I’ve been procrastinating writing up trip reports for the past half year or so, but will try to get caught up in the coming weeks with reports on Rosewood San Miguel de Allende, Abu Dhabi’s Qasr al Sarab, and FS Chiang Mai, FS Tented Camp, and FS Langkawi.

Encouraged by terrific reports from Ericka and others, we went to India for our first time in Oct/Nov 2010. I’d of course heard many reports about how challenging it can be to travel in India, but staying at the raft of superb Oberoi, Taj, and Aman resorts resulted in a seamless experience, so proficient are the management teams at handling all arrangements.

And two other sources of help made this an even more amazing journey than it would have been otherwise:
1) booking through my Virtuoso agent, who got us more favorable rates than were on the resorts’ websites and enabled us to get superb upgrades at every one of the resorts, and
2) being a Gallivanter’s Guide subscriber, which resulted in Ms. Middlehurst stepping in to help us at one point when we weren’t receiving responses from a resort she had recommended—and from the moment of her intervention, we were treated like royalty, showered with gifts and additional care and consideration at the properties she’d contacted on our behalf.

So I’ll provide a quick summary, and then for anyone who wants the details, specific posts on each of the hotels.

Ranked in order of preference:

1. Oberoi Udaivilas (Udaipur): 10 out of 10.
2. Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace (Jodhpur): 10 out of 10.
3. Oberoi Amarvilas (Agra): 9 out of 10.
4. Amanbagh (Ajabgarh): 9 out of 10.
5. Aman New Delhi: 9 out of 10.
6. Taj Lake Palace: 7 out of 10.
7. Aman-i-Khas: 7 out of 10.

To translate that ranking into prose: most of the places we stayed were truly world class, simply incredible experiences that delivered on virtually all levels—design, service, spa treatments, excursions. I would eagerly stay at any of them again, with the exception of the Lake Palace and Aman-i-khas, which were still positive experiences, although significantly inferior to the others.

The one consistent disappointment across the hotels was the food, which was not consistently superb at any of the properties, and was outright terrible at Aman-i-khas. That said, none of us took precautions to avoid Delhi belly, other than only eating our meals at the hotels, and no one in our party of five ever got sick.

If I were to do it again, here is what I think would be the ideal itinerary for one’s first trip to India:

Fly into New Delhi.

2 nights at Aman New Delhi, arranging in advance for several of their bespoke experiences of New Delhi. They have the most terrific in-room hotel guide I have ever seen, with pen-and-ink illustrations of the half dozen experiences they can provide their guests—from roof-top dinners to walks through off-the-beaten-path archaeological sites. Ask them to send you a PDF in advance so that you can pick how you’d like them to curate your experience.

Then, have Aman book you on the daily 6 am express train to Agra, which is by far the best way to get to Agra. (We tried the road for our return trip and it was the low point of our time in India, an incredibly grueling and horrific journey.)

1-2 nights at Oberoi Amarvilas (depending on how interested you are in seeing other Mughal sites beyond the Taj Mahal). But their pool experience is such a nice one that I simply loved spending mornings and dusk at Mughal sites with afternoons alongside their perfectly of-the-place sunken pool garden. Regardless of how long you stay there, you’ll want to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise, which was a much better experience than seeing it at dusk when it is swarmed with tourists.

Arrange for Amanbagh to pick you up at Oberoi Amarvilas and drive you to Amanbagh. This is a terrific way to get to Amanbagh, much faster than being driven from Delhi or flying to Jaipur and being driven from there. The road from Agra to Amanbagh is very good for most of the way, and if you leave in the early morning, you can make it in under three hours.

3 nights at Amanbagh (which provides you with an experience of India at its most remarkable, so untouristed and authentic, and you can blend relaxation with easy excursions in the surrounding areas).

Then, have Aman drive you to the Jaipur airport (a 90-minute drive) for an easy 1-hour flight to either Udaipur or Jodhpur, for 2-3 nights at either the Oberoi Udaivilas or the Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace, either of which would make for an incredible final stop. (Or, if you have time, do both).

Details about each hotel/resort in the following posts--