We stayed five nights (across two visits in three weeks) at the Radisson Blu near the Guwahati airport ($123/night including tax). The first four nights allowed us to explore the northeast’s biggest metropolitan area. The last night was a comfortable transition to catch an early morning train for onward travel.

You know what you get with the Radisson Blu chain of hotels in India. We’ve stayed at a few here and there. As a business-style hotel with 4-star amenities it is priced lower than 4.5/5-star Accor or Novotel-branded properties with, we think, similar touches. When on the road for months on end, an occasional value-priced, high-end pampering is just the ticket.

This Blu was remodeling a portion of the lobby (no harm, no foul), the centerpiece of which was a gorgeous sculpture (that needed to be on a raised platform several meters /snip/). The two best public spaces in the overall gleaming facility were the super stunning bar (you have to search for it) and the super-stunning pan-asian restaurant. Expensive but worth it. The room was above average, as you would expect. We get tired of the chilly-ish corporate veneer after a few days but it delivers in all the right ways when you need it — superb room service, laundry service, great concierge services and lots of good hot water.