Roland Hotel

About Roland Hotel

Roland Hotel is a three-star hotel on Rowland Road, near Landsdown Crossing, in the Park Street area of central Kolkata. It suits first-time visitors who want to reach the sights and the city's best-known restaurants on foot or after a short ride, without the trappings of a luxury address. The Indian Museum, the Maidan and the Park Street dining strip all sit within a comfortable radius, and the nearest metro stations are about 1.2 km away. Guests rate it 4.4 out of 5 from 1887 reviews.

The stay is practical rather than ceremonial: a mid-range city hotel with air conditioning, Wi-Fi, a 24-hour front desk, room service, a bar and parking, plus family rooms, lifts and wheelchair-accessible areas. Rooms come with the usual fittings, from television and telephone to a safe, minibar and toiletries. Book it if you want a central base with a desk to work from; it is not a resort with grounds to wander. Confirm the room type and the arrival time directly when you book.

Location and neighbourhood

Park Street, officially Mother Teresa Sarani, is the city's best-known dining and shopping street, and the surrounding lanes, Camac Street, Middleton Row and Russell Street, hold offices, galleries and cafés. The Maidan opens to the south, giving a large green edge to a dense part of the city. The hotel sits near Landsdown Crossing, where the commercial streets meet quieter residential lanes. Expect traffic, pedestrians and a steady hum rather than calm: this is a working central district, not a retreat, and the trade continues late.

Some of the stay can be done on foot. Victoria Memorial is 1.7 km away, roughly 10 to 20 minutes by road, and often walkable in cool weather; Park Street itself is 1.9 km, or 15 to 25 minutes by road. Esplanade, at 3.2 km, is better reached by cab or metro. Anything north of the centre calls for a ride. Traffic decides the timings more than distance does, and the gap between a quick run and a slow crawl is wide.

Mornings are the best time to walk: offices open, food stalls set up and the roads are still manageable. Evenings bring the restaurant trade and a younger crowd around Park Street and Camac Street, with long dinners and music. During Durga Puja the whole centre fills with pandals and crowds, and the Christmas lights on Park Street and at Allen Park from mid-December to New Year keep the area busy after dark. Check the current year's festival dates before fixing plans.

Rooms and facilities

For business travellers the useful parts are the desk, the Wi-Fi, the 24-hour front desk and room service, which allow an early start or a late call without leaving the building. Laundry and dry cleaning service help on longer trips, and luggage storage covers the gap between arrival and departure. A bar in the hotel and a free newspaper are small extras. Ask about room position when you book, since the crossing outside carries traffic through the night.

Families have family rooms, lifts and wheelchair-accessible areas, plus parking and a garage if you arrive by car. Late arrivals are covered by the 24-hour front desk and 24-hour security, with luggage storage for bags. The bar is an option at the end of a travel day, and room service suits anyone landing after dark. Rooms are fitted with bathroom, shower, hairdryer, towels and toiletries, and the building also has a garden and banquet space.

Kolkata's heat decides how you use the room. Air conditioning and fans are listed, so the room stays usable through April and May, when daytime temperatures pass 35 °C and evening storms arrive. In the monsoon, roughly June to September, humidity is high and downpours can flood streets, so keep plans flexible. Winter needs nothing more than a light layer. Confirm the air conditioning, the check-in and check-out times and the payment method with the property before you travel.

Getting there

The airport, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (CCU), is about 16.1 km north-east of the centre, which translates to 50 to 80 minutes by road depending on traffic. Prepaid taxis and app cabs both work; agree the fare or insist on the meter before setting off. Allow extra time in the morning and evening rush. A metro link to the airport exists on the Yellow Line from Jai Hind Bimanbandar station, and services are expanding, so check Metro Railway Kolkata before relying on it.

Howrah station, on the west bank of the Hooghly, is 5.5 km away, about 20 to 35 minutes by road plus the time lost at the bridge. Sealdah, on the east side of the centre, is 3.7 km and 15 to 30 minutes. Both are straightforward cab rides at most hours, harder in the rain. Kolkata station at Chitpur handles some long-distance and Bangladesh trains and is further north. Keep the address ready for the driver: 28A Rowland Road, near Landsdown Crossing.

The nearest metro stops are Rabindra Sadan and Netaji Bhavan, both about 1.2 km away on the north-south Blue Line, India's first metro, opened in 1984. From either, the ride to Esplanade, Park Street or Kalighat is short, and trains run through the day, crowded at office hours. Autos and short cab hops cover the last stretch to the hotel. Check Metro Railway Kolkata for current timings and any line changes, since the network is being extended.

Food and sights near Roland Hotel

St Paul's Cathedral, consecrated in 1847, is 1.3 km away, an easy walk or short ride, and worth an hour for its stained glass and quiet grounds. The South Park Street Cemetery, opened in 1767, is 1.4 km off, a shaded expanse of Gothic tombs that says more about colonial Calcutta than any museum label. Victoria Memorial, built between 1906 and 1921 in Makrana marble, is 1.7 km away, with 64 acres of grounds and a museum closed on Mondays and some national holidays.

Food is a reason many visitors choose this area. Flurys has traded on Park Street since 1927 for breakfast and patisserie, while Peter Cat, Mocambo and Trincas are all long-standing Park Street names for a full dinner. The strip has long been associated with food and music. Nizam's near New Market is credited with the original kathi roll, and Oxford Bookstore on Park Street pairs a bookshop with a café. For a plain coffee and Bengali snacks, Indian Coffee House on College Street is a short ride north.

Shopping here spreads along the side streets: Camac Street, Middleton Row and Russell Street hold small shops, tailors and galleries, and Oxford Bookstore is the obvious stop for anything printed. New Market, opened in 1874 as Hogg Market, is a short ride for produce, fabric and haggling. Evenings belong to Park Street, where the restaurants fill after dark; at Christmas the lights on Park Street and at Allen Park draw crowds. Weeknights are calmer for dinner.

• St Paul’s Cathedral (1.3 km)
• South Park Street Cemetery (1.4 km)
• Victoria Memorial (1.7 km)
• Mother House (1.9 km)
• Park Street food & music (1.9 km)

A day from Roland Hotel

Start early and walk or take a short cab to Victoria Memorial, 1.7 km away, roughly 10 to 20 minutes by road. The museum is the draw and the grounds are the reward; keep a couple of hours for both and go before the heat builds. From there, St Paul's Cathedral is 1.3 km from the hotel, close enough to combine if you plan a route across the Maidan. Check the museum's weekly closing day before setting out, since it shuts on Mondays and some national holidays.

After lunch, head to the South Park Street Cemetery, 1.4 km from the hotel, for a slow walk among the tombs; it is quiet in the afternoon and takes under an hour. Then cover the Park Street stretch at 1.9 km, 15 to 25 minutes by road, moving between Flurys for a break and the surrounding side streets. Mother House, 1.9 km away, suits a reflective stop earlier in the day, when it is cooler and less crowded.

Spend the evening within a short radius: dinner on Park Street, 1.9 km away, then a drink at the hotel bar if you want to avoid another ride. Food and music along that strip are the local night out. If energy holds, the Maidan is open and cooler after dark for a walk. For anything further, use the metro at Rabindra Sadan or Netaji Bhavan, 1.2 km each, or take a metered cab and agree the route first.

Booking tips and when to go

Book well ahead for Durga Puja, usually late September or October, when the city fills and the centre is at its busiest; the lunar dates move each year, so check the current year's dates. The same applies to the Christmas and New Year weeks, when the Park Street lights draw crowds and rooms tighten. Availability is volatile around these periods. Confirm the arrival time, the room type and the number of guests in writing, and ask about check-in and check-out timings when you book.

November to February is the kindest season here: dry, comfortable days and cool evenings, ideal for walking to Victoria Memorial and the cemetery. March warms quickly, April and May are hot and humid with evening storms, and the monsoon runs roughly June to September, heaviest in July, with waterlogging after downpours. October is a transition month as the rain tails off. Winter mornings can be hazy with poor air quality, so plan longer walks for later in the day.

Carry cash for taxis, markets and street food, and use cards or UPI in shops and restaurants. Yellow Ambassador taxis are metered, so insist on the meter; app cabs are an alternative, and the metro avoids the worst traffic. Drink bottled or filtered water. Dress modestly at religious sites, including Mother House, which is an active convent, and remove shoes where required. Bengali is the local language, with Hindi and English widely understood. For changing details, check Metro Railway Kolkata, Indian Railways or West Bengal Tourism.

Roland Hotel: questions

Similar stays near Roland Hotel

4★

The Aster Heritage

Park Street, Kolkata · 4-starGuest score 4.6/5 · 775 reviewsSee live price

4★

Kenilworth Hotel Kolkata

Park Street, Kolkata · 4-starGuest score 4.4/5 · 6327 reviewsSee live price

4★

The Astor

Park Street, Kolkata · 4-starGuest score 4.3/5 · 6333 reviewsSee live price