I'm planning to take a quick trip to India next month, basically just a weekend jaunt in Agra and Delhi...my TG flight from BKK arrives at about 22:45 and I intend to go to Agra early in the morning (6:00 AM express train).

Now, what with transportation, going through immigration and customs & such, I reckon there's only about 5 hours left for "sleep"...I generally like to stay in nice hotels, but for just a few hours that night Delhi is quite pricy and imho not really worth it.

I definitely don't want to stay in some dump, I'd much rather spend the time having a few drinks and watching something on my laptop in, let's say, a restaurant in the terminal...is there any decent place where I can do that? Can I buy some kind of lounge pass (if one is open at night)?

How about hanging out in the city during that time? Safe, worthwhile...?

Thanks in advance for any advice

Most (maybe still all) Delhi hotels and bars don't serve alcohol at night so that's mostly out of the question.

Delhi is not a city to hang out at night by yourself, and particularly not if you have luggage with you. And the airport is no paradise to wait at either.

A cheap hotel -- available near the airport (right next to the Radisson DEL hotel) or elsewhere in DEL -- for storing luggage and to shower up followed by heading to a nicer hotel with a 24-hr restaurant for eating a slow meal and milking a cup of tea for all its worth probably works. Free wi-fi isn't a standard at most of the higher end hotels in DEL and isn't standard at most other hotels either, so it might be a struggle to get online at a hotel/shop.

Another alternative is to arrive there and hire a car to take you straight to Agra and get a hotel there ... which will usually be cheaper even at the higher end. My concern about this "straight to Agra by road" option, particularly at this time of the year (with fog this month, but unlikely next month when you'll be there), is road safety.

Thanks for the quick & informative reply!

Luggage won't be an issue, because I tend to travel very light. I'll only have a small backpack with a couple of clothing items, toiletries and my laptop, so I'll pretty much be fully mobile

The 24-hour restaurant seems like a great idea...alcohol is a non-issue for me (tend to prefer drinking with friends ), so I think this will be the way to go. Would just going straight to the Connaught area be good for this? If it makes any difference, the night in question will quite surely be a Friday...

I've also heard that there are some nice hookah places, it would be quite appealing, any idea if they tend to be open all night?

I can't help with hookah places or CP-area night life, but Connaught Place does have some of those. Personally, I wouldn't suggest CP at night, although Friday night around there should be ok enough, at least on some blocks there. (It's mostly not a higher end scence, so keep that in mind, and there's a lot of building work still going on with the metro buildout around CP.)

Hotels with 24-hour restaurant service and an ok bar/club -- if that's your kind of scene -- includes a good number of the major hotels in DEL. The Ashoka hotel might work; the Taj (Mahal) Hotel on Mansingh Rd. would work too. The Hyatt works but their late night food leaves things to be desired. The LeMeridien might work too. The InterContinental Grand I wouldn't suggest for this purpose although it's closest to CP.

Getting around would require a car/taxi. Keep in mind that getting taxis at night isn't always quick or easy in downtown DEL.

Thanks again, I reckon the best thing to do will be to go straight to one of the major hotels you mention, catch up on some WiFi online action in the pub, have a nice meal then get a cab to the station in the early morning.

According to my daughter, the Hooka Bar at Basant Lok (also called Modern Bazaar and near Vasant Vihar) closes at Midnight. There also is a Lebanese place in the Ashoka but don't know what time it closes.

The Golf Bar and the Irish (but not really) Bar in the Maurya Sheraton are ok and there is plenty of people watching in the lobby (as with most of the hotels that GU Wonder recommends).

The Maurya Sheraton has one of the more vibrant late night scenes in the lobby, particularly when people are leaving. It should work too but I'd first call up and see what their 24-hour eating options are there. (I haven't eaten there late at night in the restaurants for a while now, since my needs usually have me around Lodi Estate.)

The Pavillion Coffee Shop is open 24 hours a day there.

Sounds good, then

Thank you all, I love this community and the wealth of knowledge & helpfulness it provides!