gpotvin

We will be staying in Chennai for one night on our way out of Sri Lanka. We are looking for suggestions for a hotel near the airport. We arrive mid-afternoon on a Saturday and fly out the at 1:45 a.m. the following Monday, so it would be nice to be someplace where we might be able to wander a little bit.

Cicerone

The airport is not very far from the city, so I first say to considering staying in the city rather than out at the airport. On a Saturday, and on your return trip late at night on Sunday, I would be surprised if it takes you more than 30-45 minutes to get to/from the airport and your hotel or most areas where you would want to stay or sightsee.

If you really want to stay near the airport, then I would look at the Radisson, which is a few miles away. There is also a Trident (run by Taj) which I have not seen. But there are many nice hotels in Chennai (including a Marriott Courtyard and a new Hyatt if you have points at either) which would make staying in the city quite attractive. There are some Taj options that would work as well. I have had dinner at the Rain Tree hotel in St. Mary's Road and thought the hotel looked quite nice. See http://www.raintreehotels.com

For things to do, it’s hard to suggest without knowing your preferences. There is the colonial area of Fort George which is interesting, and there is the Sri Parthasarathy temple and the Shiva temple of Kapaleeshwarar. It might be a nice contrast to see a Hindu temple or two before heading off to Buddhist Sri Lanka. The main beach in town is long and wide and quite pretty, but if you are seeing beaches in Sri Lanka maybe you don’t need to include that. For sure try some of the great South Indian food. Chennai is also known for music and dance, so check to see if there are any festivals or concerts (e.g. look for a great drummer named Sivamani) while you will be there. For dance, you can go to the Kalakshetra, located on the beach in the south of the city. http://www.kalakshetra.net/. Not far away is Cholamandalam, a cooperative artists' colony.

The other option is to go to Mamallapruam for your overnight. (This was recommended to you on another post of yours.) Doing this may be biting off more than you want to chew, but is certainly fascinating. It would mean a drive down the lovely east coast road on Saturday afternoon, sightseeing there and Sunday, then heading back up as late as you can (while still daylight if possible, although the road is not as bad as others in India at night.) Not sure where you are landing in Chennai from, if you are coming off an overnight flight, then hoping in a car (unwashed) at the airport for a drive or 2-3 hours may not be your idea of a good time.... For Mamallapruam I think the Radisson is about the only good place in town; I have had meals at the Hotel Sea Breeze and saw some rooms, they were OK, but I was shocked by the prices for the sea view deluxe rooms (their very best) at US$150 a night for what is a very average room, a 3 star at most. But nice spot on the beach, and walkable to the shore temple, which is lit at night. One of my travel mottos is that for 1 night I can stand anything, so it may be a good choice because of its excellent location. Can’t find an official website.

Rather than an overnight, you could do Mamallapruam as a longish day trip on Sunday, but get an early start if you do this. For that, staying near the airport would make sense, as the airport and Mamallapruam are south of the city, so you would cut out some travel time on the trip down.

There is also the large temple complex of Kanchipuran, but that is a little further and inland so with 1.5 days it may not be a good use of your time.

No matter what you do, you might want to seriously consider paying for a room for for Sunday night, as you would then have a place to chill out and shower before that 2 am depature for Sri Lanka. I am painfully familair with those horrible middle-of-the-night depatures from India, and find that having access to a hotel room until midnight or so can be a <i>very</i> good thing. Especially after a day of sightseeing in India. For that, the Radisson or Trident would be the best choices.

Grassshopper

I stayed at the Lemon Tree hotel in Chennai. Lovely lemony smell and comfortable clean rooms. They had an excellent breakfast buffet.

We did Mamallapruam as a day trip and it was fine.

galactus

The Trident near the Chennai Airport is pretty good and is only about ~3 Kms from the airport.

qwovadis

www.booking.com/airport/in/MAA.en.html

Mahalaya best pricepoints

Hilton my fav as an HHoronors member

driver/guides supercheap there for hire

from $20 crisp US $1 bills all day

dollar super strong there now.

Their stock maret is in the tank.

Happy Hunting

simon_louis

Try this. It is around 3 kilometres from the International Airport terminal of Chennai.

1. Lemon Tree Hotel - http://www.lemontreehotels.com/chenn...l-chennai.aspx

2. Le Meridian - http://www.leroyalmeridien-chennai.com/Location.html

Thank you... I hope that you will have a nice time there!!!!

kmd88

As was suggested above, you should stay in the city and not out at the airport. To make your 1:45am flight you won't need much travel time at all, and staying in the city will make your day and a half more enjoyable.

For the most centrally located, try The Park Hotel http://www.theparkhotels.com/chennai...k-chennai.html or the Courtyard Marriott.

For the easiest wandering, try The Raintree, as it's in a more residential neighborhood.

Lots to see and do in Chennai, and lots of great shopping as well (in the market area of T. Nagar or the old mall Spencer Plaza) if you haven't yet filled up your suitcases.

viadotcom

Hi , There are around 55 hotels around chennai airport which are of star rating 3,4 and 5. Major hotel group such as Fab and trident hotels have hotels near airport in that location.

You can book hotels near chennai airport here - https://in.via.com/hotels/india/chen...hennai-airport