Hi yogpat

When booking hotels tripadvisor.com is your friend! If you are new to a city the best place to start is with the city overview (of hotels), and tripadvisor will give you the list starting with #1 downwards. I usually start at the top and keep working my way down till I find the right mix between price and ranking.

Be aware that tripadvisor is pretty accurate. If several people all say 'don't stay here' then you are best not to stay. It's not really a case of 'oh they might be wrong'. If people say its bad its usually not the place to try and find out 'how bad can it be' (because it is usually bad).

Once you have found the right balance between cost and ranking, make sure the hotel is in your desired area. (I prefer to work this way rather than getting tripadvisor to rank by area because sometimes a real gem can be just outside where you want to be and within easy access.)

I stayed at the Ascot Hotel in Bombay which is located in Colaba - a good place to stay in the touristy area. It is about 80USD for a large room with air/con and is a good find, punching well above its price range. A five star will be USD350 upwards.

Some people have had trouble with bookings made at Indian hotels (reservations not being there when they arrived). I usually make my booking direct with the hotel (via their website or email, make sure it is a secure connection). This way there is no middle man taking a cut of the reservation fee. This way I have always had a room when I turned up (I've always assumed its because I get priority because they make the most money out of me).

Please let us know how you get on, feednack is always appreciated.

Regads

lme ff