SkyTeam777

I am a bit confused by the multiple lounges here. Summit Lounge, Towers Lounge, ITC One Lounge? Are there any differences between them? Do Plats always get access to all of them? Do they still have the women-only floor?

PersonalFlotationDevice

I am staying at the ITC Maurya for a week at the end of November.

Since the thread has been quite for a bit, a few questions:
1) How is the internet doing? Is it still substandard? Good enough to sustain VOIP calls (family, not clients)
2) Have already flagged on my reservation that I arrive very late (probably at hotel at 2 AM--are they good with not canceling reservations)"?
3) Do Suite Night Upgrades cut any ice for getting a better room?
4) If I have a more western stomach can I eat there for western and some Indian (mild) food (I respect Indian food but find some is just too spicy for me; if it's milder I love it)

Keyser

the free internet is slow, even though they label it as hsia....you are supposed to get the highest speed for free as a plat but all itc properties refuse to offer this to you without a charge....i would suggest alerting one of the lurkers before your stay....they have been very helpful with all my itc reservations....

if they have it in the system then they won't cancel....

you will get an itc one room with a suite night....this is the standard suite here & they are quite nice....i would not expect a better room....

just let them know how you like your food & they will prepare it accordingly....

enjoy your stay....

CPRich

I did FaceTime this morning with my family back in the US - one stutter for 4-6 seconds in a 15 minute chat.

As long as it worked OK, I did find it amusing that I received complimentary "high speed internet", only to find in the guide book that there were others called "Super speed internet" and "Ultra speed internet" (something like that, I don't actually remember the names), and "high speed" was the slowest. Iirc, I did speedtest it at around 2mbps. Had it been a lame 256kps or so, I would have felt deceived.

Yes, I used an SNA for a very nice ITC One room. Be aware - my taxes were about 50% of the room rate. Apparently there's a "suite tax". They didn't bother telling me this until a phone call 30 minutes after check-in (when they told me I received a "complimentary upgrade"), after I had unpacked and was in bed ("is everything OK, anything you need, oh, by the way 3600 Rupee tax"). I haven't run into this in Mumbai, Bangalore or Hyderabad where I've been upgraded, so I'm going to follow-up with the hotel

I only had breakfast. It was surprisingly lame - I think I ended up eating mostly what appeared to be a version of Cocoa Puffs cereal. There were pastries, bacon, sausage, bread, and meager amounts of fruit. No eggs, waffles, french toast, etc., as I had in Agra the previous day. But plenty of "American" food that wouldn't cause any problem.

PersonalFlotationDevice

OK stayed here for a week over Thanksgiving to attend a friend's wedding and go to Agra for the day.

Overall a very nice property--good service, great laundry.

As a plat ran into the issue where the premium internet tiers cost an arm and a leg. Complained through my Ambassador and got 50% off, but they wouldn't budge on the over half at the front desk.

Have others recovered the remainder after-the-fact? I think it's an outrageous breach of SPG benefits (e.g., at Westins and Sheratons I can select the fastest internet and not be charged).

Just received their survey email--I rated them very highly but labeled the internet value for cost as unacceptable.

GUWonder

In Delhi, the tax due for such accommodations is based on the room assigned to the guest, and the tax due is independent of the rate booked by or for the customer.

CPRich

So it's a city/state/union territory-specific tax? That's why I didn't experience it elsewhere in India?

bedelman

At this property now. Property persists in failing to honor the SPG rules as to Internet service for Platinum guests. Remarkable that SPG has not taken action despite years of this practice and numerous guest reports.

Echo'ing others experiences: We found the lounge situation confusing -- at least two lounges with evening snacks, maybe others with drinks. But the snacks were pretty poor. Anyone hoping to make a meal out of lounge food (e.g. because the hotel is rather far from restaurants) will be disappointed.

Was here for two separate stays. Upgraded to a larger room during one -- separate working area, good amount of space. During the other, was placed in the section they call 21-28th floor (actually 1st through 8th of a side building) where rooms are modest in size and there are apparently no upgrades.

Breakfast is a bit of a zoo. Often a wait to be seated. At breakfast one day, an Indian guest complained at some length re slow waiter service, cold food (of the supposed cook-to-order items), and more. She was vocal in her displeasure but in fact my party had just remarked on the same shortfalls.

Check in and check out were slow. During one stay, the hotel had increased our rate by 2000 INR above what our confirmation email indicated. Took a long time to get that corrected, though to their credit they did correct it without pushback when we showed the confirmation email.

All in all I found the property disappointing and certainly not what it's cracked up to be. I'd give it another try if rates are on par, but I wouldn't pay anything extra to stay here.

YouGeeElWhy

I gave up arguing about this a long time ago. I just send a request to support when I get back and let the SPG accounting department correct the charges.

GUWonder

Yes.

BobbySteel

For what it's worth I got a junior suite upgrade here in the newer wing. Quite nice - much better than I recall last stay like 5 years ago.

zzap

Any recent trip reports at this property?

worldtraveller73

I stayed for a night at ITC Maurya on a 12 hour layover between tickets.

The hotel was okay but quite a let down from the Leela Palace where we stayed for the first part of our trip through New Delhi. I just found it a very average property and the main reason that we stayed was to have easy access to Bukara; which was totally worth the visit.

I would probably stay elsewhere next time, but not because of anything bad. It was just a very average experience.

whimsey21

I stayed here twice in August with my family, and was generally pleased, though I do feel that things have gone down a bit from my last stay four years ago. We had an ITC One room both times on this trip, which is quite spacious, and reasonably well appointed. The hotel lobby is a bit of a mess right now, as they are doing some sort of construction adjacent to the main entrance. The night I arrived I was able to check-in at the front desk, but after that it closed, and I had to wander around trying to figure out who to talk with - they had various tables set up in different places around the first floor with the check-in/check-out agents in one place, the cashier in another, and the front desk manager in yet a third place. One morning they even completely closed the front entrance, creating much confusion for my driver, who couldn't figure out where to pick us up. That said, the staff themselves were quite friendly, and were quick to assist with any requests that we had. Housekeeping in particular were very attentive, and kept the room stocked with fruit, water, and brownies. Breakfast was better than I remembered- the room is fairly small, but they actually had quite a range of offerings, and the quality was very good. Again, the staff were quite attentive, not only bringing whatever we asked, but offering suggestions for things that the kitchen could make for us if we wanted. We had drinks in the towers lounge one evening- they had the standard Indian scotch selection (JW Black and Chivas) and some disappointing finger foods (some nuts, a few pieces of cheese, and a couple of canapés). That definitely remains the same as when I last visited, as I remember being disappointed then as well. One thing that has changed is that there is now a minimum age for children (10 years old) to be allowed in the lounges; previously all kids were allowed. On my last stay I remember feeling like the hotel was quite grand, and that the service was extremely crisp. This time I felt like they were somewhat disorganized, and that the hotel is starting to get dated. I also noted on this trip that the main street in front of the property gets jam-packed at rush hour, adding quite a bit of time to leaving or arriving at the property. It is a pity that I don’t like Le Meridien, given its superior location. Given all these factors, I may try a non-SPG property the next time I’m in Delhi.

bhrubin

I will second or third that this hotel isn't quite as impressive as its Luxury Collection branding might suggest. It's a nice enough but quite large hotel, so be sure to take that into account.

Despite being a Plat100 Ambassador guest, I chose instead to stay in Jan at the Lodhi (former Aman Delhi).

Bukhara, however, is as amazing a restaurant as everyone says. We dined there for our first night in town and loved it. It's probably the 2nd best restaurant in Delhi, just after Indian Accent (where we dined our second night)...but Bukhara is also more authentically Indian.