I booked this hotel with great trepidation despite having seen only positive reviews both on this site and MakeMyTrip (after all, one tends to suspect something if one sees ONLY positive reviews right?). But was in for a very very VERY pleasant surprise. This is clearly a case where one should not get taken in by appearances. This hotel is located behind the Mall Road in Manali, on a narrow little street that can fit just one car.
You are only allowed to park in front of the hotel long enough to unload your luggage- the hotel staff asked me to park in a public lot that is about a quarter of a kilometer away from the hotel. The road in front was slushy with snow melt, and the building as well as the foyer of the place are very very unassuming. But wait... that’s where your feel of "Indian Budget Hotel" ends.
This place has facilities that can put many fancy places to shame. What I got was a nicely carpeted room with wooden paneling, a neat and tidy bed with clean sheets and blankets and a spotlessly clean toilet, . The hotel staff are very courteous and co-operative as well. The best part was the geyser in the bathroom that gives boiling hot water in barely 15 minutes of heating. All this was at a price of just INR 791. I don’t know about you, but I’d say that’s a STEAL, considering the type of hotels I have stayed at in places like Mussourie, which charge much more, but offer far far less.
Only minus I would say is that if you visit in the extremely cold Manali winter with a young child like we did, you need a better heater than the standard issue one in the room, which won’t even help you warm your hands, let alone the whole room. The hotel gives one that they charge an extra INR 150 per night for, which I took right away. I wouldn’t mind if they raised the price to INR 950 and included that heater in the room as standard issue. The room is well worth that. Thanks Mr. Vineet Mehndiratta- you’re doing travelers to Manali and the reputation of the place a great service by running such a lovely budget hotel.