South Goa
Conveniently positioned at the main entrance to Sernabatim Beach, Furtados has decent, clean and pretty good-value rooms behind its popular beachfront…
Must-see hotels in South India
Anjuna
A laid-back hostel down a quiet lane in Anjuna village, Lazy Lama offers six- and 10-bed dorms in a partly converted Portuguese house. Attracts a chilled…
Arambol (Harmal)
Halfway along the cliff, Om Ganesh has been around for a while and has solid rooms in a building on the hillside, and seasonal huts-with-a-view on the…
Karnataka
Offers very basic rooms that are something of a last resort. However, the vegetarian restaurant downstairs serves an awesome thali (₹90).
Puducherry (Pondicherry)
The sparse, spotless rooms here, adorned with a single photo of the Mother, make for good-value ashram lodgings. It's very popular: book three weeks ahead.
Andaman Islands
No-frills tin-roof concrete-and-bamboo cottages for two to three (some bunk-style), plus surfboard hire (₹1000 per day) and home-cooked meals (₹180).
Andaman Islands
Simple, comfortable enough whitewashed concrete cottages attached to a low-key restaurant and a pool, all in a bucolic setting among forest and mudflats.
North Goa
A pleasant courtyard pool and well-equipped rooms make this a reliably good midrange choice. There’s a good little restaurant and bar facing the road.
North Goa
Baba Place, in the shadow of Chapora Fort, continues to improve with immaculate, decent-sized rooms with verandah, a small pool and a bar-restaurant.
Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep)
Tacked on to the well-established Dive India school, this cluster of modern, concrete-and-wood air-con rooms offers decent value, near Neil's jetty.
Kochi (Cochin)
Though now much reduced in size, 50-year-old Elite is a popular budget bet in an unbeatable location on Princess St, behind a streetfront tour desk.
Arambol (Harmal)
Better than some similarly priced Arambol options, Ludu offers simply decorated, clean and bright cliffside rooms with attached cold-water showers.
Karnataka
Located 1km north of the centre of Aihole, with adequate if somewhat dated rooms and a decent restaurant.
Tamil Nadu
Comfortable modern rooms with good beds make this the best value in Kumbakonam, especially since discounts are offered if it isn't fully booked.
Varkala
Not bad value for the sea-facing clifftop location, Puthooram’s 10 wood-lined cottages are set around a charming little garden of pot plants.
South Goa
The budget offering on Talpona Beach, Matashree has 10 basic lime-green huts on the beach, with bathroom and fan. A bargain for the location.
Port Blair
Tidy modern rooms with hot water are spread across a top-floor property at helpful, well-operated Sunnyvale, 1km east of Phoenix Bay Jetty.
Auroville
Offers advice on guesthouses in Auroville, but bookings are direct with each property. It's best to research and book through the website.
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
Offers spacious though drab rooms, while the balconies enjoy good views. It's conveniently located across the road from the boat launch.
Hampi
The place for those who like things quiet, with attractive mud-brick huts in a bucolic setting among rice fields, close to the river.
Andaman Islands
A small, simple, palm-dotted resort offering five well-kept, colour-walled rooms and home-cooked meals, just back from Kalipur Beach.
Arambol (Harmal)
At the north end of the cliffs, Shree Sai has simple, cute, sea-facing huts overlooking Kalacha Beach, alongside a good restaurant.
Tamil Nadu
If you're looking to save rupees, you could do a lot worse than this clean and friendly cheapie a few hundred metres from the fort.
The Western Ghats
The best of Theppakadu's reserve-owned accommodation: well-maintained wooden rooms with private bathrooms, but still pretty basic.
North Goa
Just four clean rooms and two spacious bungalows in the garden behind an old Portuguese house; has a popular restaurant attached.
Mysuru (Mysore)
Functional rooms with cable TV. There are four price categories from compact singles to spacious rooms with balconies and AC.
The Western Ghats
Helpful staff, clean air-conditioned rooms, and a quick walk to the bus stand make this a good overnight choice in Pollachi.
Tiruvannamalai
Basic, clean and friendly, this popular place is down a lane south off Chengam Rd. It's got good wi-fi and modern AC units.
Havelock Island (Swaraj Dweep)
Modern, slightly overpriced concrete bungalows with private porches on a peaceful plot of land trickling down to the beach.
Palolem
This very nifty village of seafront beach huts and restaurant is good value. The best huts have sea views, TV and air-con.
Hampi
Run by a tight-knit family, Ranjana has reasonable rooms with TVs, and killer temple views from its sunny rooftop terrace.
South Goa
This is the budget offering on Cola Beach with just a few hillside huts and a basic restaurant south of the lagoon.
Arambol (Harmal)
The sea-facing timber cottages here are among the best on the cliffs, with attached bathrooms, fans and verandahs.
The Western Ghats
Scruffy rooms straight out of a cheap hotel, but in a peaceful setting virtually right beside the Moyar River.
Karnataka
This long-running place has simple, functional rooms, a central location and a popular garden bar-restaurant.
Mangaluru (Mangalore)
Right in the thick of things, this old-school cheapie has very low rates and fairly well-maintained rooms.
Port Blair
Basic but adequately habitable rooms, some sporting colourful paint jobs, in a central location.
Tamil Nadu
Don't expect much, but rooms are clean enough and surprisingly decent for the price.
Karnataka
Around 500m from Murudeshwar beach, with basic but clean and spacious rooms.
