Kolkata
 

Any suggestions for a reasonably priced hotel near the Kolkata/Calcutta Airport? I am heading that way in March, but just overnighting before flying into Guwahati in Assam. I know there is an airport hotel, but wondering if there are any alternatives.

Which cruise are you on John? I'm wavering on a 14 day starting March 24. I object to their vast single surcharge tho' on principle.

I take it you're aware of the wierdness going on in Assam right now? A quick Google in the 'news' section on Dibrugargh might be worth a squizz.

Maybe you're not going up that far...

I don’t recall any hotel at the airport. I think that the Hyatt Regency would be the closest hotel to the airport, it is new and quite nice. Unfortunately my trusty Sawday guide does not show anything for Kolkata. Lonely Planet says the MBD Hotel Airport is 1 mile away (don’t remember ever seeing it), but its one of their “top end” reccos, so cant be too bad. My edition of Lonely Planet said it was closed for renovations, which when I Googled it and found the following, made sense, it seems to be a former Ashok hotel, which are the government-owned hotels which were sold off a few years ago. I don’t know that it is still open, but you might try. Personally, I would go with the Hyatt.

MBD Airport Hotel (Airport Ashok)
N.S.C.B. Intl. Airport
Kolkata - 700 052
West Bengal (India)
Phone : +(91)-(033)-25119111 (20 lines),
Fax : +(91)-(33)-25119137,
Email : [email protected] it at

Does not seem to have a website, which is very odd for India.

Dogster, current plans call for my wife and I to arrive in Guwahai on March 27, and then to travel by road for four hours to the Bansbari Lodge. Our cruise will start about 3-4 days later (about March 30), and finish in Dibrugah on April 7 in the morning. We will fly out about four hours later direct to Delhi to do Agra and Jaipur.

Errrr...my wife is looking forward to meeting you.

*Grins* if you were so secretive about your email, I'd have contacted you direct. I figured that by asking a question about Kolkata, I might get a "bite" from you...

Thanks Cicerone. The MBD Airport Hotel is still there and operating - sadly my budget will not run to the Hyatt.

Dogster: Just checked..we are doing the 7 night Assam Dispatch 3 (weird names, eh? Dispatch 1, 2, 3, 4, etc)departing from Steemer Ghat on the Saturday March 31, and ending a 2 1/2 hours drive from Dibrugarh on April 7. So there you are! 31/3/07 to 7/4/07.

God..I have a memory like a sieve. No. I didn't know about the latest dramas in Assam, although I am aware that Smart Traveller, bless Alexander Downer's heart, says "reconsider your travel plans" last time I checked.

Should I live dangerously or not, Nigel?

The MBD, like the Hyatt, is also a “five star deluxe” hotel (basically meaningless in India) and is showing rates only US$50 less a night than the Hyatt, so you may want to reconsider.... there are more hotel rooms in the city of Orlando than there are in the entire country of India, and everyone and their brother is trying to get a room in India these days to get a piece of the economic action, so prices are jacked up all over (a rising tide floats all hotel room prices, you should see what they get in Bangalore); you might want to actually get something for your money by staying at the Hyatt.....

With regard to Assam, it is my understanding that most of the trouble is in areas which are restricted to tourist travel anyway and/or are related to Indian National Day (Jan 26). You might want to check the UK embassy website or the bbc news website, they both usually have a pretty good and non-hysterical take on a situation, take a look at

http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk

http://news.bbc.co.uk

Thanks Cicerone. I appreciate your input re the hotels.

The Australian advisory is here: http://smarttraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/India

and the UK one is much the same and says: "We advise against all but essential travel to Imphal (by air) and against all travel in the rest of Manipur and Tripura. Kidnapping, banditry and insurgency are rife throughout the north eastern region, particularly in Assam."

However, we are being picked up at the airport, and dropped back at the airport, and will be miles away from civilisation during the in between time,and not in markets or cities.

errr - Kaziranga to Dibrugarh is your trip isn't it?

Would that be the same Dibrugarh in Assam where 70 people were slaughtered ten days ago? Might that be the same Dibrugarh with the 24 hour curfew?

heh -

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus...0701181522.htm

http://news.google.com.au/news?hl=en...ibrugarh+assam

enjoy your bedtime reading....

Yeah dogster!!!..that's it! Email me on [email protected]

I decided to stay at the Faorlawns in Kokata...it seems to get either 5 stars or 1 star in the reviews....but it sounds fascinating, and it's only for one night.... Though someone has mentioned that his back-packing daughter stayed there and saw a rat *grins*

whoops..that should read "Fairlawns".