Your advice is generally correct and thanks for pointing out the threads in question. I seem to have missed the one about the airport hotels. Sorry. This is my first visit to the India forum.

Let me still recap the answers as I've understood them. Sorry that not everything is clear to me still.

1. If I understand correctly, two hours should be enough to connect especially if you don't have to recheck baggage as I don't. Still, delays occur, and without a single PNR and inflexible tickets you always run a risk at having to purchase a prohibitely expensive additional one-way ticket.

2. The only hotel close to the airport seems to be the Radisson. I went to their site and they did have a rate of 10000 Rph (excluding taxes of about 20%) that includes airport transfers. Would not touch them with a long stick with those prices, especially in a low-cost country. Ibis and HI don't seem to be real airport hotels. Also, as this is FT, I'd prefer a chain with a good loyalty program like Hilton, Marriott or Accor hotels. Not sure how Radisson treats their loyal customers.

I still miss a recommendation of hotel regarding the trains both to Agra/Taj Mahal and the airport? What would be a decent hotel close to the New Delhi station? Ideally, would it be possible to walk to both the station and to the Metro to the airport? Or is it possible to take the train to Agra directly from the airport? I see it has a railway station.

Or maybe the culture in India is to just hop on a taxi whenever you need to go somewhere