Around India In 80 Trains

Amritsar has a huge variety of low-budget dives all around the Golden Temple, which are constantly crowded and noisy as hell. If you'd like to keep away from the thronging masses, at least when you aren't visiting the temple or the Jallianwala Bagh, then the R.S Residency is a great place - and it is not listed in the Lonely Planet so they haven't hiked up their prices nor are they overrun with tourists.

The residency is literally a ten-minute walk from the temple and sits on the corner of a busy street just a few doors up from the main police station. The hotel is bright and very professionally run, housed in what looks like a glass-fronted shopping mall complex. Double rooms are huge, marble-floored and have dark wood furniture, comfy couches and air-conditioning. Beds are massive and extremely clean and comfortable. Bathrooms have clean western toilets with plenty of loo-roll, shampoos and shower gels and a wonderful power shower.

Lovely hotel with brilliantly friendly staff who were happy to let me use the computer at their front desk to check emails. Definitely one to go back to.

Double rooms start at Rs.1300