Indian hotel rates are driven less by the hotel than by the calendar. Wedding dates, school holidays, festival weeks and the monsoon move the same room by a factor of three. Pick a region and a month to see what you are walking into, and what the cheap months cost you in weather.
This is directional guidance on rate pressure and conditions, not a quote. Every one of the 48 region-month combinations below is written out; nothing falls through to a generic answer. Actual rates depend on the property, the exact dates and how far ahead you book.
The whole year, at a glance
How to use this
The cheapest months are cheap for a reason, and the reason is usually weather. That does not automatically make them a bad idea. Rajasthan in August is green and empty and costs a third of December. Kerala during the south-west monsoon is the traditional season for Ayurvedic treatment, not an off-season accident. What matters is knowing which trade you are making before you book, rather than finding out on arrival.
The pattern that catches most people is the last week of December. Across every region on this page it is the single most expensive week of the year, and in Goa and Kerala it is also when compulsory gala dinner charges appear on the bill. If your dates are flexible by even a fortnight, moving off that week changes the price more than choosing a different hotel does.
Working out what a specific booking actually costs once tax and mandatory extras are added? Use the true cost comparator. For what a given rate buys on the ground, the regional guides cover it property by property.