The lobby on the 2nd floor, the smiling front desk management, the helpful bellboys, the clean enough corridors... none of them actually prepare you for the surprisingly large room you encounter at the end of your check-in procedure.

Sitara Residency may do well to change its name to "The Hotel With The Larger Rooms" or something more literarily compelling in Hindi, Urdu, English or Telugu, for it certainly would not be accused of lying. A good place to stay when visiting with family, and when the chances of spending time in these nicely appointed rooms would be higher.

The Executive room priced at Rs. 2,200 for double occupancy is impressively sized (did I mention that before?), and comes with its own comfy sofas and two not-so-comfortable looking chairs for your not-so-welcome guests. The room even has a writing table and yet another chair, the mandatory TV, phone table, minibar, and then some space to walk.

The beds also are a tad larger than the usual standard twin-sized ones masquerading as adequate, and they look extremely comfortable, too. Did I mention that this might be a good hotel when traveling with family?

Besides the rooms, the location also lends itself to the holiday aura. Slap-bang in the middle of Hyderabad's extensive shopping district, and flanked by some of the city's sari shops that urban legends are made of, Sitara Residence will provide that base camp for your various shopping expeditions.

For the local citizenry, they have on offer a large sized banquet hall that has an 800-person capacity, wedding ornamental chairs that you can avail yourself of, food from the Swagath Group of hotels, and a reasonably successful wedding, birthday, cradle ceremony.

However, it is their smaller banquet hall on the higher floor that has an adjoining terrace, with clean-looking wash-basins, a tandoor set-up and satisfactory greenery all around that might be worth exploring. This facility for about 200 people has the potential of turning that mildly successful party into a memorable one, given great weather and the innovative use of the adjoining terrace space.

All said, Sitara Residency offers the usual comforts and facilities of many other hotels in its class, but distinguishes itself on account of the per square foot it offers to its guests.