Orchha Hotels : Hotel Shri Mahant
Shri Mahant (whoever he is) owns two hotels in Orchha. One is a more basic guesthouse right in the center of the village market, while the other, Hotel Shri Mahant, is a newer structure west of the village chowk, off the road that leads to Laxmi Narayan temple. From here, it is just a 5-minute walk to the palaces, cutting through the market. At first, I was a little skeptical of the location because it was a little removed from the crowded market area; wasn’t sure if it would be safe. But when the hotel staff assured us that there has never been any trouble, we decided to try it out.
And it did turn out to be quite safe. The only problem was a couple of stray dogs who, after dark, got quite protective of the homes they guarded and barked viciously as we passed them to get to the hotel/market. One even followed us and barked incessantly scaring us quite a bit. Apart from this, there were no other issues. The walk to any attraction in Orchha – palaces, cenotaphs or temples – was never more than 10 minutes.
Our double room was large and very spacious. The bathroom was good, not the best, though. The room had a color TV and a comfortable double-bed. The staff was quite warm and helpful too.
The hotel has a rooftop restaurant that we never tried, but we ordered in a couple of times. They made chai really well . On our last night there, we ordered in a couple of their ‘Special Thali’. These were absolutely yummy! We immediately regretted not having eaten here more often.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Orcha is the family temple for Sangeeta’s family and we go here almost every visit to India. Her ancestral house is very close to Orcha in fact.