Has anyone stayed at Claridges in New Delhi? Is their cheapest room OK - deluxe room in premium wing? I think it is in the older wing and not the deluxe wing but it is a good price.

I've used Claridges a bit and then some; it's a decent place although I'm sure they've upgraded me every time for no additional charge.

I'm planning a trip to Delhi in December and have the following choices from our preferred Corporate hotel list.

Uppsal Orchid
Meridien
Oberoi
Hyatt

They're within a reasonable range of each other in price; the Oberoi is the most expensive. I've been to Delhi only once and stayed at the Grand (a former Hyatt) and loved it. Nothing at all in the vicinity, but a nice, quiet room and spectacular food, and reliable plumbing and electricity. (I'm pretty easy to please although high-speed Internet in the room would be a big plus). I love Indian food but my boss, who is British, may prefer bangers and mash in the morning.

Based on feedback on tripadvisor.com, I'm leaning towards the Hyatt (about $40 less/night than the Oberoi). I'll be working in Gurgaon so I think all of them will require a car and driver to get there and back, which my company cheerfully supplies.

Any opinions? Thanks.

Hyatt is nice, Oberoi is nicer.

The "Diplomatic" compound is the place to stay. Never know when a film star will die.

I like the ITC/Sheratons in India, but YMMV.

For location reasons given your Gurgaon destination (in the neighboring state to Delhi), I'd avoid LeMeridien. I'd also avoid the Oberoi; the Oberoi has somewhat lesser location issues but aslo because of location if you'll be going to/from Gurgaon at busier hours. The Hyatt is ok, but not as close to Gurgaon as Uppal's Orchid but generally faster than coming from the Oberoi and certainly LeMeridien. I don't know what time of day you'll be going between your hotel and whatever site(s) you will be visiting, but traffic is often a pain. Uppal's Orchid is the closest hotel to Gurgaon of the ones you named. There's also a Trident Hilton in Gurgaon that may work better than all of the named ones.

The Oberoi is still decent but it isn't what it used to be. It's decline came lock-step with the ageing of the Oberoi family grande dame herself.

Personally I take the Hyatt, but that's because I'm Hyatt Diamond and I've got a bit of history there -- not all of the history good -- and I'm not heading to/from Gurgaon daily.

I stay at the Hyatt most of the time. My last trip I stayed at Le Meridien and while it was ok I prefer the Hyatt. There will be plenty of food options at either one of them.

The Sheraton or Taj Palace are both in the Diplomatic area and both good places to stay.

I've not stayed at Uppal's Orchid but if you try it out then you may want to check Leading Hotels of the World for prices.

The absolute best for you would be the Trident Hilton. It is right in Gurgaon and one of the most beautiful hotels on earth. I stayed there for $180 a year and a half ago but these days it is going for anywhere from $340-$410 a night. Actually if you want to grab it Christmas day you can get in there for a mere $180. Actually, I should schedule some meetings around that time to get a stay there. The rooms aren't huge but the property is very impressive.

Anyway, I'd take the Hyatt over the other properties you are looking at.

I'm going to be at The Imperial one night in Dec., and the Taj Mahal Hotel another night in Dec. I wanted the Hilton but they were all booked up the night I wanted to stay. A shame too; the Hilton looks like a really nice hotel on their homepage.

I think you will find the Imperial the best of the three. Location not useful if you have to go to Gurgaon or Noida - but just a better place to stay.

Thanks! I'd love to stay at the Trident and will see what price our travel agency can get, but I suspect it will be well out of the range of the others. Worth a try, though- I have Gold status with Hilton so they'd probably treat me pretty well.

GUWonder, I'll be heading in and out of Gurgaon during traditional "rush hours"- our office tends to start work around 9 AM and they leave around 6, except for people who have teleconferences scheduled with North America. But I've done the commute and just enjoy the kaleidoscope of activity outside the car and try not to look out the front window and second-guess the driver!

There's also a Radisson in Gurgaon, which will shave a good half hour or more off your commute compared to the other options (except the Trident Hilton). The downside is the major highway construction project in progress right in front of it, so try to get a room facing the other way.

Although the Radisson Delhi, like the airport, isn't in Gurgaon it is as you note much closer to Gurgaon and does have that bit of construction issue out front. (Gurgaon is in the Indian state of Haryana, while the Radisson -- like DEL international and DEL domestic terminals -- are within the geography that normally falls under Delhi jurisdiction.)

In regards to etch5895's DEL hotel plans, I'd say that the Imperial and Taj Mahal hotel (I call it Taj Mansingh, because it's on Mansingh Rd) make more sense than the Trident Hilton in Gurgaon during those days when sticking to visiting Delhi proper. Most visitors wanting a feel for classic India prefer the flavor of the Imperial hotel to Taj Mansingh. [Note: Taj Mahal/Taj Mansingh hotel is a different hotel than the Taj Palace hotel, and it's a different hotel than the now-Taj Ambassador.]

Lest it sound that GUWonder is splitting hairs this can be a big deal when you take into account the Delhi luxury taxes. You are better off if the hotel is over the border in Haryana.

I just came back from Delhi and stayed at ITC Muraya Sheraton. Loved the place. good room and great service

Trident would be the best location for Gurgaon but it may be busy - I'm going to Gurgaon next week and can't get a room there at all. The hotel I am staying at (Park Plaza) is charging 2x our corporate rate and wanted 4x the corporate rate for 1 night

As usual, Gurgaon seems to be a really busy place...

At least the commute from Delhi hotels or the airport to Gurgaon is a bit better now that stretches of the highway are getting opened

I trek that stretch every day and there's precisely one stretch of it open -- the rest is all massive traffic jams. The way back from Gurgaon to Delhi is particularly bad, as a chunk of NH-8 has been converted to go one-way and you need to do a 7-km sightseeing tour of the perimeter of IGI.

Officially the highway is supposed to be complete in April, but this just ain't gonna happen. My driver thinks it might open by the end of 2007...