Travel: HOTEL PUNNAMI @ SHIRDI

Hotel Punnami is very close to Dwarkamai & Chavadi

Shirdi being a pilgrimage haven, one cannot help but find a number of hotels and restaurants all around. The restaurants sell all kinds of cuisines under the sun while one can never be sure how authentic they are.

Venkat and I saw a few restaurants saying that they served South Indian Thali and Andhra meals. I was quite impressed with the Tamil boards actually. Venkat told me that they could be printed at a cost and did not necessarily mean that the meal was authentic. He was proved right pretty soon.

We walked into a restaurant run by a Maharashtrian and spoke with the manager. He explained that most of the restaurants were run by Maharashtrians and Biharis and they all sold their own versions of South Indian meals. The man was nice enough to tell us that there was one restaurant on the first floor above his that sold Andhra meals. While he also told us that the food was not great, we decided to risk it.

Are we glad that we did!

The table is set for lunch

There were huge name boards written in Telugu and we did not even know the name of the restaurant when we entered its precincts. I could not take pictures of the place or the meal that we ate as our mobiles and camera were at the temple counter.

We asked for a meal and were told that the cost was Rs. 70. This was for two vegetables, pappu (dal), sambar, rasam, rice, avakkai pickle, green chilli chutney, powder chutney and rice – all unlimited, along with a cup of curd. Everything tasted yummy if you like your food a little spicy and sour with tamarind. We loved it!

Venkat pays the bill after a hearty breakfast

The next day morning, we went back to Hotel Punnami – I managed to locate the English name board in broad daylight – and had breakfast.

It was 11 am and they were getting ready for lunch but did not mind giving us breakfast. We asked for upma and medhu vada and were disappointed when both the items turned up cold. We asked them if they could serve us something hot. Without a protest, they removed both items and offered us idli and dosa. Both came piping hot with two types of chutneys and delicious sambar. We relished the breakfast along with coffee and left the place with a satisfied stomach.

Travel: HOTEL SAI MORESHWAR @ SHIRDI

As I was planning our trip to Shirdi, I checked the internet for suitable hotels for stay. After checking the excellent ratings on www.makemytrip.com, I zeroed in on Hotel Sai Moreshwar. I found their website and realised that they also had branches at Lonavla and Pune. After finding contact numbers, I called one to find that it was a Mumbai number.

The reception at the hotel

Ms. Vanitha answered the phone and told me that rooms were available and I could book a double non-AC room for Rs. 1526 per day including taxes. After consulting Venkat, I booked a room for two days. I also called the other local number to check about the availability of room service, a restaurant, hot water, etc. They even have a free wi-fi connection for guests that could be used in the reception.

Our room

We walked from the bus stand to Hotel Sai Moreshwar that was just a couple of minutes away and booked in. We were lucky to get the rates that we did as walk-in guests usually pay Rs. 1700 + taxes for the same room. I went to check the rooms – they have regular and deluxe, which is with a balcony. All the rooms have air-conditioners and we could use one of them without using the AC there as the weather was quite pleasant.

Venkat relaxing on the bed

The room we booked into – No. 302 – was very comfortable and quite big. The bathroom was also large and the best was the availability of hot water round the clock.

I have to mention that the service was excellent. They provided us with fluffy towels on both days, cleaned up the room very well and room service was very prompt.

The food was not too bad

The food at their in-house Restaurant Sai Maurya was good, not great. We had only a couple of meals there.

When we planned a trip to Shani Shingnapur, the hotel manager had the AC car booked for us at a reasonable rate.

All in all, we totally enjoyed the stay at Hotel Sai Moreshwar that is located barely a few minutes from Shirdi Temple.

Click Here to find out more about the hotel and contact numbers for booking.