Iran - Andrew Burke [85]
Hafez Hotel (Map; 6670 9063; hafezhotel@yahoo.com; Bank Alley, off Ferdosi St; s/d with breakfast US$20/27; ) In a lane beside the big Bank Melli, the modern rooms here are quiet, clean and have fridge, fan and pokey bathroom. It’s conveniently located and fair value.
Hotel Naderi (Map; 6670 1872; Jomhuri-ye Eslami Ave; s/d/tr US$15/30/45; ) If service and fastidious cleanliness are important to you, stop reading now. But if you fancy ’50s-era bakelite telephones, a manual switchboard, decades-old furnishings and the bohemian Cafe Naderi (Map–3) downstairs, read on. The history is certainly unusual and maybe even unique in Tehran. But this is not a renovated faux-historic hotel (though it could be!); it’s just old. So the attractions of the big rooms with their high ceilings are somewhat tempered by broken beds, leaky plumbing, grubby floors, mosquitoes and no toilet paper. And apart from Davoud, the service is mainly unsmiling. Still, we quite like it, and the price is fair, especially for single travellers, and location good. If you do stay, be sure to ask for a rear room (room numbers 107 to 112 or 207 to 212), because the front rooms are frightfully noisy.
If the others are full:
Asia Hotel (Map–3; 3311 8320; Mellat St; s/tw with breakfast & bathroom IR150,000/200,000; ) Metres from Metro Mellat.
Hotel Khayyam (Map; 3311 3757; www.hotelkhayyam.com; 3 Navidy Alley, Amir Kabir St; s/tw/tr US$22/37/46; ) Quiet place with helpful, engaging service but worn, overpriced rooms and squat toilets. Long-discussed renovation can’t come soon enough.
Midrange
Most of the midrange hotels are in central and northern Tehran. You’ll have to walk further or take a taxi to most of the museums in the south, but will be closer to decent restaurants, parks and cafés. Prices in this range start at about US$30 for a twin or double room. All rooms have a fridge, TV and air-con, and bathrooms with thrones. Reception staff should speak English and there will be a restaurant.
Parasto Hotel (Map; 6672 0839; hotel_parasto@yahoo.com; Mohammad Buyk Alley, off Jomhuri-ye Eslami Ave; s/d with breakfast US$25/39; ) Style? Ahm, no. The Parasto is as no-frills as it gets but the rooms are spotlessly clean and staff welcoming, making it a reliable lower-midrange choice. There is also a reasonably priced restaurant.
Shiraz Hotel (Map; 3392 5342; www.shiraz-hotel.com; cnr Jaber Zadeh Alley & Sa’di St; s/d with breakfast US$35/52; ) The Shiraz offers clean, compact but comfortable and well-equipped rooms with double-glazing to keep out the noise. Good value; shame about the hectic location.
New Naderi Hotel (Map; 6670 9530; new_naderihotel@hotmail.com; Jomhuri-ye Eslami Ave, 53 Gohar Shad Alley; s/d US$35/55; ) If the ‘old’ Naderi is a product of the ’50s, this place is certainly a ’70s child. The rooms aren’t quite as vast as the lobby, but they’re cleaner than those in the Naderi and come with breakfast. The restaurant is good value but service can be disinterested.
Atlas Hotel (Map; 8890 6058; www.atlas-hotel.com; 206 Taleqani Ave, near Qarani Crossroads; s/d US$38/58; ) Right in the heart of Tehran, the spacious, comfortable, well-maintained and quiet rooms in the Atlas’s main building (out the back away from the street) are excellent value. Some overlook a colourful courtyard and the combination of decent service, space and facilities makes it a real oasis. The Indian-Pakistani-Iranian restaurant is reasonably good. Recommended.
Safir Hotel (Map; 8830 0873; www.indianhotelsafir.com; 10 Ardalan St, off Mofatteh Ave; s/tw with breakfast US$39/60; ) Located behind the old US embassy grounds, the Safir is probably better known for its subterranean Indian restaurant. But the three-star standard rooms in this long-running little hotel won’t disappoint and nor will the service.
Iranshahr Hotel (Map; 8883 4976; www.hotel-iranshahr.com; Iranshahr Ave; s/d with breakfast US$47/72; ) Reliable. That pretty much sums up the Iranshahr, where the rooms are reliably