Around India In 80 Trains

After finding every other budget hotel near Victoria Terminus completely booked up, we got a last-minute room at the Grand Hotel in Ballard Estate, which has a fantastic, albeit slightly deceptive front. It's a ten-minute walk from the train station so don't get fleeced by cabbies trying to tell you it's miles away.

Once upstairs, the building is a very bizarre shape like an inverted Toblerone tube, and the walls are painted a strange hospital blue. At Rs.4000 a night for a twin room it's not the cheapest option but at least it is very clean, the rooms are huge and there's a flat-screen TV and DVD player in each room. It's quite old-school and very quiet, so you'd be forgiven for thinking no-one else is staying, but they all emerge out of the woodwork for the buffet breakfast - a no nonsense choice of cornflakes, omelettes, toast, juices and tea and coffee.

Our attached bathroom had a dodgy-flushing western-style loo and the shower didn't work, but the staff are quick to appear to sort out problems, it just takes five of them to stand around and look at it for a little bit.

There's free wi-fi in the lobby and the management were nice enough to let us work down there long after we had checked out. Convenient and decent enough if you're only there for a night or two.

Single rooms start from Rs.3000 and doubles from Rs.4000