IRCTC Sampath Rail Yatri Niwas — Hotel in Howrah

If you are on transit, then it is the best place to stay in Howrah Station. One can even plan for a short duration trip to Kolkata/Howrah for some work and stay here comfortably. The only problem is that there is no system of advance booking .... so one may have to wait for a long time. Particularly the desk personnel informed me that if someone reaches there after 9:00/9:30 PM, he/she should not expect a night shelter there.||||Now my experience. It is not like a star hotel, but gives a lot of relief when you need a shelter. I was travelling from Jamshedpur to Darjeeling. Reached there in the afternoon, and my train was at 10:00 PM (departure from Sealdah). I went to their desk, and they advised me to wait. In less than an hour, one room was available (rooms are allotted serially on first come first serve basis). It was a great relief for us. It was a comfortable AC double bed room. The balcony gives you a great view of river ganges and you can feel the busy rhythm of Howrah Station. We took a bath, took rest, and had our food (late lunch and dinner) in the Howrah Station premises. Then took a taxi from the prepaid booth for Sealdah station. Real convenience.||||During return journey, we reached Sealdah in the early morning. Took a taxi from there and reached Yatri Nivas by 8:30 AM. Our return train was in the afternoon. So we hired a room again (had to wait for around 35 minutes) ... and then again it was such a relief. We relaxed there for a few hours, had our lunch and boarded the train conveniently.||||Please note that tips are very much welcome. You will really get a very good co-operation from the staff if you are ready to pay some small tips. The room charge itself is very cheap, so it does not really make a hole in your pocket. But considering the comfort that one can get during the journey, spending some extra Rs 100-150 is really not too much. Just think, if you have to stay in a hotel, you have to take all the trouble to stand in the long queue for a taxi, then reach there, spend substantial amount of money for lodging and fooding and then again take the same trouble for coming back to Station. So, Yatri Nivas actually gives you a lot of advantage. By waiting for an hour or so, and by spending little extra money as tips, you can actually save time, money and energy on...

I'll start with positive points... Its prices nicely and you can get a nice River view room if you are located on upper floor... Food Plaza, KFC, Pizza house all available at ground floor and its really good if you are in transit. ||||But once you checked-in you come to know about dark side... ||||Well most of the time if you go at reception and ask for rooms they will simply ask to wait as its always seems to be fully booked! First they will ask to come in line if you have reached in the morning as its normally crowded. Still if you go and ask for help as you may be with family/kids they will ask you what you can do in their favour! ||||Simple they ask for money according to travelers and situation. If counter is not much crowded they will also ask that they are earning little and travelers like you can help them to earn a little extra! Pathetic... Isn't it? But don't take this as a normal scenario and after you got rooms complaint to IRCTC thru Twitter if you got an account. ||||Another most important thing to know about this Yatri Niwas. If you are asking for a room before 090:00 AM they will ask for double room rate as official check-out time is 09:00 AM. Technically its right but games start here... They try saying you that you can Pay only RS 1000 and they will keep extra after 1 day room rate and will give you bill for 1 day only. In this way you as a customer doesn't need to pay for 2 days and they also earn a little extra. Corruption with help of customers. Its fault of Check-out time policy but they are making money as 90% of travelers come asking for a room before 09:00 AM in the morning due to trains schedule...||||Also beware of room attendants... They are rude and rigid if you don't pay a tip. There may be also a scene when everything is ready in the room at the time of check-in and one guy comes in with a soap and ask for a tip and then suddenly 2 or 3 guys join them as a cleaner or bell boys etc... If you don't pay them get ready for some awkward...

I'll start with positive points... Its prices nicely and you can get a nice River view room if you are located on upper floor... Food Plaza, KFC, Pizza house all available at ground floor and its really good if you are in transit. ||||But once you checked-in you come to know about dark side... ||||Well most of the time if you go at reception and ask for rooms they will simply ask to wait as its always seems to be fully booked! First they will ask to come in line if you have reached in the morning as its normally crowded. Still if you go and ask for help as you may be with family/kids they will ask you what you can do in their favour! ||||Simple they ask for money according to travelers and situation. If counter is not much crowded they will also ask that they are earning little and travelers like you can help them to earn a little extra! Pathetic... Isn't it? But don't take this as a normal scenario and after you got rooms complaint to IRCTC thru Twitter if you got an account. ||||Another most important thing to know about this Yatri Niwas. If you are asking for a room before 090:00 AM they will ask for double room rate as official check-out time is 09:00 AM. Technically its right but games start here... They try saying you that you can Pay only RS 1000 and they will keep extra after 1 day room rate and will give you bill for 1 day only. In this way you as a customer doesn't need to pay for 2 days and they also earn a little extra. Corruption with help of customers. Its fault of Check-out time policy but they are making money as 90% of travelers come asking for a room before 09:00 AM in the morning due to trains schedule...||||Also beware of room attendants... They are rude and rigid if you don't pay a tip. There may be also a scene when everything is ready in the room at the time of check-in and one guy comes in with a soap and ask for a tip and then suddenly 2 or 3 guys join them as a cleaner or bell boys etc... If you don't pay them get ready for some awkward...