Accomodation in Calcutta
Where To Stay - Lower
Calcutta has a shortage of budget accommodations. Most of the budget places are around Sudder St, off Chowringhee Rd, by the Indian Museum. Sudder St is the hang-out street for the traveler's crowd.
Where To Stay - Sudder St Area
The Salvation Army Red Shield Guest House, 2 Sudder St, is a popular budget place with clean rooms for a dorm bed. It is often booked, but if you can get in, it is a very good value. They will look after nonresident's baggage. The popular Hotel Maria, further down Sudder St, has rooms with bath.
The Hotel Paragon, 2 Stuart Lane, is a popular place on a quite street. It has rooms with common bath. The upstairs rooms are much better than the gloomy ground floor rooms. It has a pleasant courtyard upstairs. The Modern Lodge, 1 Stuart Lane is a popular place that has rooms with common bath and with bath. The best rooms are the ones with bath on the upper floor and roof. The manager here can help you get a cheap flight. Mary budget travelers stay at these two places.
The Hotel Plaza, Sudder St, is a decent small place with double rooms with A/C. The Tourist Inn, 4/1 Sudder Street, is a clean place.
The Hilson Hotel, 4 Sudder St, has room with common bath and for a double with bath. Down the street and about the same is the Shilton Hotel, which has rooms with bath. Centrepoint Guest House, 20 Mirza Ghalib St (Free School St) by Sudder St, is a decent place that has rooms with bath and with A/C.
The Neelam Hotel, Dr M lshaque Rd, south of Sudder St, has big run-down rooms. Across the street is the East End Hotel, Dr M Ishaque Rd, which is a decent place that has rooms with TV.
The Classic Hotel, down an alley off Mirza Ghalib St, has singles some without windows, doubles with bath and TV and A/C rooms. The rooms are all right, but the paint-job is seriously bad. You can get buckets of hot water here. The Khaja Habib Hotel, 33 Mirza Ghalib St, has well-maintained clean rooms.
The YMCA, 25 Jawaharlal Nehru Rd, near the Indian Museum, is a large gloomy building with rooms with A/C. This place is popular with Indian businessmen, so it is often full.
Where to Stay - Others
There are retiring rooms with bath at the Howrah Railway Station. The Railway Yatri Nivas, next to the station, has rooms with attached and with A/C. You have train ticket for 200 km or more to stay here.
About a five-minute walk from Howrah Bridge, on the same road as the Howrah bridge, are a group of hotels. The Hotel Meghdoot, P-3A Dobson Lane, has rooms with A/C.
Next door, the Natraj has rooms with a TV. The Hotel Saket, just off Dobson Lane, is a big place with rooms with an A/C room. The Hotel Manish, P-1 Dobson Lane, is centrally air-conditioned has rooms.
The Calcutta Airport has rest rooms with A/C.
TheYMCA, 42 Surendra Nath Banerji Rd, has doubles, plus a temporary membership. It is often full.
Where to Stay - Middle
The Hotel Swagath, 37 Hazara Road, is good place to stay in south Calcutta. This is the closest nice place to the ISKCON Calcutta Temple. Rooms with A/C. They also have a decent vegetarian restaurant. They are the suggested middle class place to stay if you want to stay by the temple or you have to catch the bus to Mayapur the next morning. It is a good idea to call them before you go there, because they are often full, especially in December or January.
The Hotel Trimoorti, 24 Ray Street (off Elgin Road), is a good place that has rooms with TV a night.
Hotel Circular, 177A AJC Bose Road, is a good place that is centrally located. Rooms with hot water, air-con, and TV with an luxury tax. It is across the street from Mother Teresa's Missionaries.
The Hotel Carlton, 2 Chowringhee Place, is a good place with rooms.
Where To Stay - BBD Bagh
The Hotel Embassy, Princep St, has rooms with bath. The Broadway Hotel, a block east of Princep St, has rooms with bath for a single with common bath with bath and a TV. It is often full.
The Central Guest House, Chittaranjan Ave and 18 Prafulla Sarkar St, is a recommended place with rooms with A/C. It is in a relatively quiet area. The hotel is on Chittaranjan Ave, but the entrance is down a back alley off Prafulla Sarkar St. The rooms in the back are quiet, while the rooms on Chittaranjan Ave can be noisy.
Where To Stay - Chowringhee
Hotel Lindsay, 6th floor, 8A Lindsay St, opposite New Market, is a decent place that has rooms with A/C. The Lodge, by Sudder St, is a clean place with rooms with A/C. The Lindsay Guest House, on the floor above, has fairly simple clean rooms that are a decent value. Rooms are with A/C.
The Hotel Plaza, 10 sudder St, has recently renovated good rooms with A/C.
The CKT Inn, 12 A Lindsay St, is a good place that has rooms with A/C and TV. This place is often full. The Hotel VIP, Mirza Ghalib St, has rooms, some without windows, with A/C. The Astoria Hotel, 6/2 Sudder Street, has A/C rooms with TV.
Where To Stay - High
The Fairlawn Hotel, 13/A Sudder Street, is a classic example of a British Raj hotel and is recommended for its atmosphere. Rooms are, which includes meals. My friend was able to get a slightly cheaper price by telling them he would not eat the meals that are included in the price. It is run by Mr. and Mrs. Smith, who still run the hotel almost 50 years after Independence.
The Tollygunge Club, 120 Deshapran Sasmal Rd, is a country club with a relaxing atmosphere in the southern part of Calcutta. Foreign guests are allowed to stay, as long as they are tidy. But to stay here you have to write, fax, or call in advance. It has an indoor and outdoor poor and many other facilities. It is a ten-minute walk from the Tollygunge metro station.
The Lytton Hotel, 14 Sudder St, is a good centrally located place with rooms. You have to get a room here early, as it fills up. It is a recommended place. The Old Kenilworth Hotel, 7 Little Russel St, has a lot of atmosphere and large rooms with A/C. It is in an old colonial-style house, and the rooms have balconies. All rooms have bath, and the drinking water is thoroughly boiled.
The Great Eastern Hotel, 1-3 Old Court House St, is a big old place with 200 rooms. It dates back to the British-Raj and has seen better days. It has rooms with A/C. It is very popular and is usually full by noon. The cheaper rooms are recommended. The Kenilworth Hotel, 1 Little Russel St, has modern rooms with A/C.
Where To Stay - Luxury
The Oberoi Grand Hotel, 15 Jawaharlal Nehru Rd, is an excellent hotel with a great atmosphere. The Taj Bengal, south end of the Maidan, is another excellent place with room. This place has a swimming pool and health club.
The Park Hotel, 17 Park St, is centrally located and has rooms. It has pool. The five-star ITDC Airport Ashok, by the airport, is good if you are taking a flight in the morning or arriving late at night.
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