In Srinagar there are hotels to suit every requirement in terms of price, location and facilities. The most desirable location for a hotel is considered the Boulevard, which overlooks the Dal Lake. Hotel rooms that overlook the lake cost more than those opening in the opposite direction. Dalgate, which is fairly central for shopping and nearest to the Tourist Reception Centre (TRC), has mostly budget accommodation. Some good hotels are also located in Sonawar and Rajbagh, which are largely residential areas within 2 kms of the TRC. Also there are several hotels on Residency Road, which is right in the middle of a shopping centre, very close to the TRC. Lal Chowk, in the city’s centre, has several medium category hotels, mostly preferred by visiting traders.

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HOUSEBOATS IN KASHMIR Many tourists are attracted to Srinagar by the charm of staying on a houseboat, which provides the unique experience of living on the water in a cedar-panelled elegant bedroom, with all the conveniences of a luxury hotel. Srinagar's thousand or so houseboats are moored along sections of the Dal and Nagin Lakes and river Jhelum, each decorated fancifully and named romantically and even whimsically. Like hotels, houseboats vary in degree of luxury and have been accordingly graded by the Department of Tourism. A luxury houseboat, like a luxury hotel has fine furniture, good carpets and modern bathroom fittings, while the ‘D category’ (the lowest category) of houseboats, like low-budget hotels, is spartanly furnished. Like hotels too, houseboats vary widely in their locations. Some overlook the main road, others look out onto lotus gardens and yet others face tiny local markets and villages, all right in the middle of the lake! All houseboats, regardless of category, have highly personalized service. Not only is there always a "houseboy" for every boat, but the owner and his family are never far away. The cost per day of hiring a houseboat includes all meals and free rides from the houseboat to the nearest jetty and back, as no houseboat on the lakes is directly accessible from the banks.

Besides the homely comforts and delicacies of the houseboat and the famous Shikara ride, the other luxuries one can enjoy are sunbathing on the houseboats on the top-deck. Water - powered peddlers sell everything from saffron to papier mache deer to the houseboat door.

Mughal Durbar and Ahdoos on Shervani Road, Ruby in Lambert Lane and Juniper in Lal Chowk are well known for their Kashmiri cuisine. Solace and Tao Cafe on Shervani Road and Shamyana on the Boulevard are three known garden cafes. There are also several restaurants offering Chinese cuisines such as J&K TDC’s Nun-Kun Restaurant near Nehru Park, Alka Salka on Shervani Road and Lhasa on the Boulevard. Some restaurants, both attached to hotels and independent, cater to the large number of vegetarians who holiday in Kashmir. These are mainly located in the Dalgate Kohna Khan area and on the Boulevard. Amira Kadal and Dalgate have inexpensive eateries where you can get simple, well cooked meals.

There are a number of bakeries at Dalgate and Shervani Road.  Some of them, in addition to patties and pastries, serve  Kashmiri breads like 'sheermal' and 'baqerkhani', without which no  Kashmiri breakfast is complete. Kashmiris use a  variety of breads seldom seen elsewhere.  Tsot and tsochvoru are small round breads, topped with poppy and sesame  seeds and traditionally washed down with salt tea. Lavas is a cream  coloured unleavened bread; baqerkhani is the Kashmiri equivalent of  rough puff pastry and kulcha is a melt-in-the mouth variety of  short-bread, sweet or savoury, topped with poppy seeds.

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