Early departure penalties are not common in India. Even amongst the international branded hotels, this is not systematic.

Hmm. This leads me to wonder at what room rate I'll be taxed for my stay in the Taj. I booked the room through the LHW website, and the reservation claims 12.5% per night room tax+more taxes apply.

I'd like to pay the bill in advance and not have to even think about it, but I don't think that is possible. It would be nice to not have any unpleasant 'surprises' at the end of the stay. I reserved a Club room at a very reasonable price, but it worries me to think that they could tax the room at a much higher rate. The idea of a game of 'bait and switch' does not appeal to me, especially at the end of a weeklong trip in India.

You could call up before -- or inquire at check-in -- about the exact tax figure that will be applicable for the club room you will be given. The tax is unfortunately calculated on the basis of the occupied room's rack rate which has been supplied by the hotel to the government, so make sure at check-in to have them inform you what the room's rack rate is that will be used to calculate the taxes.

12.5% of booked rate will routinely lead to a surprise, especially as the default at the luxury hotels is for the applicable percentage to be applied to the rack rate of the room. This has annoyed me since it has taken some people over their lodging or per diem allowances.

Having recently been hit with the tax on rack rate of $550 when i was only paying $325 for the room (Taj), i would suggest following GUWonder's advice (as usual) and making sure in advance what you are being taxed on so you aren't (unhappily!) surprised at check out....good luck!

Understand this is what has been done for about 1.5 years in BGL....people stay in MAA hotels and commute to work from there....

However, getting good rooms in Chennai are quite difficult, in my experience as well.... :td:

Someone's thinking of doing SXR-DEL-SXR and getting IC Hotel points galore this summer. :eek: I definitely don't suggest that given the time to clear security checkpoints at SXR without government assistance. And the flight schedules to return are not good for that AFAIR.

I ended up making the decision to pull out of the Taj Mahal Hotel and book a room at the Trident Hilton for my last day in India. Reasons:

1. They offered an all inclusive rate of $409/night, which includes taxes and airport transfer. Taj Mahal rate was $355 for a club room without taxes, and God only knows what rack rate could be on one of those rooms. (That and it is more Hilton points ^ ).

2. After a week of galavanting around India, I think I'd probably enjoy spending the last evening in a somewhat more relaxed setting.

3. I'm still spending the first day/night at the Imperial, which is probably better for actual city touring.

So, what is within walking distance of the Trident Hilton (restaurants, leisure sites, shopping)?

If you walk a good deal you'll arrive at... Nothing.

The Trident Hilton in Gurgaon is an excellent hotel but it is not within walking distance of anything but office buildings in an industrial zone. I would suggest that you get a car to the DLF Citycentre Mall. There are several nice Indian restaurants on the top floor.

Directly across the street there is a second mall with more, but smaller, shops and a very nice book store. Feel free to cross the highway with the crowd but beware of a) the cars coming from the opposite direction you are used to and b) the little kids that will come up and touch you and beg for money.

The big malls around there are the DLF Citycenter Mall, the (MGF) Metropolitan Mall, and the Sahara Mall. Dinner and a movie requires a vehicle as noted above -- unless you want to eat at the hotel itself.