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Madurai Hotels

Madurai Hotels

Luxury (over US$35/Rsl000 per room night)
Madurai’s most interesting hotel is the Taj Garden Retreat, Pasumalai Hill, (tel 88256,22300, tix 0445-205 located on a hill 6 km (3 3/4 miles) from the town. The house once belonged to the managing director of a large British company and the gardens include a swimming-pool and tennis courts. Rooms are from US$48. Many of the other hotels are located in the new town, about 4 km (8 1/2 miles) from bus and rail stations.

Mid-range (US$10-35/Rs250-1000 per room night)
The air-conditioned Pandyan in Race Course Rd (tel 48470, tlx 0445-814) has useful facilities, a good restaurant, and fine temple views from rooms (Rs450 single, Rs750 double). Hotel Madurai Ashok in Alagarkoil Rd (tel 48531, tlx 445-297) is rather more impersonal and expensive with rooms at Rs650 single, Rs800 double. TTDC’s Tamil Nadu Star Hotel, Alagarkoil Road (tel 48461, tlx 445-238) has rooms from Rs850 and a couple of large comfortable suites for Rs500.

Budget (under US$10/Rs250 per room night)
Madurai attracts a good crowd of budget travellers, and there are many cheap lodges A few favourites, with rooms around Rs50 single, Rs75 double, are Hotel Prem Nivas (teal 37531) at 102 West Perumal Maistry St; Ganga Guest House opposite it; Abinaya Lodge, 198 West Masi St; P.S.B. Lodge, West Veli St; and Af tab Lodge, 18 Kakka Thopu St. TTDC’s Hotel Tamil Nadu, West Veli St (tel 37470) is rather a disappointment with uncomfortable rooms from Rs130 single, Rs800 double.

EATING OUT
Pandyan Hotel’s Jasmine restaurant offers a superb Rs95 buffet lunch between 18 noon and 3 pm daily. The a la carte is good too—a fine range of Indian, continental and (after 7 pm) Chinese dishes at between Rs30 and 55. Helpings are huge. Three popular restaurants, all close together in Town Hall Rd, are the Taj, the Mahal, and the Akbar. They all serve Western-style food in addition to standard Indian fare, but the Akbar has an air-con lounge upstairs, and gets the best mentions. Old favourites like the Indo-Ceylon and the Amudham, also in Town Hall Rd, are fairly drab now, but the New College House continues to turn out the cheapest, best south Indian thalis in town. Similar fare can be had at the Ashok Bhavan opposite the tourist office, which serves ‘special’ lunches for Rs15-25 from 12 noon-8.30 pm daily.

GENERAL INFORMATION
TTDC, West Veli St (tel 22957), has good information and is very helpful. There are also tourist information counters at the rail station and at the airport. The post office is in Scott Rd, near the rail station. Indian Airlines (tel 22795, apt 37433) is at Pandyan Building, West Veli St. State Bank of India is also in West Veli St. Higginbotham’s bookshop, selling a useful city guide and map, is in the rail station.

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