kmd88

Hi,

I'm planning an India trip that with Varanasi as the second to last stop.

I'm trying to find an amazing palace/fort hotel, within 5-6 hours of Varanasi to relax for a few days at the end of the trip but NOT in Rajasthan. Something like the Ahilya Fort, but a little cheaper like a Neemrana property..

Something in Madhya Pradesh? Or UP? or even Bihar?

5-6 hours by car/train/fly from Varanasi. And again another 3-5 hours by car/train to any other airport.

Thanks!
Karen

qwovadis

Nadesar Palace nicest place I have stayed there. otel.com
booking.com asiarooms.com directrooms.com for deals.

CaliNurse

Qwo, you well traveled gent: is there ANY place you haven't visited yet?

julies

Haven't been, and it gets mixed reviews, but you may want to at least take a look at this website.

http://www.bundelkhandriverside.com/index.html

Check out this article because this may be close to what you are looking for:

http://goindia.about.com/od/wheretos...in-india_9.htm


You say no Rajasthan, but these are on the very border with UP and MP.

http://www.laxmivilas.com/index.php

I think we'll do this one because it looks very intriguing.

http://www.karauli.com/index.php?opt...tpage&Itemid=1

CaliNurse

Jule and KMD, I am staying at Bhanvar Vilas in Karauli for two nights a month from now. Will try to write review asap upon return.
What i DO know, is that you should get the "deluxe" rooms, not the "standard"rooms, at Bhanvar Vilas. This from the India travel planners at Indianpanorama, whom I trust99.9% !!
Karauli is only 4 hour drive from Agra, via Bharatpur--interesting rural drive.

julies

Cali--

When are you at Bhanvar Vilas? I ask because the local animal fair that is supposed to be very interesting is Feb. 10 -12. And, yes please follow up with a report on the place. And, thanks for the tip about taking the deluxe room.

CaliNurse

KMD , apolgies for more "pigy backing" onto your poste..

Julie,I'll be at Karauli 2 and 3 Feb. Re: room at Bhanvar Vilas-- should have said"suite" instead of regular rooms--just checked itinerary and that's what is listed.Those are better rooms, and not much more $--and still in your "budget" of approx$100/night. (The travel folks I use get the suite for same price as regular room as part of their packages, as they have sent many guests to BV)

kmd88

Thanks all for the replies. Will check these out!
In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few that I do know of and love in Rajasthan:
- The Neemrana Hotels (http://neemranahotels.com), particularly the Hill Fort Kesroli, are great
- Sardargarh is AMAZING. A few hours outside of Udaipur.

Someone else had recommended to me the Ahilya Fort, which according to all the reviews is an amazing place in M.P. and will work for our itinerary. But I called them to try and make a reservation and was really put off by their discriminatory rate practices.

They have different rates for foreign tourists and Indian residents. I totally understand and actually support this practice when it comes to sightseeing (like at the Taj Mahal) or in smaller budget hotels. And fortunately, most of the finer, luxury hotels have ended this practice.

But at Ahilya, while I qualify for the resident rate because I live in Mumbai, my 70 year old retired mother would have to pay $120 more a night. Urgh.

Any thoughts on this?

CaliNurse

Ahilya Fort and some other refurbished palaces are prohibitively expensive for the likes of me.

LOL when i hear foreign tourists speaking of them as places to discover "the real India."

How many "real Indians" do you now who could afford places like that??
(Besides, the "real"India is everywhere in India...duh)

CaliNurse

oops, sorry, was thinking of another fort or one of those places on the "isnt this quaint" list. Ahilya isnt too bad price wise ($ 125 or so?) but i agree, Karen, the big price diff for non residents is pretty outrageous. RIPOFF!! But not a surprise--it's called "take the tourist for whatever he's got" and is not limited to India.