Hotel Amber-Shimla

Ram Bazar is a crowded place, and that’s where you’ll find Hotel Amber-Shimla. It’s right in the middle of all the noise and the shops selling everything from spices to woolens. We’ve been here a while now, and the building has definitely aged with the street. Most days start early with the sound of shutters opening on the street below and the smell of breakfast cooking nearby. If you are looking for a fancy lobby with marble floors and people in uniforms bowing at you, this probably isn't the spot. It is more about having a roof over your head while you are visiting the city. The rooms are basic, and the geysers take a bit of time to warm up the water in the winter, but they work eventually. We spend a lot of our time just managing the daily stuff, making sure the linens are clean and the tea is hot when someone asks for it. Some people find the climb up to Ram Bazar a bit much if they have heavy bags, but it is just part of how Shimla is built on these steep hills. We don't have a big marketing team or a fancy website to manage. It’s just us running the place day by day as best we can. Sometimes the Wi-Fi acts up because of the weather or the thick walls, but we try to fix it when we can. It’s just a regular hotel in a very busy part of town where people come and go constantly, and we like it that way.