OBEROI AMARVILAS – Agra (Virtuoso), 2 nights
The choice of hotel to stay in while visiting the Taj Mahal was easy. And it didn’t disappoint. The entire backside of the property looked out over the Taj. Public areas were lovely, service was efficient and friendly (OK, so maybe it wasn’t as personal as the Amans, we were back to being a room number.) Mr. Ericka noted that the property reminded him of a really, really nice business hotel. They are certainly set up for business, too – with private offices in the business center and wireless in all public areas.
The choice of what room category to stay in was more difficult. In the end, we splurged on the Robert Burns luxury suite. We were on the top floor, next to the penthouse and we strongly believe this room had the best view of the Taj. Why? Because it was on the highest floor, which enabled us to see all of the Taj, not just the dome, and it was on the far north side of the building, with nothing but gardens and greenery between us and the monument. People with rooms toward the middle of the building and particularly the south side, overlooked a patch of nearly-bare government land where some of the locals came to “relieve” themselves. The Robert Burns suite had a dining room, living room, bedroom, bathroom, and sunroom that each afforded knock-out views of the Taj Mahal. The butler’s pantry, oversized dressing room and 2nd bathroom were the only rooms that did not. There were two large terraces, including one that wrapped around the corner, but the highlight had to be the master bathroom with its freestanding tub and gold-domed, octagonal glass shower, each with unobstructed views to the monument. Marble and distressed teak was the theme, throughout.
We had an exceptional spa treatment at Amarvilas called the Mughal Mystique. It included our choice of scrub and massage, followed by an ayur face massage and milk/flower bath in a lovely, private spa suite overlooking the Taj. We’ve had a few flower baths in our day, but this one had an obscene amount of flowers – easily two inches of rose petals floated on top.
The guides and drivers provided by the hotel were very good. Besides spending time at the Taj Mahal, they took us to the Musamman Burj (where the Taj Mahal’s Shah Jahan was imprisoned in the final years of his life), the Kafakriti marble inlay shop (one of the later generations of the families that did the Taj inlay) and Kohinoor jewelers. We purchased a lovely marble table and nearly walked off with an Indian pink sapphire.
Unfortunately, not everything at the Amarvilas was wonderful. Since there were only two 500 milliliter bottles of water by the nightstand, we requested more. One of the butlers quickly arrived with additional water – along with a room service bill. Apparently, because the Amarvilas has a water filtration system, they don’t feel the need to provide drinking water. Well, this was India, and we weren’t planning on drinking anything from the tap. Besides that, we have been to several Amans, Four Seasons, and Ritz Carltons in developing countries and throughout Asia with similar filtration systems and they have always provided complimentary bottled water. We felt seriously nickel-and-dimed. To their credit, the managers were attentive, apologetic and very graciously handled this for us. But I wonder if this was because we were in one of the better suites. Maybe they just wait for someone to complain before they give them free water…
As for the Taj Mahal itself, no amount of photographs or stories about the lovelorn Shah Jahan could have prepared us for how truly awesome it was at first sight. The enormity of it, the attention to detail in the marble inlay, and the fact that it took 20,000 skilled laborers over 20 years to build it means that no one could build something like this today. Not to mention the fact that it is essentially solid, Indian-mined, non-porous marble.
Outside the Taj, we were expecting to run into very aggressive touts. We had heard this about Agra in general. But instead, we were greeted by a young man named Raja. He took the time to introduce himself on our way in. He greeted us again on our way out, and I realized he couldn’t have been more than 12 years-old. He was dressed in khakis and a nice button down shirt, with clean hands and a clean face. As I was contemplating this, walking stride for stride with him, I heard him say, “Watch your step, ma’am.” Looking down, I realized he had saved me from stepping in a very large pile of crap. He was selling postcards and he was good. I wondered at the type of salesman he would make when he was fully grown. And then I realized it was late morning and he was not in school. I hoped there were afternoon classes.
SUMMARY
- Don’t miss Aman-i-Khas and spend plenty of time there. It’s flawless.
- Make sure to book the Jeeman Dinner at Amanbagh.
- At Amarvilas, request a room on a high floor, north side. Splurge on the Robert Burns suite if possible.
- Anyone know where we can buy an inexpensive tandoor oven? We miss the food already.