Chennai Hotels ...
 

I'm visiting Chennai for the first time. Sadly, I'll be paying my own bills - which means the lottery of sifting through all the over-blown internet descriptions to come up with something clean, comfortable and convenient under $100.

Any first-hand recommendations gratefully received!

Ian

You'll find travel related information on Chennai in the Chennai sub-forum at IndiaMike. The site is geared towards the budget traveler. Try this sub-forum for some budget hotels in Chennai.

you used to be able to get great rooms for well under a 100 USD, sadly (or not) those days are long gone thanks to a growing GDP and, more specific to Chennai, the IT boom.

Huh? I went last year and I was able to get a room for well under US$100. In fact, maybe $30. I stayed at the Hotel Shan Royal which claims to be a 3 star business hotel.

The floors are granite but the bathroom stinks. Maybe it's because of the local water? The air conditioning is cold. You can buy bottled water buy running across the street. On the way, you'll see 2 cows tied to a fence.

If you take the auto rickshaw, be prepared to point to the driver where to turn. All of the ones that I used did not speak English, could not read Roman alphabet, but did understand when to turn (but that requires you are good at topography). The hotel desk can instruct the driver but they cannot instruct the driver when you are coming back! So remember how the guy went to your destination.

When I went last January, I stayed at the Courtyard Marriott for $135 inclusive of buffet breakfast and it was great. But with rising hotel rates, and a weaker dollar, the Indian hotels are now switching to quoting/billing hotels in INR! Good luck!

Emphasis on the word "GREAT" in my original post...

Lots of "3 star" hotels are just what you said, or they were very nice at one time and just have not been renovated in 10-20 years, much less well maintained.

As for the last paragraph.. welcome to India!

Chennai in April
 

I'm going to Chennai from Apr 5-Apr 13 for business. I'm staying at ITC Sheraton the whole time.

What is there to do and see in the city in late afternoon/evening ? Does anyone recommend any places to eat, or should I stick to the hotel restaurant ?

How is the hotel neighborhood ? Anything interesting within walking distance ? Is it safe to walk around or should I take a taxi ?

I will have sunday Apr 6 free, are there any places further away from Chennai that I shouldn't miss ? Is Mahabalipuram worth going to as a day trip ? Any recommended means of getting there ?

Thanks for your advice.

The ITC park sheraton is actually a very nice hotel.. was there for a conference today. Late afternoon to evening - not much inside Madras (though lots of good places to eat out).

http://chennai.burrp.com has several places but briefly -

Cornucopia - western cuisine, fusion sort of - Cenotaph Road, Teynampet.

Benjarong - Thai

Matsya - Egmore or T.Nagar - south indian vegetarian "tiffin" in the "udupi" stype .. its authentic

Copper Point, at the GRT Grand Days in T Nagar - south indian food

Oh, if you have a cast iron stomach and a good resistance to stomach bugs there's a much wider range of options.

Keep a weekend or so free to get driven out along the east coast road to Mahabalipuram, that'd be a good place to go. Or there's other stuff (temples and such) withn the city, a museum .. dont know what kind of sightseeing you want but Frommers etc should have the lot covered.

Oh, as for safe - the hotel is not far from downtown and in a nice part of town.. and there's another very nice restaurant almost round the corner from the hotel - Peppers. Pretty good north indian food, that.

Thanks a lot for your input.

Chennai in April... will be hot

And humid.

As far as things to see I found the market on the beach pretty interesting. Also, Im not a very religious person but there is actually a major Christian shrine there. It is the tomb of one of the 12 apostles (Thomas) who brought Christianity to India. It is under the alter of a church and you can go underground in an adjacent building and walk over to the tomb under the church. It also has a small museum that describes how Christianity was brought to India. I had no idea it was that early and found it quite interesting from an historical, as well as religious standpoint.

Lots of Hindu sights too, not to mention mosques. I think a great thing to do (if you can brave the heat humidity pollution and occassional smell of sewage is to hite an auto rickshaw for a day and go site to site for the entire city. That's how you'll get a feel for Chennai.

chennai autorickshaw drivers are famous, rpt famous for ripping people off. and they dont ever use the meter.

hire a car for a day and drive around .. its aircon and you dont roast, and theres a fixed rate. dont ask for a car from the hotel concierge.. thats a huge ripoff too.

http://www.carzonrent.com is the local hertz affiliate, and they have cars in most indian cities.. or there are other car providers you can book off the Indian Railways website www.irctc.co.in [yup you can also book train tickets on it] .. that'll prove rather cheaper.

Thanks for all your advice.

Trip's been postponed to mid-May, I guess it will be even hotter by then...

Most of India generally has three seasons. Hot, hotter, and inferno. Hire an air conditioned car for the day. The drivers will often try to save a bit of money by turning the a/c on and off repeatedly but a mild rebuke will set them straight. Have fun.

MAA in May ... Ouch.

MAA .. ouch

-- this from a resident in MAA for the last 6 years

I personally think an autorisckshaw is the way to go. Even locals get ripped off but sitting in the thing in the heat and humidity is an experience on its own and you get to see, feel and smell the city firsthand (though the latter two certainly are not for everyone).

Hiring a car for the day, while expensive is easy but you just don't get the authenticity...

^^

Or get up early in the morning (6-ish when the town is just waking up) and walk out from your hotel (it's in a good area), discover you are lost and take a 3-wheeler back to the Sheraton for breakfast and back to work.

I was there in August. Does anyone want to compare heat and humidity notes?

I live there all the year round. You want heat and humidity notes? I got pages and pages of them .. Kingfisher beer. And more Kingfisher beer. And coconut water straight from the coconut, and sugarcane juice, and iced, spiced (with chili peppers, cilantro leaves etc) buttermilk.

I've done my share of summers in Chennai/TN. Ouch is an understatement.

Looks like I'll be going there in October now.

What is the weather like then ? Still infernesque ?

Oct - Feb the weather is quite pleasant.

chennai
 

we will be in chennai in december for a few days (26-29 dec)

can you let me know which hotel to stay in at the seaside? I ve heard that the sea there is fantastic. My budget s around 100-150 usd per night for a double bed.

which restaurants to eat in? i love indian food but it has to be in a nice indian decent place

i m also happy to get from the chennai airport directly outside the city and leave it but not too far though

thanks for your help

1. Fishermans Cove or a bunch of others along the kovalam beach / east coast road. Fish Cove would go to $50..75 over your budget.

2. http://chennai.burrp.com/ is decent wrt restaurant reviews - but all those are in madras city, and the seaside / beach view hotels are about an hour and a half at least away.

sold out
 

the only problem is that they are sold out

are the rooms in DEC 2008 are not made available yet or are they really sold out

it sounds strange to me unless there are some conferences 27-30 dec 2008

what do you think of the
Grt Temple Bay Beach Resort?

Madras Hotel Question
 

For a trip to Madras next month, I am debating between the Hilton and the Crowne Plaza; they are both similarly priced and I hold status at both chains.

Which one is better? Which one is easier for public transport and which one has more shops / restaurants within easy walking distance?

never stayed at the crowne plaza but i have stayed at the hilton a couple of times & would not hesitate to go back....

Crowne plaza is located more centrally. The Hilton will not be a good location for you if you want to walk to shops / restaurants.
There are plenty of restaurants within 1 to 3 kilometers of the Crowne plaza.

Not sure if you really want to do the public transit buses. It is quite a task to get in to those buses at rush hour, etc.

The suburban train system is not near either of the hotels.
The "metro" rail (above ground) is not really completely functional (AFAIK)...though that rail line is right in front of the Hilton.

I would recommend you stick to the Crowne Plaza.

One day in Chennai
 

I've got an upcoming trip to Chennai and will have one day free for sightseeing. Any particular recommendations on how to spend my time?

You'll probably get better info from others, but... I find Chennai a difficult city to get on with, at least in the short term. There are sights worth seeing (the fort, the cathedral, the beach and lighthouse) and some fantastic food about, but it's one of those cities where you really have to handle the heat and humidity, and know all those little areas to go to for specific needs.

For a short trip, I'd be tempted to head down the coast to Mahabalipuram. Great combination of sea, wonderful ancient monuments, and some really good seafood. But that depends on what kind of stopover you want!

if your upcoming trip is now then it will be too hot to explore....i was there last week & i didn't venture out much because of the heat....

where will you be staying????

My friends in Chennai say it has three seasons: hot, hotter, and hottest. May is squarely in the hottest season. I've been to Mahabalipuram in the heat with a private car and driver. I found that I could take no more than about 20 minutes in the sun and then would have to retreat back to the car to cool down.

Make sure you have a hat, plenty of sun screen and water if you venture out.

Thanks all, I'm coming during the last week of May so I know I'll need to be prepared for the heat. I've spent a fair amount of time in similar climates in the past so I've got a fairly good idea what I'm getting myself into. Planning on staying the ITC Grand Chola.

I would suggest you visit the Guindy snake park. Fascinating :)

Tips for Chennai?
 

I've never had any reason to visit Chennai, but I've decided to make up for that with a long-weekend visit next month, just for the heck of it.

Any advice on where to stay? Location and comfort are of course important, but so is price. I know there'll be a wondrous Taj hotel, but on my own dime I'll be happier in 3/4 star place - maybe use points if any of the IHG hotels are well located. Tripadvisor has become a mess of single-poster rave reviews for most hotels.

Any must see places? And must eat places?

Finally, is an Uber pick-up easy to negotiate at the airport?

I've been there 4 times for work and once for a friend's wedding and I really can't find a reason why anyone would want to go there. Which is unusual, since I usually find a good reason to stay over the weekend wherever I travel for work.

I usually choose the Taj Coromandel, but that's because its close to work. At INR 6500+28% taxes its good value.
I hear the new IC south of the city is nice, but I've never stayed there.

No. No.

No. One of my colleagues tried to get an Uber last month and the drivers canceled on him a couple of times (apparently they prefer cash payments) and one asked him to walk outside to a main road - and he spoke the local language. The international arrivals is a messy area. I usually get a prepaid taxi from the counter just before exiting the building and that's the most straightforward. You do need INR cash though.

Depressing :(

But my other need-to-see metro is Kolkata: so perhaps i haven't drawn the short straw with Chennai.