Seasonal Shelter

We’re talking about 5000 performances – and even that’s a very rough, and very conservative, estimate. If your quest for information on the season finds you here, that says a few things about 1) your season IQ and 2) your browsing skills. In other words, you need help! Worry not – you are in safe hands. And hand me that bludgeon, will ya…

Accommodation
If you still haven’t figured out where you are going to stay, the standard recommendation would be to cancel your ticket. However, there is hope this year thanks to the recession and cash-strapped NRIs who’ve decided that they will not collectively descend on the Woodlands after all.

The jury’s still out on the impact of the downturn on the Season – your correspondent, for instance, has found himself wrong footed by the unprecedented demand for the Academy’s season pass. This means, among other things, that he will be spending his mornings sweating it out in long lines instead of munching vadas at the canteen and smirking at the unwashed masses queuing up for a ticket! Notwithstanding the Academy’s fortunes, the word is that hotels around Mylapore have a few rooms to spare. Remember that this is rarer than a sighting of Halley’s comet, and scoot to your nearest travel portal. Before you do, this is what you need to know:

• Rooms don’t come cheaper than at the Woodlands, unless you plan to stretch yourself out on the Marina. For 1K a night you get a fairly clean single room besides varied, if increasingly insipid, fare. It’s also where the buzz is at – you are likely to catch a Kambhoji wafting in from the next room and hear season regulars tearing sundry artistes to pieces at the restaurant. Assuming that, like me, this is your kind of scene, visit http://www.newwoodlands.com/
• Alternatives in a slightly higher budget range include the Marris, which is right opposite the Academy and Nilgiri’s Nest further down RK Salai. Both offer slightly higher levels of comfort (read blankets in place of jamakalams and fewer cockroaches) and the Marris serves the best non-home-cooked meals in Chennai. Arunachala Inn (apparently owned by Thalaivar – thee won and wonly Rajanikanth) on Kodambakkam High Road is a little removed from the centre of action but offers good access to sabhas in T Nagar including Bharat Kalachar (PSBB), Vani Mahal and Indian Fine Arts. Expect to pay about 2-2.5K per night.
• In the 3 star category, the Savera, has the best location right next to the Woodlands. The food is nothing to write home about and the rooms are beginning to show their age but there’s a nice swimming pool and a well quipped health club. Another conveniently located place is Ramada Raj Park on TTK road, sandwiched between the Academy and the Narada Gana Sabha. In case your preferred sabhas happen to be Vani Mahal, Nungambakkam Cultural Academy or Bharat Kalachar, the Quality Inn Shabari and the Benzz Park on Thirumalai Road, T Nagar should save you some auto hire charges…and extend your life by a few years. Other options include GRT Grand Days in T Nagar and the Ambassador Pallava in Egmore both of which are well established but entail commutes of between 3 and 5 Kms to the major sabhas. Hotels in this range will set you back by about 4-6K per night.
• If you are one of those shrewd operators who sold early this year and would like to reward yourself with a five star season, you will be happy to hear that Chennai has an almost obscene variety of choices to offer. The Park Sheraton (Alwarpet) and The Chola (RK Salai) top the location sweepstakes but the latter, once the pride of Chennai, hangs on to its 5 star status by a slender thread. An interesting new option is the Raintree on St Mary’s road whose rooftop restaurant offers a fine view of the city. You can also let your hair down at the Havana although the last time I checked, the DJ didn’t have Akshaya Linga Vibho among his tracks! The Courtyard Marriot, the Accord Metropolitan (or whatever name this chameleon of a hotel presently goes by) and the Park (not to be confused with the Park Sheraton) are lined up on, or just behind, the Mount Road which means they are good options for those wishing to split their time between sabhas in Mylapore and T Nagar. The Taj group’s two properties – the Connemara and the Coromandel - are slightly more distant and need be considered only if other options are unavailable. 5 stars will relieve you of between 5 and 10K per night for standard rooms. And oh, let me know when I can drop in for the latest market buzz…
• Non hotel options are available as well. Keep an eye on the Hindu’s property classifieds for paying guest or short term rental options. You can also check out kutcheribuzz.com which has a few accommodation listings. Rates range from 10-15K per month for an air-conditioned room with TV and attached bath to 30-40K for a furnished 2 BHK but if your trip is shorter than 2 weeks, you might find the process of settling down and making domestic arrangements a little too tiresome. Smaller guest house chains such as Chennai Inn and Good Counsel also have good rooms at reasonable but you would probably need a contact to get across.
• Reservation at most hotels can be done through popular travel portals like yatra.com, makemytrip.com etc.

More to follow…