Best Hotel in Delhi?
 

Pretty confused on hotel pricing in Delhi. General websites like Tripadvisor seem to favor ITC Maurya or the Imperial, but then I see run of the mill properties like the Radisson charging $500 a night. What about Taj and Oberoi? Shangri-La is nice when I've been, but does it keep the Chinese elements when in India?

For my time frame, I'm seeing ITC Maurya and Imperial at $300/night, while other well rated properties like The Park are at $180/night. Is the price difference worth it? What kind of service can I expect?

Somethings I'm looking for: Air conditioning (I'll be there in September), cleanliness, assistance with airport pick up and drop off, and a concierge that can help me rent a car and driver for the day while we sight see for 2 days.

Overall, just looking for a great, relaxing, mildly pampered stay at a hotel before roughing in on a bare bones tour of Rajasthan.

Assistance very welcome.

Cheers!

The Aman New Delhi
 

The Aman New Delhi offers great value at the 550 $USD as you get your own plunge pool and extra large bathroom in the suites. Take a look at www.amanresorts.com. All the service's you are asking for are there and with Henry Gray as the GM you will be staying with one of the best in the world.

We've been looking at the Imperial. Supposed to be pretty nice in the "British Raj" style. Heard great things, but haven't been yet. Aman looks nice but seems located a little far from sightseeing and pretty expensive compared to other hotels. Is it really that much better then ITC, Imperial, or Taj?

I've been -- repeatedly at that -- to every "luxury" hotel in and around DEL that is part of an international chain or (like the Imperial) affiliated in some form or another with an international chain -- and none of them provides such spectacularly better value than the rest that I stick to any one of them.

All those hotels are reasonably well positioned for sight-seeing since Delhi is still a city that is best explored by a car.

The Aman tends to provide more space than the others for the average guest, but I don't find it to be a spectacular value or suitable for all or even most purposes. Its location is generally considered fine enough by me.

Do all of those hotels offer concierge service that can assist with a reasonably priced car and driver for the day? Are the "good" hotels considered to be ITC, Taj, Imperial, and Oberoi?

I feel like I'm hijacking the thread from the OP but I'm planning a trip in September and will be on the road most of July and want to solidify some plans.

They all have concierges. They all have overpriced limo services. Delhi has excellent dial a cab services like Meru Cabs that you can call for .. www.merucabs.com - at about an eighth of the price the hotel will charge you.

While I don't have GUWonder's volume of experience, my experiences are similar. While a specific hotel may have a restaurant you prefer, or a location which works better for you, my experience is that they are broadly similar to each other.

You seem to be in scintillating cynical form, lately ...

what, me? :)

go with the imperial....good location & great property....

Prefer ITC Maurya
 

I'd pick ITC Maurya over the others. Besides the basic hygiene factors of good location , top notch amenities , luxurious & comfortable rooms being there .. what distinguishes ITC is their extremely high levels of service.. Its a pleasure to deal with their staff who are very warm yet very professional..

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9630/5.0.0.732 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

And several good food options, although, in my opinion the Hyatt is even better.

+1

I personally don't think the Aman is a great location for sightseeing in the northern parts of Delhi (Chandni Chowk, Red Fort, etc), its a bit of a hike up there, though its fine for south Delhi shopping. Given you've only got a couple of days for sightseeing I'd be inclined to stay further north & reduce your car travel time. I'm also not certain the extra cost for the Aman is justified.

Have you considered the Taj Mahal? Its an excellent location for a first time visit, if you email the hotel they can put together a sightseeing schedule for you in advance as well as airport transfers (all the hotels in this class should be able to, but I've had particularly good experiences with Taj) & the food at their restaurants is great, particularly at Varq.

I haven't stayed there (its fairly new), but friends recently stayed at the Lalit & really liked it, IMO its worth a look because of the great location off CP.