s=51
- https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/24625167?s=51
- https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/15765228?s=51

There are plenty of places listed on airbnb. You may want to read the rules, description and reviews. Also compare the prices on other websites to get better deals.

[Romins]

We found this nice place at Mysore - GoodTouch Serviced Apartments.

Rs 1250 /dbl with AirConditioner. 4km from Palace in Gokulam.

https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/27551509?s=1

[NPV]

Any recommendations for resorts/estate bungalows with calm surroundings (nothing fancy/luxurious) around Srirangapatna/Chamarajanagar or nearby ? This is for a friend who is planning a visit with family.