The Tiger

By The Balloon

With what's probably the highest per capita concentration of luxury hotels, Udaipur can easily be the wealthy traveller's paradise. But for those who aren't there to splurge, the city doesn't seem to offer much more than more or less sad guest houses.

Hidden in a small alley right by Gangaur Ghat, The Tiger guest house is quite unique: with Bollywood posters on the walls and safari inspired interiors, the place has a definitely different look, but what really is different is the staff's professionalism. In a town where almost everyone improvises himself as guest house manager or owner, and couldn't careless about the customer's comfort, the staff at The Tiger is well trained, friendly, helpful.

There's a nice beauty centre (offering ayurveda treatments and massages) on the ground floor, and a rooftop café with a great view on the lake, a café that is really nice, for a change, and not one of those rooftop joints with dirty menus or horribly mediocre food. For the records, the guys from The Tiger also manage Edelweiss, the only café in town (luxury hotels aside) where we managed to have a really good breakfast.

We know - the safari style might be a bit too much. But at least The Tiger tries to be different, and guarantees you an accurate service. If you have a limited budget, we think this place is your best bet.

And although not all of the room offer safari style interiors, we kind of think you should just go for the authentic tiger experience: you can always have a good laugh at bed sheets and cushion covers - as we did - and enjoy your stay.