Hotel Amar Palace is a no-frills budget hotel in Chandigarh. It is located in Sector-42, 10 kilometres away from Sukhna Lake. I had booked the Hotel Amar Palace for a single night for Rs 320 through Goibibo.
After exploring the Chandigarh all day, I checked into the hotel at night. If you have been following my travels, you would know that I travel solo on a budget and don’t like to splurge on a hotel. I only use a hotel to spend a night and don’t find it worth to spend big bucks on hotels when I can get the same quality of sleep elsewhere by paying a fraction of it.
Table of Contents
Location
The location of this hotel is in contrast to the modern vibe of Chandigarh. The street road is uneven and not paved. There are many budget hotels in that area each offering room for less than Rs 1000. The location looks even shadier during the night with less light and few people on the street.
As I dropped off my cab at around 9 in the night and started to walk towards the Hotel Amar Palace, I was beginning to doubt my decision to book the hotel by looking at the spooky ambience. If you are travelling with family, you might want to factor the location before booking Hotel Amar Palace.
Room
The room was basic with LCD and fan but no AC. Since it was the month of March, AC was not required anyway. Room was small with the bed occupying almost 80% of the area. The bathroom was spacious.
Food
I had planned the next day for the Capitol Complex Tour, Rock Garden and a museum. I got ready the following day at 9 AM and I had half an hour to reach Capitol Complex visitor centre for the registration of 10 AM Capitol Complex Tour. My Hotel Amar Palace booking did not include complimentary breakfast. And I did not have time to stop at a restaurant for breakfast. I looked at the hotel menu and ordered 2 Aloo Paranthas and curd. I asked the staff to deliver within 10 minutes as I was getting late.
The staff hardly took 5 minutes to deliver the food. The paranthas tasted like home-cooked, and the curd was freshly made. The food was delicious. I quickly finished my breakfast and checked out of the hotel.
Verdict
I have a happy memory of Hotel Amar Palace. The hotel location might have been shady but nothing seemed shady about the hotel itself.
The food was great, and service was prompt. The staff heeded my request and delivered the food in minimum possible time. I give them 10/10 points in customer service. I know for the fact how bad customer service can ruin the stay as I had experienced it in Hotel Solitaire Inn in Gwalior when they took almost an hour to deliver the food.
The stay at Hotel Amar Palace is full value for money. Solo travellers and male bachelors should go ahead and book the hotel without any shred of doubt. I can’t say the same for female travellers and family travellers, only because of the location. I did not find the location as woman and children friendly. There are many other hotels in a good area of Chandigarh where you can get a room for less than Rs 1500.
This was my second stay at the budget hotel after Hotel Sunset in Orchha. I have a similar experience both time where the staff was courteous, and customer service was great. Budget hotels are kind of hit or miss, they can make your experience amazing and leave you with wonderful memories or they can be so bad that would make you regret your decision to stay there. I always check reviews and ratings online and only book a no-frills hotel if it has got glowing reviews. Thankfully, both times my experience was in line with the online review.
More Information
Hotel: Hotel Amar Palace
Address: 185, Sector 42 B, Village Atawa, Sector 42, Attawa, Chandigarh
Phone: +91 1722602020, +91 9041414169
Average Price for a couple: Rs 400 – 500
Sounds like a great value budget hotel!
Agree budget hotels nowadays are like gambling, there are hits and misses. But you mentioned lightly dimmed access. I think that’s a no for me. I want to feel sorry walking in and out of my hotel even at night.
I can understand Jeremy. Location is a big negative point about Amar Palace.
Sometimes it makes total sense to stay at a no-frills hotel like Hotel Amar Palace, I mean, if you’re only there at night, you don’t need to pay for an epic view!
I do find it funny when basic hotels have a name that includes the word palace though! When i see the word palace, I expect something a little more palatial!!
India doesn’t have a dearth of budget hotels having word palace in their name. Many of the hotels have palace word after the name of a person. Like here as well, Amar is the name of a person. Hoteliers seem to lack originality when comes to choosing the name
This looks like an awesome place to stay! Glad you enjoyed it!
I rarely see hotel reviews like this. I’m a budget traveler myself and whenever I search for accommodation reviews end up with articles about fancy expensive ones. Thanks for writing something different 🙂
Thanks, Mirela!! Glad that you liked my review. Yes, you are right there are not many budget hotel reviews. There are more people who travel on a budget than a luxury. There should be more article on budget hotels to help travellers in sorting out their accommodation plans.
Looks like a cosy little place. It’s always good to check out reasonable places and have their reviews before booking
Thanks for your honest opinion. Gone were the days of being a solo female traveler. Now, I am a traveling mom with 2 kids. And I do my research well. As you said, budget hotels are kind of hit-and-miss. If you had the same experience on both your visits, then they may be consistent with their service.
I had two good experience with two different hotels in two different locations. Nevertheless, I don’t leave the hotel accommodation by chance. If you are not booking a hotel on the spot, it is wise to do the research before booking
Thanks for sharing your tips on Hotel Amar Palace -it’s always great to review lodging options before hand.
Having an excellent stay on vacation is a great find! It is essential for us to have a good night and comfortable sleep after a long day visiting places. Thanks for sharing this information it is very helpful for everyone who comes to this place and looking for a budget stay.
Chandigarh is a lovely city to visit – no wonder it is named City Beautiful. Good to know that you had a pleasant stay at this hotel – seems like it offers plenty of facilities. Sukhna Lake and Rock Garden are such amazing places to visit – it’s nice that the hotel’s not too far from these attractions.
Chandigarh is a wonderful place. Have you been there, Aditi?
We rarely look for “no frills” hotels. But this one looks like it offers a lot for the price. Glad to know that while the location was shady, the hotel was not.
You can’t have more at this price (< $5). It is value for money hotel.
Great to see that your expectations were met with this hotel. And you are absolutely right about checking online reviews before booking a hotel, they really help a lot.
Glad you enjoyed your experience but not sure I could stay there as a female traveler like you suggest. That food did look good though!