Yaatri

I can't say I disliked it. There was no way to get to College without going through old Delhi--Red Fort, Kashmiri Gate or both. There is one dish I have never eaten, heard or seen except in Bhagirath Palace, originally Begum Samru's palace. My Pakistani friends know what it is though.
Beggar's grab your arm at many busy traffic intersections. Their aggressiveness can be disconcerting to someone not used to it. My three yr old son was terrified of catching leprosy and horrified at little kids no bigger than him in size begging.
Nai Sarak is still a good place to buy books. Many years ago there used to be a flee market, "Kabadi Bazaar" on the road leading to Jama Masjid, were you could buy anything from rags to electronics parts. We went there to buy condensers, inductors/coils, lenses and such. I remember making a telescope, a microscope and a small radio from parts I bought there.
My memories of IIC are limited to going there for talks. We spent a lot more time in Sapru House, AIFIACs and Jaipur House.

MIT_SBM

I have read this thread. The Taj Mansingh seems to be no more. It is not listed on http://www.tajhotels.com/. Some of the other recommendations are still around like the Radisson Blu Marina Hotel Connaught Place and the Le Meridien.

I will be in India for 6 days with my Fiance doing the Golden Triangle tour. What do people here think about the following hotels for New Delhi?


Park Plaza Delhi CBD Shahdara
Radisson Blu Hotel New Delhi Paschim Vihar

AJLondon

http://www.tajhotels.com/Luxury/City.../Overview.html

The "Taj Mansingh" is the Taj Mahal Hotel (On Number One Mansingh Road) and very much still there.

GUWonder

The hotel is indeed still there and will be for at least a while longer.

I'm not sure what is the current state of a problem the hotel was facing (which went something like this): long-term lease for the land on which the hotel sits had expired and negotiations over what the government would do to re-lease the land seemed to be running on two conflicting tracks, only one of which was going to give the Taj group the best chance to continue operating there. While that was happening, there was doubt whether or not the hotel would still be there as a Taj hotel.

This is a rather fascinating case of a governmental turf war over prime real estate, as there was a bit of a tussle amongst Home, Urban Development and the New Delhi Municipal Council about what should go on with this hotel, property and plant. It has lead to some interesting plays, and probably some so-called chai.

Either way, I expect that this will continue to be a hotel for years to come, whether or not the hotel stays a Taj.

AJLondon

Agreed.

The faces of the players in the recent saga (NDMC, Union Home Ministry, The Delhi CM, Ernst Young etc) may change, but the hotel will stand. And personally, I hope it stays at Taj.

whimsey21

I haven't stayed at either, but I have family that lives very near the Radisson in Paschim Vihar, and I can say from recent experience that the traffic can be quite a mess in that area. If you don't need to be out there for any particular reason, it is just going to add lots of time to your traveling to any of the tourist sites in Delhi. My recollection is that there are some comments on the Club Carlson board about that property, which you may want to read as well.

MIT_SBM

Thank you for addressing my question. And thank you for the information. I will check out the hotel reviews.

Mrgolfer21

Been some time since the last post on this thread, figured i'd refresh it and get some help...Doing a day and a half trip to Delhi from AUH simply to go and see the Taj. Will be using driver from Delhi to Agra and back and for the most part, won't hardly be in the hotel room, but curious what area to use. Our schedule is to arrive at 3:30am and then take the car that morning, so maybe an hour or two at the hotel. That evening we won't be back until 7 or 8pm, and then leaving at 4am the following morning. Given that we are staying for two nights technically, I'd like to burn some club carlson points with the stay one get one free. The one evening/night we are there (even though it will only be for a few hours), we'd like to be able to venture out some on foot and explore a local area for food and drinks. What would be the best club carlson property to use that has a good local area? I have a room at the le meridian, but as stated, looking to burn CC points. Would Radisson Marina be good? If this makes any difference, we will be using Etihad's chauffeur service to and from the airport since we are flying either business or first in and out of DEL. Thanks for the info.