Manali is one of the biggest tourist towns up in Northern India and there is no shortage of Hotels in that region. You can always find a hotel in Manali suiting to anyone’s pocket. Every time we visit Manali, we stay in some different hotel as you cannot judge someone as best without trying others ;)… This time we stayed at Hotel “The River View”, as we wanted some cheap and decent accommodation just for a night stop over. Here is my detailed review for the same…

Address:

The River View, Near Beas Bridge, Left Bank Manali, District Kullu, Himachal Pradesh.

Price:

They offered us Rs 800 for a four-bedded room. The price range is between 700-900 for four bedded room and 300-500 for a double-bedded room. It also depends on the bargaining power as well as the off-season discounts too. Himachal Tourism offers a 30% discount in off-season and at the same time private hotels offers close to 50% discounts. Hence, if it is an off-season then bargain hard. The price of the food items in the Hotel were similar to what you can get at the mall road in Manali. Hence, just by walking down few hundred meters you will definitely get a much more tastier meal and variety of cuisines.

Bookings / Reservations:

Booking or reservations can be done by calling at one of these numbers

  • 09418428957 (Mr. Kamlesh Thakur)
  • 09418072595, 01902251047

Location:

After you enter Manali town there is an exit from the Mall road going towards Manali – Rohtang Pass road. You are supposed to cross a bridge over Beas river to enter the Manali – Rohtang Pass road. Just when you cross the bridge (used by vehicles exiting Manali town) take right towards Naggar (left goes towards Rohtang Pass and Solang Valley). Drive few hundred meters ahead and just when you bypass the second bridge (used by vehicles entering Manali town) then, after 4-5 hotels, you will see this Hotel on your left side. This road is called Manali – Naggar road and if you follow, it will lead you to the breathtaking views of Naggar Castle (30 odd KMs ahead). For pictures and complete review of Naggar Castles click here: Naggar Castle, A Complete Review

Personal Experience:

We stayed in a four-bedded room which was moderately comfortable with basic interior. The balcony offered the views of Beas river in full flow. The room was spacious enough with attached bathroom having hot water supply and basic bath fittings. There was no room heater to provide warmth in cold conditions (at least we didn’t need it :)) or may be since it was summers so they didn’t provided us. There was a TV as well in the room with a DTH connection which can help you relax after a long hard day provided if you don’t booze ;)…

Quality of food/tea/coffee was just at satisfactory level, at least for us. However, I feel since the Mall road is very near to the hotel offering variety of cuisines, very few tourists are interested having food in the hotel. Even the meal serving time was very high for us and we were almost over with half sleep by the time food reached our room.

Well for booze lovers, Liquor shop is at the Mall road of Manali town, which is near to the Hotel. Even staff from the hotel can help you get the desired booze but just pay them the tip.

Hospitality we received from the staff was good and Mr. Thakur the manager of the hotel, seems to be a very nice person. I praise him a lot as he helped us and took great care of my car in our absence for more than the days expected. We couldn’t cross slush stretches at Rohtang Pass in our car on our Ladakh journey, so had to leave the car under his care. Then, when we reached Ladakh we witnessed the disaster (Ladakh Flash Floods, August 2010) and had to fly back to our homes after being stuck in Leh for more than 4 days. I was worried of my car too but it was Mr. Thankur’s authentic assurance for its safety and care which helped me concentrate on our return. Finally, after 10 days I finally got my car back and it was a great help by Mr. Thakur to keep it secured. If interested, you can read the whole account of my Ladakh Journey from the link: My Journey to Ladakh

Parking:

The hotel does have a parking facility for about 6 vehicles at the front gate. They also have another hotel, about 200 odd meters ahead, where you can park the vehicle incase their own parking is full.

ATM:

Nearest ATM is at the Mall road in Manali which is approximately 1 KMs from the hotel.

Petrol Pump:

Nearest Petrol Pump is on the road connection Manali – Rohtang Pass , approximately 2-4 KMs from hotel.

Medical Assistance:

For any medical assistance you will have to approach the Mall road in Manali town which is at the walking distance only.

Attraction In-Around Hotel:

Well, you are in Manali town and there are a lot of things to see around in Manali. You can check my Manali Travel Guide for comprehensive details on places to visit in Manali, by clicking the link: Manali, Travel Guide

Conclusion:

If you are looking forward just to stay as stopover night on your journey to Lahaul Valley or Spiti Valley or Leh – Ladakh then you might consider this hotel for its cheap prices and decent comfort. It is next to Beas river and only problem I see is that being right on the Manali – Naggar road, you will feel the noise of vehicles moving around all the time, apart from night when rarely someone drives in hills. In the end, if you are looking for some good and economic accommodation in Manali without much luxury then this Hotel may serve you the purpose. But, please do not consider the food at the hotel. Walk few paces and hit the mall road for the food.

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I am Dheeraj Sharma - a traveler, techie, and Himalayan lover. Since 2009, I have been helping thousands of travelers every year plan memorable & budget-friendly trips to the Himalayas - Smartly, Safely, and responsibly.

19 Comments

  1. Comments section gets closed in 90 days. To ask your travel questions, you can follow my YouTube Channel for a faster reply or for a much slower reply follow me on Instagram. :)

  2. Hey dheeraj me and four my friends are planning to go to manali on 7th of December .Could u please provide us with a itinerary for three days . also could u tell us about the transportation and accommodation over there thanks.

    • Hi Sumit,

      In just three days, well one day you will reach on which you can rest in Manali, second day attempt the snow point of Gulaba or Marhi and enjoy snow. Next day roam around Manali and start the journey back.

  3. Dear Dheeraj,

    Me and my boyfriend are planing to visit somewhere in Himchal pradesh . but not yet decided where could you please suggest some must visit places .We wanted kind of place where we have river in front of our room, gigantic mountains , lush green atmosphere secluded isolated place . I knw now you would suggest Raju bharti guset house , have already been there now want to try something new .

    Please help !

  4. prakash parasramka on

    I also enjoyed a few days in hotel river view during my HM in 2000. A cheap & yet clean place to stay in Manali with good view of snow covered peaks with fog for view from rooms.

    • Aneeta, well in Manali you will find budget hotels at Manali – Naggar road and above one is one such. There was one more much decent one just aside this hotel too but I forgot the name. Else, check the HPTDC properties in Manali if that suits your budget.

  5. Dear Dheeraj,

    Planning to go Leh via Manali through bike. Please advise stopage on the way with accomadation like economy hotels / camps.

      • Dheeraj,

        it will be approx 7 to 9 days. i think three stops on the way to Leh from Manali on bike.

      • As per plan we will reach manali by 23 june and start our trip. We think that we will travel approx 150-200 km per day thus three or four stoppage on the way. We need budget hotel or camp (prefer)during journey . Plz suggest which places are good to stay like sarchu with accomodation.

        • Hi Ravi,

          You will not be able to do it with 3 stops due to acclimatization and AMS issues. You will have to stop at Keylong first night and then make a long long journey of about 350 KMs next day by starting at 5 AM in the morning from Keylong and reach Leh by evening. It will take about 14+ hours and lots of people do it. If you halt your journey at Sarchu which is mid way between Leh and Manali then it is not recommended due to AMS issues and you might not be able to sleep at Sarchu. So, most people halt at Keylong or Jispa (my preferred place) and then do long run the very next day. At jispa, you can stay with Hotel Ibex or Jispa Journeys. For more details check the Manali – Leh highway Travel Guide at the link: https://discoverwithdheeraj.com/travel-guide-for-manali-leh-highway/

          Regards
          Dheeraj Sharma

  6. Hi,
    I find your blog/website really nice. It’s quite helpful to gather some info.
    I need your suggestion…
    We had planned to go to Shimla> Manali> Dharmashala> Dalhousie. Later i asked them to add Mussoorie and Dehradun too in the package as i ve to meet up some people there. But now the tour operator suggests me either to opt either for dehrahun/mussoorie or for dharmashala/dalhousie. Is is worth going to dharmashala/dalhoausie or is it okay giving it a miss?? I had heard a lot about Kajjar..so i thot of going to these two places.. are these 2 places better than shimla and manali.. we ll be trvlng in jan last week..wat wud u suggest??

    • Hi Priti,

      Not sure how you are comparing but Dehradun/Mussoorie cannot be compared to others mentioned as they are on tad lower side wrt to beauty on offer. So, skip that. Secondly, as I suggested you need to choose either of two Shimla + Manali OR Dharamshala + Dalhousie. You can do both of them and enjoy them ONLY if you have more than 10 days. Otherwise, opt for one of them.

      I hope this helps. Please let me know in case you need any further details

      Regards
      Dheeraj Sharma

    • Hello Murali,

      Nopes this is not that Hotel. Basically, it was an economic hotel situated on the left bank of Beas river on Manali-Naggar road. Mall road was about 700-800 Mtrs from the hotel. Though a Hotel before the River View was a much better option in terms of comfort and price too but I forgot the name of that Hotel. If you have not decided on any hotels yet, I will advice you to go for Johnsons Hotel or Lodge just near circuit house. There is another hotel just adjacent to it with the name Jimmy Johnsons and that too is similar in many terms to the Johnsons lodge. You can opt for any one of them and will not be disappointed.

      Regards
      Dheeraj