Budget Heritage Hotel in Jaipur, Hotel Kalyan – A Review.

If someone were to ask me for my favorite go-to hotel

in the royal city of Jaipur right now,

I would instantly say, Hotel Kalyan, without blinking an eye.

(it’s that good, seriously!)

The first time someone stayed in there was my mother, a couple of months back, and once she was back from her trip, she would never stop raving about it. Among all the things she raved about, she particularly emphasized on how value-for-money their budget room was, how friendly and safe the environment, how good the vibe, how clean and convenient the location, how cheerful and chirpy the lady owner was - making her stay in the city comfortable and memorable in more ways than one.

Hotel Kalyan - The front facade.

Finally, a couple of months back, when I sat down planning a trip to Jaipur along with my family, Hotel Kalyan instantly jumped to be my impromptu choice for stay – actually, Mom had left me with no other options!

Located centrally on the Hathroi fort, Ajmer road, the cream colored heritage building of the Kalyan hotel resonated peace right from the word go. A slight deviation off the main road tucked the hotel into a narrow lane devoid of honking horns or polluted traffic thus ensuring a neat job of keeping the chaos of a touristy city like Jaipur at an arm’s length.

TRADITIONAL RAJASTHANI STYLE ARCHITECTURE:

Stepping in; the regionally flavored traditional interiors of the hotel quickly charmed their way in – the mustachioed darwan statuettes made me smile. The artistic hand crafted Rajasthani paintings decorating the walls and the curvaceous arches further added to the aesthetic mood – all of them tastefully done and spread all over the property area so as to celebrate the rich cultural splendor of Rajasthan in its entire regal glory.

Wandering around Hotel Kalyan... let's see what all caught my eye!

Hand-crafted statuettes, antique crafts, traditional puppets and other artistic pieces, etc.

making up for the interiors.

MY 4 BEDDED FAMILY ROOM:

The rooms are elegant, super clean and artfully done honoring the cultural character of the city. Standing since 3+ decades, the hotel boasts of 35 rooms spread across 2 storeys + rooftop ranging from different budgets catering to the needs of every traveler.

We checked into their 4 bedded family room on the rooftop area which, in terms of space, was way too impressive than any of the family rooms that I have been in, in Jaipur at least.

For me, the room was a case of love at first sight - a sort of a duplex, the family room was essentially a combination of two double-bedded bedrooms connected by a common entrance, each unit furnished with individual amenities like TV and AC to its credit.

Entering in: Section 1 of the family room.

Section 1 opens into Section 2: The inner double-bedded room of the family room.

AMENITIES AND SERVICES - FREE WIFI, FREE PICK-UP, etc.:

Like every other hotel, this 2 star budget hotel came with its own set of services. Ranging from a 24 hours front-desk to free pick up from railway stand or bus stand, with the list of services offered, the hotel did seem to be trying its best to provide great value for money.

As for me, I was very happy with their free Wifi - it gave me a pretty good speed on the premises as well as in my room.

FOOD IN THE LEAFY-MISTY CAFETERIA:

The icing on the cake definitely was the rooftop cafeteria which was a stone’s throw from our room, quite literally!

The rooftop cafeteria at a glance.

The ambiance here was soothingly lively at most of the times in the day and I absolutely loved hanging around in its green leafy space chatting with fellow guests, or with my brother or even my own self. No matter what time of the day, the rooftop made for a great place to be.

Blooming flowers like this imparted a certain freshness to the ambiance of the cafe.

The crowds especially swelled up during the evening hours when in the cool mist of the humidifiers - several guests poured in for their meals and a quick evening bite.

My personalized cheese vegetable sandwich - yum!

I had a vegetable cheese sandwich (personally customized with added veggies, priced Rs. 80) in the company of the owner of the hotel, Mrs. Gupta, who was all smiles chatting with us freely about her experiences and challenges while running the hotel. From the rooftop, went a flight of stairs spiraling towards two decks above, each of which afforded 360 degree panoramic views of the city.

I stood at the deck in solitude, still,

watching the city drape in a myriad hues.

Good food, happy smiles, interesting stories, changing colors – there could be fewer better ways to end a day in this royal city of Jaipur!

CONCLUSION:

Kalyan hotel has everything in place that any traveler looks for – the rooms are budget friendly, the hospitality warm and inviting, the location is central yet affords a cocoon of quiet, the service is good, the food is great – basically, it is more of a warm friendly guest house than a hotel, per se. I was really impressed with the hotel.

Summing it up, let me just repeat what I said in the first line of this post – 

If someone were to ask me for my favorite go-to hotel in the royal city of Jaipur right now, I would instantly say, Hotel Kalyan, without blinking an eye - yeah! it’s that good, seriously.

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS:

- The spacious 4 bedded family room.
- Free Wi-fi.
- Rooftop Caferia with humidifiers in the evening.
- The traditional touch of Rajasthani art and architecture.
- Friendly, warm and peaceful environment.

Room bookings, Contact and other traveler information, etc.:

Address: Hathroi Fort, Ajmer Road, Near Police Station, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302001.
For room tariff and rates, contact: +91-9314501591.

Or shoot them an e-mail: hotelkalyan@yahoo.co.in/ info@hotelkalyan.com

Have you stayed in Hotel Kalyan?

How was your experience?