MAA Question
 

Hey all - thought you'd be the best people to ask this. I am on transit in MAA (BRU/MAA/HYD) and was wondering if there was an arrivals duty free @ MAA? Also, any sense of the prices for alcohol - BRU vs. 9W vs. MAA Arrivals? My Indian friends seem to consume more alcohol than average :).

Finally, for a 7 hour layover, is there anything in the terminal yet? AFAIR, the Trident was the closest hotel?

Thanks.

if i remember correctly, there is duty free at arrivals in maa....

for a 7 hour layover at night it makes sense to go to one of the nearby hotels....i normally use the le royal méridien....at that time at night about 5 minutes from the airport....

MAA question
 

Yes,
there is a duty free as soon as you come down the escalator on the right side.The prices are cheaper than Europe.BlackLabel is popular and is 1 or 5 dollars cheaper.I always buy there as i dont have lug the heavy bottles around in europe on transit.
Yes, Indians tend to "gobble" down drinks.[prestige drinking to get drunk]
Choices are limited but they stock what is most sought by Indians.

Thanks a lot for the comments and feedback. I will hold off on the purchases until after arrival.

And Jayagopal50, I do not agree that Indians "prestige drinking to get drunk". Most I have met and found do not fall in this category. If anything, I have found this "let's get drunk" mentality mostly amongst Americans.

You are probably comparing American students with Indian adults, who drink a lot more than adult Americans.
Every Indian who has visited drank--a lot-- every day and asked for more. No American visitor has asked for a drink, many refused even when offered.
It seems that drinking isn;t just a social thing for Indians. They drink to get drunk.

+1, but the Radisson is even closer.

There's a Trident as well, which would be the nearest to the airport and is a pretty good option as well.

fair enough....i just like the méridien better....:)

I have stayed @ Le M. Pretty good except the dodgy gym. I am looking at the Trident. My only experience with them is in Gurgaon which was super nice.

Thanks for the comments. One other thing - looking for champagne and whiskey. Should be good on arrival duty free @ MAA right?

Whisky is there for sure @ arrivals, mainly blended scotch. Not too sure bout champagne.

I agree, Indians have a tendency to overdo anything Americans/Westerners do. For example, going to bars drinking is nothing out of the ordinary for Westerners, but over in India it's over glorified to the point where you're not cool if you don't go to bars and get crazy drunk, just watch any current Bollywood movie and that's all majority of characters do, is try too hard to be American/Western. p.s. not ALL Indians are like that, but it is a overwhelming trend:)