Hotel Balaji – a charming budget hotel in south-west Gwalior.
Leading off from Naya Bazar Main Road, Gwalior, lies Hotel Balaji. It’s easy to miss – a single narrow corridor crammed between shops leads you to the main reception.
My room was on the first floor. It was spacious and came with an ensuite bathroom. It only cost 700 rupies (about £7) so it was really great value.
Breakfast at Hotel Balaji in Gwalior was excellent, perhaps even better than the deliciously spicy aloo parantha was the service and charm of the hotel staff member who brought me my breakfast. Every morning he would come to my door and help me pick food from the menu. My breakfast came free with the very affordable price of my room, so the fact they went this extra mile to help me with breakfast was very charming. I really looked forward to seeing the staff member each morning I was there. God bless Hotel Balaji.
Laundry service was very good and very reasonably priced. (300 rupies for a large bag of clothes to be washed and dried.)
Hotel Balaji is the perfect budget hotel for anyone visiting Gwalior. It may not be right in the city centre, but this is quickly remedied with a cheap auto-rickshaw ride (there are always plenty of them lingering about.) Naya Bazar road has quite a few sweet shops in its vicinity and the odd little burger/fast food joint. But a short ride in an auto will take you to the awesome D.B. Mall and Gwalior fort – my two favourite places in Gwalior!
Hotel Balaji will not be a luxurious experience, but it will be a charming one. The staff members won my heart.
If I had to give 1 complaint about Hotel Balaji in Gwalior, then I’ll lament the fact that the toilet was not equipped with a bidet. A bidet is a very important bathroom accessory in India – as well as other Asian countries. It is less common for people to use toilet paper and more normal for the toilet to have a side hose with which the toilet sitter may… you know… wash down there… But regardless, the bathrooms are wet rooms so you may just take a shower straight after if you need to. Or ask the employees for some toilet paper. They were always extremely helpful to me.
And that’s it. Hotel Balaji in Gwalior is one of my favourite budget hotels in India.
You can book a room at Balaji Hotel from the following link:
https://www.agoda.com/en-in/hotal-balaji_2/hotel/gwalior-in.html?cid=-217
