The TripAdvisor reviews of this property are mixed: average at best; well below par at worse.
But my experience over a three night stay was very positive.
Although I arrived early in the evening the entrance to the hotel was still noticeably grand. It was clear that the grounds are immaculately kept. My taxi went through a routine security check at the gate before proceeding up to the porte cochere. I was welcomed and my bags tagged, then headed through a security checkpoint, like at airports, at the entrance to the lobby. Unlike the Grand Hyatt Istanbul, every time you come, you go through this checkpoint and it isn't there for show. It takes just a few seconds and is painless.
The lobby was rather grand for a Regency with a large Christmas tree in the centre. I headed to the Regency Club lounge on level six but required swiping by a staff member to get there; all guest floors require key card access. At the Regency Club reception I was again welcomed. The incompetence of my private line rep again showed with my reservation having been screwed up. That issue persisted for a couple of days but was well resolved by the staff. I was upgraded from the regular regency king to a club king on the 5th floor with views over the equally immaculate internal gardens and pool area. I wasn't offered the 1W or welcome amenity but there were two apples in the room and I suspect the 1W will post without issue. Several bottles of water were provided each day. I asked how much I would need to pay for a 7pm check-out and the answer was an additional 50%. I then asked how much for a 6pm check-out. The clerk tapped away briefly and then said "as a valued Diamond member" that would be complimentary. I would like to think this has something to with me spending significantly more nights in Hyatts this year then any previous year.
The room was great. Polished dark wood flooring with a rug below the king size bed, a large opaque screen separating the bathroom from the bedroom which had a semi-combined bath and shower. That is to say, there was a good sized square tub adjacent to a shower, with a glass shower door more or less at the entrance to the shower. (I don't think I've described that very well.) The shower had both a moveable handle and a rain head. The toiletries were not the usual Regency fare but what I think was some local brand. The bottled stuff seemed inferior but I really liked the larger, square soap bar. There was an LCD TV wall mounted of about 38-40 inches directly in front of the bed but unfortunately it wasn't moveable. The desk was small. There was a standalone refrigerator but enclosed behind a nice cabinet. Unfortunately, it wasn't very cold. As someone who likes their drinks on the verge of frozen, if I'd popped the top on a beer from here I would have had trouble paying for it. Impressively, the curtains overlapped preventing any tiny streak of light from shining through.
The Regency Club lounge was outstanding, definitely the best Regency lounge I've visited and up there with the best Grand lounges. As far as I could ascertain it was recently renovated. The part that really appealed to me was that it was less a cafeteria style and more a home style. There were several 'mini living rooms' with sofas and sofa chairs and even several TVs, in addition to restaurant style tables and a long bench (what we Down Under would call a breakfast bar). There was some reading material available. A large buffet was easily accessible and there were also large glass-fronted fridges where cold canapes were available. The food was superbly presented, much of it in true canape style (single serve) as well more substantial fare. Of particular note was a little menu on each table noting the three hot canapes of the day. A waiter would move continuously around the lounge offering these hot options, providing one of each of the three at a time. Other waiters would roam constantly offering drinks, although they were also self-serve. There was a decent selection of alcoholic beverages. To be quite frank, save for the inferior view, I would rate this lounge alongside the Grand KL and the Grand HK. It was really very good with a wonderful ambience, so much so that for the first time I can remember I ate breakfast in the lounge, rather than the restaurant, on two of three mornings.
And on breakfast, as a Diamond it was available in the lounge free of charge (although the standard welcome note did advise of an upcharge of ~INR550 (less than USD10)). However, this may have been targeted towards Club floor guests, rather than Diamond guests. I ate in the restaurant on the first day and it didn't blow me away. There was quite a reasonable selection of food although the chef preparing made to order eggs seemed a little under pressure. There was also a separate station with made to order waffles and pancakes. I was particularly put off by two young children treating the restaurant as a playground, running about like they were in the school yard, parents not caring less.
So for the second and third days I enjoyed breakfast in the lounge. It was, as is to be expected, much quieter. The buffet was smaller, of course, with only cold items like cereals and bakery items but made to order eggs were available on request. The fridges also had yoghurts, bircher mueslis and one or two other offerings. Both the restaurant and lounge breakfast finish at an early 10am.
There are several restaurants on site, including a little pastry-come-deli shop which came in handy as there isn't anything in the immediate vicinity of the hotel. The Polo Lounge provided a very nice atmosphere to enjoy a drink.
The recreational and fitness facilities were really very good. The downside was the outdoor pool - although surrounded by manicured lawns and gardens and large in size - not being heated. It was a low 19 degrees C when I was there. The gym was very good for a Regency with personal trainers roaming constantly. There are a number of machines (two hip abductor machines which I find interesting) and several cardio machines, as well as free weights up to 32kgs. There is also a body analyser that analyses weight, height, body fat etc., something I've only otherwise seen at the Park Seoul. The men's side (and presumably the ladies') had a great jacuzzi, a cold dip pool and a sauna. One or two attendants are on hand.
The wi-fi was a bit of a problem. When I first logged on in the lounge I could have flown back to Australia and bought a newspaper in the time it took to logon to a news website. That improved but not by much. The wi-fi in the lounge seemed to be fairly average at best but it was better in the room. When I mentioned this to a roving manager in the lounge he immediately summoned the IT guy who duly increased my bandwith.
On my second day there were no less than four power failures, two while I was using the business centre. Each time it took three or four minutes for the copier to reboot. And on one occasion I was in an elevator. None lasted for more than about two minutes but it appeared to be a somewhat non-event as staff didn't seem to batter an eyelid.
I used the laundry service one day and was particularly impressed. The prices were very good for a hotel but that wasn't what impressed me the most. As part of my laundry parcel I submitted a pair of boxer shirts with a hole in them. They were returned with the hole perfectly mended. I had not made a note of this on the laundry slip, nor had the valet made note of it on the return and there was certainly no additional charge. This sort of initiative and going the extra mile is something that really impressed me.
Overwhelmingly the staff were very eager to please. There were a couple of young staff in the lounge who, while clearly wanting to provide a top level of service, were lacking in confidence. They appeared timid and a little reserved. My guess is they are new recruits and their confidence will grow.
From Delhi International Airport I took a pre-paid taxi for INR300 (about AUD6) for a total journey time of about 40 minutes. On the return, the hotel advised the approximate cost would be about INR500 to INR600. I got in a taxi and the driver wanted INR750 so I threatened to get out. He argued 25% surcharge for night and my bags (I had three). After three days of scammers I wasn't in the mood (and told him so when he later started small talk) and we settled on INR700 (about AUD14) for a similar journey time.