Friday, 5 October 2012

Find the perfect place to sleep : Hotels

McLeod and surrounding areas have more than 100 hotels and guest houses. Most guest house or hotels are accustomed to only foreigner policy as they stay for longer periods (months or week), hence the tariffs are invariably high for Indians and too cheap for non-indians.

Main square area houses the famous restaurants (Mccalo) and hotels. All roads diverge from this square and you can find Hotels on every road. As logically as possible, the more you are closer to the main square the more you pay. Tariffs are usually above Rs. 2500 + Taxes @ main square.

Honestly if you want to find a budget hotel, please don't search @ TripAdvisor , Yaatra etc or any other stupid sites. Hotels on such websites are usually charging you over the top. I mean you can anyways get a better hotel your own. But still if you are not an explorer and you are there just for the week end. Book it anyway.

My Hotel - Hotel Pink House*
Not more than 100 mts. from the main square, down the Jogibara road you find a lot of hotels in a line. You will also find shopping lanes, temples and eateries all through the road. About 150 mts from the main square and 100 mts down from the Himanchal Bhawan, you find steep stairs going down the, after about 100-150 small and big steps you get to Pink House hotel, which undoubtedly is an experience.
It is run by authentic Kashmiri speaking dude. The owner is very polite and transparent. You will find most of foreigners enjoying meal and coffee on the small lounge with Kashmiri mattress and a bunch of pillows. Like most hotels, it has a rooftop cafe, with awesome view. Not to mention, the rates are very cheap.
I am sure you will enjoy the room service, its makes you feel like a king. :P



Note: Land mark is a shop selling fruit wines and antiques, and you can ask the locals anyway.



An important tip is to always check the available rooms and check for all listed facilities. The best way to find hotel is to take down number from the websites of the hotels. Call them as you reach McLeod, for the room availability. Cheap rooms are usually unavailable.

It is very important to mention that, the big and fancy family hotels usually do not rent out rooms to guys and guy groups. ( I think they want to avoid any rowdiness).

The major disadvantage of my hotels was climbing down the steps. I dint mind that but since, not everyone wants to trek all the time, please do look out for hotels along the road if you are too lazy to climb so much, or you think you will move in and out frequently.


USUAL ROOM RATES 2012
 At main square 2500-3500
Jogiwara Road 800-3500

It is ideal to choose a room of around INR 1100-1500, on this you will have most of the needed facilities.

Finding hotels in Dharamkot

If you are a holiday person, or you want to avoid the crowded city, the best place to live is Dharamkot, just 1.5 km from the main square. Taxis charge 100 bucks, its upto you how many you can stuff in.

Advantages of Dharamkot :
  • scenic beauty
  • cheap hotels
  • surrounded by Israeli and Italian cafes
  • close to bhagsu area which has other good cafes and other live music entertainment
  • it is more hippi and they have lot events going on
Also, Bhagsu fall are equidistant from Dharamkot and Mcleod (.5km :P)

Room rents : You should get good room for about 700-1000. (actually 700 is fair enough)


Please NOTE all the above hotel fares are on short term basis. The longer you stay the cheaper it is.

*Disclaimer : I have no benefit from PINK HOUSE Hotel, I like it so i mentioned it. :)



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