Athirai Hotel

If you look for us in Mannady, we are at No 1/1 on Angappan Naicken Street 1st Lane. It’s a tight little spot in Chennai, right opposite the Moulana Lungi Company. Everyone around here knows that lungi shop, so it’s how most people find us. Being in Mannady means the air is salty from the sea and the streets are always crowded. Our hotel is quite modest. It’s an old-fashioned kind of place. We don't have air conditioning in every corner, and the fans are usually humming all day long. 600001 is a busy postcode. We spend our time managing the rooms and the small eating area we have. It’s a lot of physical work, like carrying linens and scrubbing floors. The street is so narrow that deliveries can be a headache. But we’ve been here a long time, so we know how to handle it. We see a lot of people who work at the port or in the local markets. It’s a place for people who need a straightforward spot to stay or eat. We don't have a polished website or a fancy logo. We just have our name on the front and the door is open. The noise of the city never really stops here. We just go about our business and try to keep things running smoothly for anyone who walks in. It’s often quite late before we get a chance to sit down ourselves.