Hotel Sreekrishna Residency

Sreekrishna Residency's brochure claims that it is a "striking landmark of Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar". It isn't. It's easy to locate a "striking landmark"; it takes a particularly persistent nose to smell out Sreekrishna, sardined as it is in the congested "Business Road" of Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar. Altruistic passers-by attempt helping, but in vain: they are stumped by the unfamiliar "Sreekrishna". Perhaps it is too new.

Time for Plan B. Common sense dictates that if you have a telephone number for Sreekrishna, you should call the hotel and ask for directions to it. Except that at the end of that telecon, you feel like you spoke with a particularly unhelpful parrot, not a human receptionist. Sigh.

Plan C swings into action - once you are certain you are on "Business Road", start walking/driving up and down, praying (to Lord Krishna; who else?) for Divine Intervention. And if you are as fortunate as we were, lo and behold, you will spot that evasive sign: "Sreekrishna Residency". If you aren't, well, tough luck, but do keep hunting, because Sreekrishna is worth the trouble.

The hotel has four stories, which comes as a surprise: a hotel this size should not be missable. Yet it is.

Coming back to the original point, Hotel Sreekrishna offers the budget traveler an ideal retreat. The lobby looks modern, is small and spic-and-span. The receptionist is not a parrot (shockingly), and she is far more helpful while she checks in a guest, as we observed.

Sreekrishna has 32 rooms and suites spread over 4 floors, and Yashodha Hall, a large-ish dining area on the terrace that serves complimentary breakfast to all the guests.

The rooms are as pleasant and cool (they are air-conditioned) as you would expect. They all appear contempo, done-up as they are in shades of deep chocolate and off-white. The door is made of polished wood, as is the door of the cupboard. Hints of silver glint throughout the room - there are silver handles on the surface of the furniture, adding to the room's sophistication.

And the features that make a hotel room a hotel room are all there, too - a flat-screen TV, great bedding, a seating area (which is bigger and separate in suites) and a desk, a clean bathroom, room-service menus, pretty drapes donning the windows (the bustle of the "Business Road" below cannot be heard inside) etc.

The only things that mar this fashionable look are the sinks; in each room/suite, a sink has been constructed within the main bedroom itself, which takes away a chunk from their classiness.

The tariff on the rooms is reasonable - prices fall between Rs. 845 and Rs. 1,595, depending on the number of guests and the type of accommodation.

Although Sreekrishna does not operate its own restaurant, it has tied up with restaurants in the neighbourhood (such as Bowl O China, which runs on the ground floor), which provide food as per the guest's orders. The room service staff will be happy to bring it to your doorstep.

All in all, Sreekrishna will not disappoint its guests, especially those seeking class on a small budget. It's really a pity the hotel doesn't have branches. As yet.