[dadu]

I need first hand recommendation on a comfortable (Family Stay + Food) Resort near/ around Mahabalipuram (not pondicherry).

Route help is also needed on how to bypass Chennai while travelling from Bangalore to Mahabalipuram (bypass chennai to ECR).

Please suggest with your experiences (if any).

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by dadu

I need first hand recommendation on a comfortable (Family Stay + Food) Resort near/ around Mahabalipuram (not pondicherry).

Route help is also needed on how to bypass Chennai while travelling from Bangalore to Mahabalipuram (bypass chennai to ECR).

Please suggest with your experiences (if any).

As you approach Chennai, take the bye pass road and proceed towards Vandalur (NH 45/GST Road). Keep watching to your left side. As soon as you cross the Vandalur Zoo, there will be a left turn which will lead you straight to ECR. If you take the Tiruvannamalai route from B'lore, proceed towards Chengalpet town after entering NH 45. There is a road from Chengalpet which will take you to Mahabs. Read the travelogue of Akroy for this route.

[hellstar]

Originally Posted by dadu

I need first hand recommendation on a comfortable (Family Stay + Food) Resort near/ around Mahabalipuram (not pondicherry).

Route help is also needed on how to bypass Chennai while travelling from Bangalore to Mahabalipuram (bypass chennai to ECR).

Please suggest with your experiences (if any).

Dadu , i have been staying on and off at various resorts in Mahabalipuram by virtue of my work. Right now you can forget staying at any places withing the town all are hopeless and not cost effective. I perosnally after a lot of hits and misses have settled down at Silver Sands resort, which is about 3 km before Mahabalipuram on the ECR. Just before the indianoil petrol pump. The place is lacking good marketing and a good facelift but they have the most spacious rooms and bathrooms . The closest access to the sea and very very personalizes service.Only pet hate about this place is that they don't serve non veg or liquor , but they don't stop you from bringing in your stuff. I stay there almost 15 days every month.

Dont get turned off by the very rustic especially at the rates they offer , i dont min going out for the food i like , i just take a small drive to Moonraker in mahabs town if i want some non-veg or the non-veg joint adjacent to the A2B near the entrance to the Mahabs town ( i love the nethili fry here ). Fro veg fare mamalla hotel is good and cost effective.

Drop me a line if you need some good deals there. but be warned this is just about the quaintest place you will find and they are also very selective about their guests so that they dont get the noisy unruly kinds there, especially the college types.

Other Options

Ideal resorts - run my a srilankan - classy service typical but will set you back by atleast Rs 7 K per day without food.

Forget about VGP their service sucks and the crowd in not exactly what i'd call ideal.

GRT - great place but rs 8K perday is the Min that you shell out. lovkey cusine try the dinner there one day rs 800 per pax its a kill !

Originally Posted by Gansan

As you approach Chennai, take the bye pass road and proceed towards Vandalur (NH 45/GST Road). Keep watching to your left side. As soon as you cross the Vandalur Zoo, there will be a left turn which will lead you straight to ECR. If you take the Tiruvannamalai route from B'lore, proceed towards Chengalpet town after entering NH 45. There is a road from Chengalpet which will take you to Mahabs. Read the travelogue of Akroy for this route.

the first route past vandalur zoo will be your non nonsense route the chengalpet rote is far too complex , and you need to cross the messy changapet city and the roads cannot be even called "even" forget it .
take the left adjoining vandalur zoo and drive till the dead end , take a right there and the next left. You will join the ECR and will pay a toll of Rs 45 i believe to get through . At this point turn right and Silver sands is about 14 Kms from here. If you are travelling in the daytime keep an eye out for police with radar guns , beyond 1730 hrs they are not there anymore.

Have good time.!

[dadu]

thanks Gansan & Hellstar, I am not looking at 5 star rates anyway. I am looking at a place to relax, eat and sleep.

I will drop you a PM later.

[ak916]

There is a resort called eluthera, which is 2 kms before mahabalipuram (on the ECR from chennai). It had a/c and non a/c cottages and it is right on the sea side. Clean sheets and good food... one of those places which doesnt have a menu card. they just ask you what you feel like eating and go get the stuff and cook it! oh but that was 3 years ago. I am not too sure about the developments now but it is worth considering.

[hellstar]

Originally Posted by ak916

There is a resort called eluthera, which is 2 kms before mahabalipuram (on the ECR from chennai). It had a/c and non a/c cottages and it is right on the sea side. Clean sheets and good food... one of those places which doesnt have a menu card. they just ask you what you feel like eating and go get the stuff and cook it! oh but that was 3 years ago. I am not too sure about the developments now but it is worth considering.

where is this place ? i have been scouring the area for since April regularly and haven't sen anything in the area that goes by that name. Or is this some home stay kind of place ?

[Thad E Ginathom]

I was only contemplating today what an over-rated place Moonrakers is!

I heard several people recommend it, but it is nothing special at all. The service is bad, and the food is nothing special. On one occasion, I had finsihed my meal by the time they brought the rice that was meant ot go with it.

It also has a pub-bar-youth drinking/smoking ambience. If this is what someone is looking for, then that's fine. A bunch of kids looking like they think they are clever because they have a beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other and noise coming out of their mouths is a scene I left long (far too long <blush>) ago.

I do an occasional day trip to Mahabs --- and other recommendations for modest-price non-veg eating places would be appreciated. I guess I don't go there often enough to actually get to know the town.

[DieselFan]

If you are looking for a decent affordable place for stay you may also look at Hotel Golden Sun. Good location, nice private beach and above average food.

:: Hotel Golden Sun - The Best Beach Resort in Mahabalipuram :: *************

[ak916]

Originally Posted by hellstar

where is this place ? i have been scouring the area for since April regularly and haven't sen anything in the area that goes by that name. Or is this some home stay kind of place ?

Eluthera Resort

Its not a homestay. I found this on wikimapia and there is a placemark on google earth as well. When you are coming in from chennai on the ecr, about 2 kms before mahabalipuram, on the left handside before a fuel station and a govt resort. This, I say from memory.

If you are in the area, please check out the place and let me know how it is now. planning on going there sometime in the near future.

[esteem_lover]

Silver sands used to be very good 16 years ago. Now I am not sure it is a great place for a family to stay. Yes, for bachelors it is still a good spot. Please correct me if I am wrong. Last I visited the place was in 1993 and only heard about that place since then.

Golden Sun, Eluthera & MGM are worth a look in.

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

If you are looking for a decent affordable place for stay you may also look at Hotel Golden Sun. Good location, nice private beach and above average food.

:: Hotel Golden Sun - The Best Beach Resort in Mahabalipuram :: *************

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Golden Sun, Eluthera & MGM are worth a look in.

Dont even think of going to this place. One of the worst places on the ECR route, have stayed there and their suite was fulla cockroaches. Rooms were damp, crappy service and their so called AC was noisy.

You could also try Shelter beach resort, bit expensive however nice ambiance.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by Gansan

As you approach Chennai, take the bye pass road and proceed towards Vandalur (NH 45/GST Road). Keep watching to your left side. As soon as you cross the Vandalur Zoo, there will be a left turn which will lead you straight to ECR. If you take the Tiruvannamalai route from B'lore, proceed towards Chengalpet town after entering NH 45. There is a road from Chengalpet which will take you to Mahabs. Read the travelogue of Akroy for this route.

Is this marked good enough in English or else please provide the landmark to look out for and also clarity, if to take a left or right deviation.

I am looking at options available for the stay suggested here and by search. More options are welcome too.

[nnandi]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Dont even think of going to this place. One of the worst places on the ECR route, have stayed there and their suite was fulla cockroaches. Rooms were damp, crappy service and their so called AC was noisy.

You could also try Shelter beach resort, bit expensive however nice ambiance.

Dadu, what rjstyles69 says is correct. Golden Sun resort sucks big time! they have normal ac rooms, deluxe cottages and 1 or 2 rooms facing both swimming pool and sea. The normal rooms and cottages are bad, rooms are pathetic, linen smell, noisy ACs which konk off middle of night! But sea/swimming pool facing rooms are brilliant. The good part of the resort is their private beach and right out of the beach, you can jump into the pool which is clean and well-maintained. The best part, they serve the right beverage (your kind!) at not so extravagant price!
Otherwise, there are some other resorts which is in the same stretch who do not advertise but they have good cottages. Google for them!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by dadu

Is this marked good enough in English or else please provide the landmark to look out for and also clarity, if to take a left or right deviation.

I am looking at options available for the stay suggested here and by search. More options are welcome too.

Google Earth will help you in finding this route. That's how I originally found my way from my home on the ECR to Vandalur Zoo!

[hellstar]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Silver sands used to be very good 16 years ago. Now I am not sure it is a great place for a family to stay. Yes, for bachelors it is still a good spot. Please correct me if I am wrong. Last I visited the place was in 1993 and only heard about that place since then.

Golden Sun, Eluthera & MGM are worth a look in.

Actually silver Sands was a 100 Room resort the first of its kind in india 16 years ago , they shut shop about ten years ago and moved next door to just four rooms cottages. Actaully the 100 room setup is ideal and all that infrastaurcure is rotting away to glory right next door and you can see it from the Golden Sands resort as well.The "new" setup is being run by a pretty straight forward guy the son of the guy who was managing the earlier one. I have stayed here for more than 60 days till now and havent had an whiff of anything that would compromise a family presence here. no problems at all! Actually i have found surprisingly that the staff actually bend rules to make the guests comfortable, like getting food or beverages from outside if requested and things like that even when there is an in house kitchen.

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

You could also try Shelter beach resort, bit expensive however nice ambiance.

This is also a good place , have been there for a couple of days. :-)

Originally Posted by dadu

Is this marked good enough in English or else please provide the landmark to look out for and also clarity, if to take a left or right deviation.

I

Ok dadu here is the low down- as soon as the toll road ends ( this you can make out from the signage - which is very tough to miss) the road becomes two lane and then you come to a junction where a flyover construction is in progress , here you take a right this takes you to chennai by-pass where you need to pay toll. drive and follow the road. at one pint you will find small signages pointing left for chennai . DO NOT take this left instead stick to the main road from here another 3-4 kms will bring you to vandalur Zoo, slow down pass this and immediately there is a left take that , takes you straight to Kelambakkam from where i have given directions in my previous post.