Hotel Arya Palace, Puri

Hotel Arya Palace is out on Chakratirth Road in Puri. We are in the 752001 area, which is a bit of a walk from the main temple but close enough to the sea. Puri is a town that lives by the seasons and the festivals, so some months we are completely full and others it’s just us and a few travelers. Our hotel is a solid building that has seen plenty of salt air and sun over the years. You can tell it’s been here a while because of the way the paint weathers, but we do our best to keep it looking alright. The staff here is small, mostly people from the nearby villages who have been with us for a long time. We don't have any of those automated check-in machines; we just use a big ledger book and a pen to record everything. It’s a very simple way of doing things. The rooms are plain, with basic beds and windows that sometimes stick because of the ocean breeze. We don't have a big restaurant, but we can usually fix something simple if a guest is hungry. The road outside can get sandy, and you hear the sounds of rickshaws and people all day long. It is a humble place. We just try to make sure there is water in the tanks and the rooms are swept every morning for whoever arrives next. It’s a quiet life most of the time except during the big festivals.