Ram Bhawan, Kautilya Society Residence Reviews

First: You must bring your own padlock! You can buy one on the street for like Rs30. Nice place, great vibe, cool decor, friendly staff, nice social scene. Free breakfast is minimal (bananas, toast, butter, chutney, cereal, coffee, tea), though the lunch is really impressive (full balanced Indian meal). For me, a room with just a fan wasn't enough to sleep well in Varanasi summer heat, so consider a room with AC. Cafe on the roof is pretty tasty, though expensive by local standards.

The atmosphere is really pleasant and peacefull, the staff is nice, and the free food is amazing! It s also super clean... Make sure you can find a way to call them though, cause it s almost impossible to find by your self. But Once you know where it is, the location is perfect. I would stay there again!

Lovely house and really well furnished. Location is perfect very near the river near Munchi Ghat. To get there, it is easier to first walk to the river, and take ally left of Munchi Ghat. It is tough to find it through the allies, even though a map is provided upon booking by the very proactive and friendly hospitality workers. Note that a small fee applies for society membership. Excellent internet connection most of the time. I came off season, and it was not crowded, but met some nice people.

The food was amazing and well worth paying that little extra. I was very well taken care of and the staff were attentive when necessary. Would definitely recommend to others and it will be my go to when Varanasi.

Lovely hostel! Very clean, they have free breakfast and lunch which is amazing! Rooftop terrace and Café with a real espresso machine. They offer yoga lessons and massages. Perfect location right next to the main ghat. Easy to meet other travellers in the breakfast area! Had an awesome stay here, definitely will be back!

Very clean place offering a quiet environment to relax and enjoy. The halfway indoor patio is superb and the included food - breakfast and lunch (excl sunday), is plenty and delicious. It' located just one row away from the Ganges and the ghats. The offered roof top cafe 'Filocafe' is ok but could be extended with a comfortable seating area / lounge. 

i felt at home, welcome and well cared for while i was at the Kautilya Society Residence and i only wish i could have stayed longer to get to know more of the members, other guests and Varanasi better. The level of cleanliness and orderlyness and the delightful way the delicious food was offered - rather than just served - was much appreciated.

Very good place to stay in Varanasi!!!

I really enjoyed my stay because the house is so beautiful, the stuff was very helpful and friendly and made me feel like home. The only thing try to avoid to arrive on a sunday, none of the stuff will be around and its quite unorganized. Still, i can highly recommend that place.

I had a wonderful time while stayed in here. Staffs are nice and residents, too. Many of them are long-term residents I can see why. Free breakfast and lunch is good! Nice and homy, wifi works!!! Rooftop has a cafe, which is great while you watch the sunset of ganga with a real cup of coffee.

Difficult to find, staff were not friendly on arrival but were much more pleasant later on. We did not get the free lunch as we were only staying for one night but breakfast was the usual fare of bread, jam, fruit and cereal. Think this hostel is much better suited for people staying for longer than a weekend in order to get the benefits, short term stays seem rare. One shower per floor and two toilets. Good views from rooftop.

Very good location, cleen, comfortable

This was a beautiful place to stay (once you find it). An excellent cafe on the roof top is great to get away from the hustle and bustle of varanasi. The staff are very friendly and helpful and the people I met there were great. Its less than 5 minute walk to the main ghat and from what I could gather from other travellers was far nicer and cheaper than the places they stayed. The staff were helpful too when I had trouble getting a train ticket out. Breakfast and Lunch are free too :)........

A clean and calm place to stay. Friendly staff made calls to gain information for me. Purified drinking water was provided near to the kitchen. The directions with simple map emailed by staff were very helpful. The thing is you have to bring you own padlock. Overall, I give thumbs-up.

A very relaxing and peaceful retreat, and highly recommended. Good tasty simple nutritious meals included. Only negative is the need to BYO Padlock.

Staff is great, place is nice and location is excellent. Just know a few things. If you don't care for crowded back alleys...this isn't your place. Also, don't arrive on Sundays...staff have the day off and you will miss very important information which will make your stay much more enjoyable. Otherwise, its awesome. You will love the community feel of breakfast and lunch...very homey!

Fantastic building, calm, clean friendly home, guests of all ages, with a cultural/academic persuasion. beautiful family and society run the place. Lovely lunch provided in tariff. Fausto very helpful. They also organised a trip to the Kumbh Mela for us, Highly recommended. We will be back.

I liked this place. For India it's very clean and I especially appreciated how frequently they cleaned the shared bathrooms. My room was great with lots of cupboards and outlets and a little desk. The shared shower was hot and the WiFi worked well. My only issue with it was that the room didn't get any sunlight and I was always cold, so I didn't want to spend time there. It's not easy to get to while carrying luggage, but the hotel provides good directions.

Amazing place to stay. Felt like home and the staff were so helpful and friendly. Best place we stayed in India.

Rooms are nicely appointed and very clean. Location right on the ghats and once you've found it once it is easy to get to. Included lunch was good. Main comment is that the hostel really seemed better set up for long term guests, perhaps due to its society membership system. While the hospitality officer was nice and friendly, we did find the overall vibe quite cliquey, with long term society members not thatinterested in talking with short stay guests.