Jaypee Vasant Continental, New Delhi & Jaypee Palace, Agra Hotel Report (photos)
Mar 2, 2010, 11:55 am
#1
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Join Date: Sep 2007
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Jaypee Vasant Continental, New Delhi & Jaypee Palace, Agra Hotel Report (photos)
Another FT member asked me about my experience at the Jaypee Vasant Continental in New Delhi last year (Feb 2009), and so I thought I'd post a hotel report with some photos here. My second post will be about the Jaypee Palace in Agra, and I'll throw in a third post with some photos from the long 6-hr bus ride between them for kicks. Apologies in advance in that this trip was over a year ago, so my memory is a bit fuzzy on some things.
Overall
Very nice, modern hotel with well-appointed rooms.
Details
1) I stayed one night after arriving in the late evening from the AA ORD-DEL flight, using the hotel-appointed taxi. As I mentioned in my airport report, upon arriving at the hotel, the undercarriage of the car was checked by armed CISF guards with a mirror, after which our luggage was x-rayed and we proceeded through WTMDs. I’d expect similar security at other luxury hotels in the city. The hotel compound is walled off from the surrounding neighborhood.
2) As I recall, the lobby is quite grand, with high ceilings and a staircase up to the second floor. Checkin was pretty slow. A porter will essentially demand to help you take your bags up to your room and will show you around. That's why getting some small change at the airport in advance is important.
3) The room was well-appointed (see photos), although I had double beds and the desk was a bit small. There was a good selection of channels on the television, mostly English language news stations.
4) As I recall, to purchase internet access, you need to go to the business center on the 2nd floor and charge it to your room. It was 250 Rs ($5) for 4 hours of access time.
5) I had breakfast at the restaurant downstairs and it was also fine.
6) There's a nice looking pool outside, although I was there too briefly to see anyone use it.
My room at the Jaypee Vasant Continental, New Delhi
View of the desk and television
The television with some welcome fruit (which I did not try).
Nicely appointed bathroom & toiletries
View out my window in the morning
The pool in front of the hotel
Hope this is helpful!
dstanhotelreport
Overall
Very nice, modern hotel with well-appointed rooms.
Details
1) I stayed one night after arriving in the late evening from the AA ORD-DEL flight, using the hotel-appointed taxi. As I mentioned in my airport report, upon arriving at the hotel, the undercarriage of the car was checked by armed CISF guards with a mirror, after which our luggage was x-rayed and we proceeded through WTMDs. I’d expect similar security at other luxury hotels in the city. The hotel compound is walled off from the surrounding neighborhood.
2) As I recall, the lobby is quite grand, with high ceilings and a staircase up to the second floor. Checkin was pretty slow. A porter will essentially demand to help you take your bags up to your room and will show you around. That's why getting some small change at the airport in advance is important.
3) The room was well-appointed (see photos), although I had double beds and the desk was a bit small. There was a good selection of channels on the television, mostly English language news stations.
4) As I recall, to purchase internet access, you need to go to the business center on the 2nd floor and charge it to your room. It was 250 Rs ($5) for 4 hours of access time.
5) I had breakfast at the restaurant downstairs and it was also fine.
6) There's a nice looking pool outside, although I was there too briefly to see anyone use it.
My room at the Jaypee Vasant Continental, New Delhi
View of the desk and television
The television with some welcome fruit (which I did not try).
Nicely appointed bathroom & toiletries
View out my window in the morning
The pool in front of the hotel
Hope this is helpful!
dstanhotelreport
Last edited by dstan; Nov 27, 2010 at 12:45 am
Mar 2, 2010, 12:04 pm
#2
Moderator: New York City and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2007
Programs: AA PLT, Natl EC
Posts: 10,855
Jaypee Palace, Agra report
I stayed here for three nights in March 2010.
Overall
Excellent, large, modern hotel with large, well-appointed rooms.
Details
1) We arrived on the bus from New Delhi and were greeted warmly at the door and provide some juice at reception. It took some time for the hotel staff to offload all of our luggage from the bus, which was then x-rayed and made ready for pickup. Again, a porter will essentially insist on taking your bag to your room and showing you around.
2) The hotel is very large, with most wings having 2-3 stories. There are several lawns with trees and the entire compound is surrounded by a wall. My wing had a fountain in the middle of the hallway, which was actually quite loud, although I didn't notice it in my room. There is a very nice outdoor pool as well, that some of the other guests used during the day.
3) My room was large and again nicely appointed (see photos). The desk was again a bit on the small side and had armchairs rather than a good office chair.
4) Internet access had to be purchased from the Business Center, which was not always staffed. I purchased 6 hrs at 450 Rs ($9), 2 hrs at 275 Rs ($5.50), and 30 min at 100 Rs ($2). I think there was a 24 hr option as well.
5) We had buffet meals every day with both Indian and Western (English) options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and all of the food was excellent. There was one outdoor buffet by the pool on the first night that I didn't love because of the spiciness, but other than that, no complaints at all.
6) The hotel concierge set us up with a private tour guide and minivan one afternoon for a visit to the Agra Fort as well as a place that sells the inlaid marble pieces that the craftsman who built the Taj Mahal specialize in. It was super affordable by Western standards (worked out to something like $25 per person for a group of 5-6, including admission fees), and our guide was excellent and knowledgeable. Either by intent or calculator mistake, the concierge did try to overcharge me a bit (the fee is paid directly to him, in cash), but I called him on it. After the tour, I had to check back with the concierge to confirm that our guide was ok, and I assume he got paid after that. We also tipped our guide and driver.
7) The hotel is just down the road from the Taj Mahal. Convenient enough that when one of the women in our group missed the bus, she ran there instead in about 20 min. The tour guides gave advice about not talking to the children hawking goods around the entrance, and also recommended against buying any of the inlaid marble from the stalls near the entrance.
My room at the Jaypee Palace
This one had an older TV
I had my own patio looking out over the grounds. That's the pool on the left.
The Great Gate leading to the mausoleum at the Taj Mahal.
Classic shot of the Taj Mahal mausoleum across the reflecting pool.
Factoid: Despite appearances, the four pillars actually lean outward so that if they collapse, they won't fall on the mausoleum.
Hope this is helpful!
dstanhotelreport
Overall
Excellent, large, modern hotel with large, well-appointed rooms.
Details
1) We arrived on the bus from New Delhi and were greeted warmly at the door and provide some juice at reception. It took some time for the hotel staff to offload all of our luggage from the bus, which was then x-rayed and made ready for pickup. Again, a porter will essentially insist on taking your bag to your room and showing you around.
2) The hotel is very large, with most wings having 2-3 stories. There are several lawns with trees and the entire compound is surrounded by a wall. My wing had a fountain in the middle of the hallway, which was actually quite loud, although I didn't notice it in my room. There is a very nice outdoor pool as well, that some of the other guests used during the day.
3) My room was large and again nicely appointed (see photos). The desk was again a bit on the small side and had armchairs rather than a good office chair.
4) Internet access had to be purchased from the Business Center, which was not always staffed. I purchased 6 hrs at 450 Rs ($9), 2 hrs at 275 Rs ($5.50), and 30 min at 100 Rs ($2). I think there was a 24 hr option as well.
5) We had buffet meals every day with both Indian and Western (English) options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and all of the food was excellent. There was one outdoor buffet by the pool on the first night that I didn't love because of the spiciness, but other than that, no complaints at all.
6) The hotel concierge set us up with a private tour guide and minivan one afternoon for a visit to the Agra Fort as well as a place that sells the inlaid marble pieces that the craftsman who built the Taj Mahal specialize in. It was super affordable by Western standards (worked out to something like $25 per person for a group of 5-6, including admission fees), and our guide was excellent and knowledgeable. Either by intent or calculator mistake, the concierge did try to overcharge me a bit (the fee is paid directly to him, in cash), but I called him on it. After the tour, I had to check back with the concierge to confirm that our guide was ok, and I assume he got paid after that. We also tipped our guide and driver.
7) The hotel is just down the road from the Taj Mahal. Convenient enough that when one of the women in our group missed the bus, she ran there instead in about 20 min. The tour guides gave advice about not talking to the children hawking goods around the entrance, and also recommended against buying any of the inlaid marble from the stalls near the entrance.
My room at the Jaypee Palace
This one had an older TV
I had my own patio looking out over the grounds. That's the pool on the left.
The Great Gate leading to the mausoleum at the Taj Mahal.
Classic shot of the Taj Mahal mausoleum across the reflecting pool.
Factoid: Despite appearances, the four pillars actually lean outward so that if they collapse, they won't fall on the mausoleum.
Hope this is helpful!
dstanhotelreport
Last edited by dstan; Nov 27, 2010 at 12:39 am
Mar 2, 2010, 12:05 pm
#3
Moderator: New York City and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2007
Programs: AA PLT, Natl EC
Posts: 10,855
New Delhi to Agra Bus Ride
And, for kicks, a few shots from our 6 hr bus ride from New Delhi to Agra. Fortunately, it was a modern, air-conditioned Volvo bus, and we made a prearranged stop at a rest stop along the way for lunch. The protocol seems to be to honk everytime you pass someone, so there was a lot of honking for 6 hours. If there was a truck in the right lane and an autorickshaw in the left lane, then both would move over to let us pass, with the autorickshaw driving on the shoulder. Pedestrians would also cross this four-lane highway wherever convenient. At one point, someone stepped out almost right in front of us, and the driver jammed on the brakes. After he finished crossing, our driver pulled up, stopped again, and proceeded to roll down the window to yell at him, much to the chagrin of the traffic behind us! Never having been to India before, I am glad we had everything taken care of for us. It was really an incredible experience.
Just outside our hotel in Delhi was this slum/shanty town. We saw many like it along the way.
We passed a very busy market with autorickshaws as far as the eye could see.
Somewhere along the way, we stopped for no apparent reason, and this gentleman entertained us with his monkey. I was prepared to give him some money for taking the photos, but the bus drove away and he was left pretty unhappy on the side of the road.
Managed to get this shot as we passed by a very full train.
Of course, I have to have a picture of a cow! There were lots of water buffaloes, too.
Another common sight on the road was entire families traveling by motorcycle or scooter.
Believe it or not, these guys did not set the record for most people we saw in one autorickshaw!
Just outside our hotel in Delhi was this slum/shanty town. We saw many like it along the way.
We passed a very busy market with autorickshaws as far as the eye could see.
Somewhere along the way, we stopped for no apparent reason, and this gentleman entertained us with his monkey. I was prepared to give him some money for taking the photos, but the bus drove away and he was left pretty unhappy on the side of the road.
Managed to get this shot as we passed by a very full train.
Of course, I have to have a picture of a cow! There were lots of water buffaloes, too.
Another common sight on the road was entire families traveling by motorcycle or scooter.
Believe it or not, these guys did not set the record for most people we saw in one autorickshaw!
Last edited by dstan; Mar 2, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Mar 3, 2010, 3:57 pm
#4
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 2,576
Dstan -
The random stop on the way to Agra (the one with the monkey tout) was for your driver to pay some "fee" for entering the state that Agra lies in. Apparently that stop was the state line. At least that's how my driver explained it to me as we did exactly the same thing last year. He also briefed me on the monkey touts (interestingly, the exact SAME one in your photo). He told me not to even look at them! I mostly followed his instructions, but somehow a slight head turn out the window, with my sunglasses on, somehow gave the monkey guy license to perform for me. This day was approaching the end of my 3 weeks in India, so I had gotten really quite good at ignoring things and being strong willed enough to not buckle under pressure. Though ignoring a loud and aggressive monkey climbing all over your Land Cruiser is pretty difficult. The man was visibly angry I didn't indulge him as well!
The random stop on the way to Agra (the one with the monkey tout) was for your driver to pay some "fee" for entering the state that Agra lies in. Apparently that stop was the state line. At least that's how my driver explained it to me as we did exactly the same thing last year. He also briefed me on the monkey touts (interestingly, the exact SAME one in your photo). He told me not to even look at them! I mostly followed his instructions, but somehow a slight head turn out the window, with my sunglasses on, somehow gave the monkey guy license to perform for me. This day was approaching the end of my 3 weeks in India, so I had gotten really quite good at ignoring things and being strong willed enough to not buckle under pressure. Though ignoring a loud and aggressive monkey climbing all over your Land Cruiser is pretty difficult. The man was visibly angry I didn't indulge him as well!
Mar 3, 2010, 9:10 pm
#5
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: MAA
Programs: BA bronze, Marriott silver
Posts: 2,804
Yeah. If you're in public transport (bus, rented + chauffeur driven car etc) and you cross a state line, there's a toll the driver needs to pay. That kind of place attracts monkey touts, beggars, bangle sellers etc like flies to crap.
Mar 5, 2010, 6:58 am
#7
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 123
Another common sight on the road was entire families traveling by motorcycle or scooter.
There are only 5 on this motorcycle! Where's the mom holding the newborn baby? While dad's usually the only one wearing a helmet.
Thanks for the great pics dstan. I took my kids in April 08 - stayed at the B-19 Hotel and then the Sheraton in Delhi and the Sheraton in Agra (which we thought was a fantastic hotel, especially for the price - 4000 rps/night, including buffet bkfst)