Accommodation in India

During your trip with India Travel Plan you'll stay in attractive accommodation that reflects the character of your surroundings. As some of our trips involve adventure activities, you'll experience a wide variety of styles and standards of accommodation. For example you might spend a night in a desert tent (during a Camel Safari in Rajasthan), enjoy a night on a cosy houseboat as it drifts through Kerala's tropical backwaters, or laze in a deluxe bungalow on a paradise island.

We take great pride in the fact that we have visited and hand picked all of the accommodation that we use during our trips. This means that we personally ensure that each one has the right combination of features such as cleanliness, location, friendly staff. good service, and local character. Of course, we always balance this against a good value for money.

It should also be mentioned that our category ratings are not official star ratings.

India Travel Plan uses a category of 1 to 4 to rate the accommodation we use in our modules and suggested itineraries. The photo gallery at the bottom of this page, combined with the descriptions below should help to give a general indication of the comfort level you will experience within the different categories of hotels we use. Our standard is category 3, and in general the comfortable accommodation we mention in the website falls into this category. This means good, comfortable accommodation without being over-luxurious , which has it's own private shower and toilet, and a typical Indian ambience.

Category 1 - Very basic overnight accommodation
This is very basic accommodation in a hut/tent with limited facilities and very little of our accommdation in India falls into this category. During the Himalayan Homestay module, you'll stay with local families in their simple homes, and we would rate this accommodation as Level 1-2. Of course, anything lost in the comfort department is more than made up for by the amazing and rare experience that the module offers. We would also grade overnight journeys on Indian trains (3AC sleeper class) as Level 1. Again, although these journeys may not be comfortable, they are totally unique, and we can upgrade you to 2AC sleeper class (Comfort Level 1-2) for a few extra pounds if you would prefer.

Category 2 - Simple accommodation
This is simple but reasonably comfortable accommodation, with private ensuite facilities but perhaps no air-conditioning. For example, the natural eco-huts on the beach in South Goa fall into this category. Although each hut has its own private bathroom, there is no air-conditioning available. The luxury tents featured in our Jaisalmer Camel Safari are another example of Level 2 accommodation. These all have great private facilities and there should be no difficulty in getting a good night's sleep, but again, there is no air-conditioning available. Equally, the hotel that we use during our Varanasi by train module is rated as Level 2, simply because the trip is tailored towards travellers with slightly tighter budgets.

Category 3 - Comfortable accommodation
This is our standard level of accommodation. All of our Level 3 properties are clean, charming, well-located and packed full of local character. They vary from welcoming hotels to fantastic beach resorts, from to traditional Rajasthani clay huts to beautiful Keralan houseboats, and from cosy mountain guesthouses to Ayurvedic retreats.

Category 4 - Special accommodation
In some destinations in India, we have found some truly exceptional accommodation for travellers hoping to make this trip the holiday of a lifetime. These range from Maharajan palaces in Rajasthan with sweeping landscaped gardens filled with peacocks and beautiful outdoor swimming pools, to luxury spa resorts on the beach and romantic water bungalows in the Maldives. They're a touch more expensive than our standard, but worth every penny - perfect for a honeymoon, anniversary, or just a well-earned treat. Let us know and we'll do our best to arrange something that little bit special.

Accommodation Gallery

Accommodation: Level 1 and 2

Accommodation: Level 3

Accommodation: Level 4