EfficientTraveller

RichardInSF - if you are going from Varanasi to Agra, do look into flying this - a couple of years ago Air India used to fly Varanasi to Agra 3/4 days a week and it cuts out so much travel by road. The flight is well timed as well so we were able to take a sunrise boat ride on the Ganges at Varanasi, spend some time walking around the Ghats, return to the Nadesar Palace for a late breakfast, fly to Agra and then have nearly a full afternoon in Agra at the Fort and Taj Mahal. If you do that, you can get away with one night in Agra as you can go back to the Taj the following morning and then go to Fahetpur Sikri on the way to Amanbagh.

I loved Delhi and Varanasi but you either love or loathe the chaos..

RichardInSF

Yes, this flight still exists three times a week and after hearing about it earlier in this thread, we scheduled the trip so we could take the flight.

So far, Amanbagh reservations has been very responsive, but their responsiveness has been limited to re-iterating points on their web page or providing additional information when I have specifically asked for it. They have not been willing to bend the slightest, tiny bit on even the smallest point. Possibly a good agent can get that changed but it does not leave me inclined to bend in return.

bhrubin

GUWonder

Delhi is worth 2-3 days, but the problem with Delhi is the awful pollution and awful traffic. While the traffic can be worked around in ways, the pollution really hits some people very hard even if only for a couple of days.

bhrubin

+1

Exactly. That is why we considered and ultimately rejected the opportunity cost of a 1 day tiger safari at Sariska. The Aman staff were in consensus before and during our stay that almost no one sees a tiger at Sariska, agreeing with almost all reviews that I'd seen. We decided it wasn't worth the time or trouble.

RichardInSF

As to inflexibility, Amanbagh has 4 levels of rooms. The package they are offering includes a guaranteed upgrade from the lowest tier to the second and from the third tier to the fourth. I had asked about the upgrade from the second tier to the third and their response kept glossing over this so I kept pushing -- and they finally said NO. I get the impression that the reservations manager I have been corresponding with exclusively is cut from the same "no waivers, no favors" mold that the airlines went through a while back. Maybe it's necessary to talk to the GM. I'll leave that task to the TA I ultimately use to make the booking, as Amanbagh gives absolutely zero incentive to book direct.

My travel partner has never done a safari of any sort so I suspect one day, even without tigers, will give enough of a taste so that we will want to sign up for Africa in 2019!

chinmoylad

They do upgrade across all levels - have a chat with the GM.

scented

That doesn't sound very welcoming to me.

MikeFromTokyo

Jermyn

After much deliberation and lots of great advice from everybody in this thread, I've come up with an itinerary for our first trip to India:

2 nights Delhi - Lodhi
3 nights Agra - Oberoi Amarvillas
3 nights Amanbagh
3 nights Jaipur(ish) - Alila Bishangarh Fort
3 nights Jodhpur - Umaid Bhawan Palace
3 nights Udaipur - Oberoi Udaivillas

We will arrive early morning into Delhi and probably leave for Agra in the morning of Day 3.
The 3rd night free offers make the two Oberoi properties very compelling, particularly like the idea of having a view of the Taj Mahal from the rooms at Amarvillas, once the crowds dissipate.
Amanbagh we may do a 4th night as I'm travelling with somebody that has Citi prestige. I guess my TA's ability to negotiate upgrades will be the deciding factor on that one
Alila I'm very excited about, I loved their properties in Uluwatu, Soori and Oman and this is equally well reviewed.
Jodhpur I was going to try and save a bit of money by switching to the other Taj property but after seeing bhrubin's glowing review I decided against it
Finally Oberoi Udaivillas: the iconic image of the swimming pool wrapping around the main hotel building was the inspiration for this entire trip. Really looking forward to unwinding here at the end of the trip.

I'm tempted to take a driver from Delhi as far as Jaipur and then take Supreme airlines from there to Jodhpur, saving us a 6 hour car journey. Will reach out to a couple of agencies and see how this works vs taking hotel cars. I'm assuming the price and overall experience will be better if we just keep one driver the whole way. Would love to hear from anybody else that has done this.

Am I mad for missing out Varanasi? I was thinking that we could save that for another trip. Perhaps as a nice juxtaposition with Amankora...

chinmoylad

They have an ugprade at the time of booking rate.

India by Car and Driver - bit of a pain to deal with to be honest, just need to keep digging away at it, but they usually come through nicely.

@bhrubin would say yes.

Londonjetsetter

When we did a similar trip there was no direct flight from Jaipur to Jodhpur so Taj drove us and it took 5 hours leaving at 7am. It is a very scenic drive. Absolutely agree do not miss Umaid Bhawan it's amazing.

bhrubin

RichardInSF

I have now booked much of my upcoming India trip. Includes the 6 night package at the two Amans (Aman-i-khas, Amanbagh), two nights at the Taj in Varansasi, and two nights at the Amarvillass in Agra. Haven't picked a Delhi hotel yet since there are other plans that need to be resolved first. This will be a fairly slow-paced trip for once, which forced me to skip other very interesting sounding places, like Udai[pur.

Thanks to Chinmoy Lad for finding a car and driver that will be with us for 8 days, at a rate way, way lower than offered by the hotels.

bhrubin