Hotel Chandra Vilas

Hotel Chandra Vilas sits on Station Road in Jaipur, right opposite the Sindhi Camp Bus Stand. The zip code here is 302006. Being across from the bus stand means there is never a quiet moment. You can hear the conductors shouting destinations and the sound of heavy engines idling at all hours. We see a lot of people who have just arrived in the city and are looking for a place to put their bags down. The building has a lot of history and you can see it in the high ceilings and the old-fashioned windows. We have a lot of work to do keeping the dust off the ledges because of the traffic outside. The lobby has a few wooden chairs and a clock that ticks quite loudly. We keep the registers organized by hand. The staff knows the bus schedules by heart because guests are always asking when the next one leaves for Delhi or Ajmer. There are several small shops nearby selling snacks and newspapers, which is handy. In the summer, the stone floors stay relatively cool, which is nice. We don't have anything like a gym or a fancy kitchen, just the rooms and a place to sit. Sometimes we stand out front and watch the chaos of the bus stand for a few minutes. It is a very busy spot, but it’s where we have been for years, right in the thick of things.