In the past - that is twenty years ago - we've always stayed at Sudder Street, so on this latest trip we stayed there again. But Sudder Street has lost it's charm - too much traffic, Hotel Maria is closed and New Market has become a tout nightmare. So this time, after one stay on Sudder Street, we shifted to Sunflower Guest House for our subsequent stopovers in Kolkata from various trips into the mofussil. It was such a relief! The rooms are perfectly adequate for short stays, the quaint lift is excellent, the lift *** was always friendly and helpful, the staff also were ready to respond to needs. The best part was location - just off Park Street, where you can get very descent food. Alas, the music shop next to Flurey's has gone, but replaced by a fantastic mimi-supermarket, where you can get almost everything. And plenty of bookshops, wine shops and coffee cafes. So, all that makes for a slice of civilisation in the midst of Kolkata's insanity. Tariff was reasonable, rooms were clean, sleep quality was excellent with balcony doors closed. We stayed in the AC rooms (even though in February that was unnecessary) because the extra flights of steps to the non-AC rooms was a bit much for my partner. But I thought the non-AC rooms we perfectly suitable, if you had the legs. It's good to get a room with a balcony if possible. The odd thing about this guest house is that they run their booking system on the fly - just ring a day prior to arrival, and hopefully, they'll still have plenty of rooms, which I gather is the norm for them. One tip, for wonderful meals - just down the road is the Tung Fong. A superb place, with excellent Chindian cuisine. It really is such a relief to walk into this delightful restaurant after battling the unrelenting avalanche of impressions that assaults all foreigners-to-Kolkata (both desi and videshi).
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