The Hotel Ashoka was built in the 1960s in the gulag style and is proud of the fact that there has been zero investment since then. The Summit Hotel would have been £60 a night. The Ashoka came in at £60 for 3 nights and it could be that you get what you pay for. The proprietor couldn’t have been more helpful and he sheepishly showed us his spare room. Not one of his better ones, I think even he would have admitted. At this point it is worth pointing out that Shimla lies at over 2000m in altitude in the foothills of the Himalayas. Max 12 degrees during the day and 3 or 4 degrees at night. And this hotel had no central heating. Mr Helpful drew attention to the very thick blankets and told us we’d be fine. Also he had a better room with a fan heater for the other two nights. It was a deal.
The next morning we went down for breakfast and all of the doors were open. To say it was bracing didn’t really adequately describe it. We asked a fellow breakfast partaker if they were a bit cold (they were wearing a parka). They said they were and that was kind of the point. She was from Delhi and in her world the whole idea of a few days in Shimla was a break from being warm.
Still it had a good mobile signal!
