Staying in Mumbai for Cheap

May 19, 2011 1:07 AM

Where can 9 students stay in Mumbai for 2 weeks?

We're having a really tough time finding accommodations in notoriously-expensive Mumbai for May 25th-June 5th. Our budget is ~$600 and so we don't expect very fancy accommodations. But fresh sheets, a shower, clean rooms & bathrooms, and no bedbugs would be great. We would prefer A/C but can live without it if it means not paying several hundred extra dollars.

Also, are cheap home-stays available in Mumbai?

Thanks!

posted by mahoganyslide to travel & transportation (5 answers total)

I have a friend who knows tons of places/lots of hostelry contacts. He would like to know if there is a part of the city you would like to be in (near old city, near airport, etc.) memail me if you want and I will put you two in touch.
posted by parmanparman at 2:09 AM on May 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

As I understand it your budget is for all of you, so 600/(9x14)=4.76 dollars a night.

It's pretty hard to get accomodation anywhere for that much even in the nice parts of third world countries. I wouldn't go sight unseen into a bad part of town.

Sites like this show some at 10-12 euros.

If the budget is individual, you should be able to stay somewhere nice.

If there are no homestay suggestions, you might have to increase your budget. If there are lots of rooms at the time you could book for a few nights, and see if there's a cheaper option once you're there.
posted by Not Supplied at 4:57 AM on May 19, 2011

When I was in Mumbai three years ago, I didn't find much available to book online for under $50/night for a room with one double bed. When I doubled back through there I tried to stay at the YWCA hostel, which is one of the few truly cheap places in central Mumbai, they were fully booked (you can't reserve in advance). I used a tout who got me a so-so place right on the main tourist drag in Colaba for, if memory serves, Rs. 1200 ($30, at the time).

It was my experience in India that rooms were much cheaper if you could just arrive and find something rather than trying to reserve ahead - the truly cheap places aren't on any website. However, I would not recommend attempting the YWCA or "just walk around till we find something" if you're arriving in Mumbai from overseas late at night.

This was all before hostelbookers and Airbnb and Couchsurfing came on the scene, though - so definitely try that sort of thing.
posted by Sara C. at 9:56 AM on May 19, 2011

Oh, and re Not Supplied's hostebookers link. Be extremely careful with that site or any other hostel site and the expression "centrally located". Look at the address on a map and compare it with tourist attractions you are interested in seeing. I was in Italy recently and often places would claim to be "centrally located right near the bus station!" when the bus station was on the outskirts of town. This wasn't a huge problem in Europe because it's not a terribly sprawling place, but Mumbai is huge and taxis can get expensive.

Also be careful of any hostel listing that says "centrally located right near the train station" - there are several major train stations in Mumbai, some of which are confusingly named.
posted by Sara C. at 10:05 AM on May 19, 2011

To clarify our plans a bit more:

It would be ideal to stay within a 30 minute rickshaw ride to BOM. Our budget can be a bit higher, but we're trying to minimize costs as much as possible. And we don't mind travelling for about an hour to get to popular tourist destinations.

Thanks again!
posted by mahoganyslide at 10:30 AM on May 20, 2011