Keyser

Finally, Hilton is back in India.

The Hilton Garden Inn opened on the 28th of November, 2009 in the Saket area in New Delhi.

I stayed here last night & was the first Diamond at the hotel.

The hotel is located about 25 minutes from the Airport & is in a great location.

I'll first start with the negatives:

1. Small property
2. No lounge
3. Long time to check-in (although since today is the first day, I expect this to be resolved soon)
4. The hotel has just one type of room (all 130 rooms are identical)

The positives:

1. Great location. The hotel is in the Saket area & shares a common wall with two of the best malls in Delhi. Lots of great restaurants all around the hotel. There are a number of clubs in the area & of course good shopping.
2. Free breakfast. Although I'm not sure if this is just for Diamonds or for everyone else.
3. Good Indian restaurant on the 2nd floor of the hotel.
4. Free internet.
5. Free use of the business facilities like the conferrence/meeting rooms.
6. Have I mentioned the great location????

All in all, this is more like a business hotel, but still a very good place to stay, specially taking into consideration the price (I paid $110, including tax).

ooodaveb

I have a 14hr layover at DEL on my connecting to KTM. Was thinking of staying the night there with HH rewards. They want 25k points for that hotel for a night.

Am I better off staying there or somewhere else. I've never used HH rewards before is 25k a reasonable for such a hotel?

puneetkaul

Thanks for being there at our hotel.
Thanks for all the feedback.
Feedback are the most important tool to improve oneself.
Thanks again for the stay.
We wait to host your stay whenever next you visit to DELHI.
Thanks again

Hilton Garden Inn New Delhi Saket.

ROW2Aisle

Hmm! that rate is great considering I tried to book a room today for a two night stay for March 3, 2010 and the rate quoted for even the advance purchase option is over $200/night inclusive of taxes. Was your rate a special promotion rate?

I was considering switching to this property from the Airport Radisson where I usually stay and have a current reservation for a January trip and then I have another reservation at the Hyatt for my March 2010 trip that I was planning on switching to this property also but at the higher rate quoted to me at this property I'll stay at the Hyatt & Radisson.

Keyser

welcome to flyertalk ooodaveb....i would think 25k is a good deal for this hotel....although if you only have 14 hours in delhi then i would suggest some place closer to the airport....the raddison is only a 5 minute drive from the airport & is a very good hotel....if you can get a rate for around $150 or so then i feel that would be a better option....also, there is another hilton opening up in about one months time that is a 12-15 minute drive from the airport....if your layover is this month then this option won't work for you....

Chapel Hill Guy

Just curious, have you by any chance been by the location of the soon-to-be-opened Hilton? If so, how soon do you think it might be open? What's your assessment of its location for tourists?

We have a trip scheduled in March and it would be nice to have a Hilton property with an exec lounge.

Thanks!

Keyser

maybe that was their opening rate....i did stay there on the first night....i have another reservation for later this month & even that one is for less than $150 all inclusive....maybe march is busy season for them so the rates would be more....

Keyser

i did drive by the property last month & at that point i thought they were about a month away from opening....its been a month now & i have been told that they would be operational by the first week of january....

the location of the 'soon to be open' hilton is not good for tourists....its located very far from the city & is in a business district....the location of the garden inn is great....but it does not have a lounge....

u600213

Welcome to flyertalk

ooodaveb

Thanks for you response. My layover is on the 15th of January. I did not book my rewad yet, if the new one will be closer I might try that. If not I'll go for something else closer to the airport.

Chapel Hill Guy

We spent one night here. Nice property. The Hilton Delhi is nicer, but the HGI is in a much better location. Nice breakfast buffet in the 2nd floor restaurant, India Grill. We also had dinner there and it was excellent. It also has a nice bar area. We spent our last night here so we could visit the sites in south Delhi the next day, like the Qutub Minar, then catch our evening flight out (it's very close to the airport).

GoldCircle

I spent three nights in this property last week and was pleased.

I requested an airport transfer from DEL - and was well executed, with a decent car and cool drinks provided. All the Hilton family properties share their transfer service. While not cheap like a taxi, it's a great 'lazy' option. Cost was R.2500 plus taxes. Transfer time was about 40 mins at about 9am - the route geos through many local areas - photographers should keep their camera to hand.

Metal detector and bags scanned on arrival. And check-in was fast, with credit card not sought on the back of my Diamond status. Not a cookie in sight at that hour. Room was made available, despite early arrival.

This is a Hilton Garden Inn, so those expecting the full 5* Indian service wow will be disappointed. But this is a nice property in its category. All rooms are the same, laid out in 2 rows of 12, divided by an open area; no upgrades are possible and MyWay should be set for the 750 points. Rooms are an ok size - not huge, but well laid out and comfortable - perhaps a little smaller than some HGI rooms I've seen in America, but I never had any sense the walls were closing in.

The standard adjustable HGI bed is used and is very comfortable, with bedside lights and LED reading light also. Standard Hilton radio alarm clock. A small sofa is bedside the bed and a good coffee table. Tea and coffee facilities are laid on along with 2 large bottles of water. A large TV also with good selection of Indian, International and film channels.

A small, empty, fridge is in the cabinet. Beside the TV is a work area, with comfortable ergonomic chair, with wireless internet (good speeds, but not great - skype was occasionally patchy).

Wardrobe space was ample, but not generous. Ironing board, shoe shine, slippers and safe also.

Bathroom was compact; no bath, but good strong shower and hot, hot water. Neutragena products supplied - shampoo and conditioner. Sink was small and deep and provided Neutragena soap, shaving kit, toothbrush with cinnamon toothpaste and a few other bits. Bathrobe also hung on the wall.

Laundry service was fast and efficient. Price was a little higher than I expected.

As a Diamond I got a daily plate with three fancies - a brownie, a sugar/icing thing and a hand-made chocolate. This was a nice treat.

The business centre is open 24/7 with key access. All facilities are free, which is a big plus - there is a colour photocopier which acts as printer also. Some properties gouge you for printing, but not here. ^ There are 4 PCs and connection speeds are fast. A meeting room is available also - board room style.

Pool is nice and surrounded by loungers and table. In the evenings they put candles on the tables and mood lighting gives a really cool effect. Changing facilities are basic, but clean. Gym is small, but well air-conditioned, with cold water and new bud-style earphones are available to listen to music/TV.

The seconds floor restaurant is nice. Breakfast is the usual Indian and International mix, with a number of chefs in the central area happy to cook to order. The staff try to guide you to the buffet for dinner - it looks good; however, if you ask for the menu, there is a great variety available and the quality is good. The restaurant adjoins the bar and is a pleasant comfortable space. Two evenings there was a duo singing - they were terrible, in fact so terrible that it almost added to the atmosphere. The bar links straight in to one of the two malls.

The malls and surrounding buildings are a good source of restaurants and bars - and the food is good (Thanks, Keyser! ) There is good (but not cheap) shopping available and a food court, for those looking for a fix of junk food. Cinema complex also. The locations is definitely good. ^

Verdict:

For a HGI: 9/10

Considerations: if rooms were bigger it would be a straight 10/10.

Here or Janakpuri Hilton? For me the lounge and facilities of Janakpuri swing it, especially as Janakpuri was maginally cheaper; however, I have no hesitation recommending this HGI property - it is good, easily the very best HGI I have experience by a wide margin.

Keyser

you are very welcome....great trip report again....have a safe flight back home....

gbryan84

I stayed here over Memorial Day weekend (May 26-29) and had a wonderful time. Every single person that we came in contact with at the hotel (and in India for that matter) was polite and very helpful. I also really liked the fact that the employees of the hotel spoke near perfect english so it was very easy to communicate with them. The pool area was very nice especially after a long day in 115 degree Delhi heat. In the evening they set up a bar and had 2 for 1 beers. Also, the hotel had a 'pantry' which had drinks/snacks at normal prices so you weren't paying resort prices for a bottle of water/coke.

What really made this hotel stand out was the restaurant that is on the second floor, also attached to the mall. The food may have been over priced by India standards but it was very clean and the waiters were by far the best I've had anywhere in the world. If you asked them a question about anything, they would go out of their way to find an answer. We even had them bring us lunch to the pool one day which they happily did.

The location of the hotel is also pretty convinent given we were in Delhi for just 3 days and one of the days we did an Agra trip. It was a quick 35 minute ride by a/c taxi (Muru) to/from the airport which came out to be ~500 RS ($9.50 US) and when we explored Delhi we went by Tuk-tuk which was never more than $2-4 depending on the distance. I'd avoid the hotel taxi as it was rather expensive compared to the local alternatives that you can get on the other side of the mall.

My only suggestion about a trip to India would be to buy your souvenir's at Cannaught Place in Delhi and avoid buying anything in Agra. You will easily pay 5-10x more in Agra. We learned the hard way but luckily were only out about $40 each.

mot29

Bumping this up -- thinking about a stay here on a trip taking advantage of the DL $2200 RT business class fare sale. Anything new to add 3 years later?