Hotel Alka

This ghat-side option could use an attentive eye on its exteriors, but the pretty-much-spotless rooms – either opening onto, or overlooking, a large, plant-filled courtyard over the Ganges – draw the lion's share of care here. In the far corner, room 102 has a terrace that juts out over Meer Ghat for one of the best views in all of Varanasi, a view shared from the balconies of eight of the priciest rooms.