I did. 3 times. No can give a definite answer. I asked them to send me in writing that the taxes are zero since the reservation is booked on points, but they refused. I even called the hotel and they couldn't/wouldn't answer either.

Is there anyone who has stayed in this hotel on points?

Normally there are no taxes on award stays since, as you note, there is no rate to tax. However, some cities in certain countries have levied a mandatory tax that the hotel is stuck w/ collecting & giving to the city so even on award (free) stays there is that tax (what it's called varies). One of the cities in Italy did that starting a year ago, as it was mentioned in a dif thread and Atlantis in the Bahamas collects one as well that is levied by Nassau.

Cheers.

This hotel always charges me tax on the "normal room rate" regardless of my actual rate. So sometimes the tax is like 10%, other times its 40%. I've stayed here 10+ times and was told "thats just the way it is". I don't remember if this is the case in other Marriotts in India, but pretty sure its NOT the case at the RC in Bangalore where I have stayed many times. I assume this trickles down to the Points stays as well, but its very odd. I would think you could deal with Marriott on this, and tell them the hotel has been not helpful.

Thanks Lucy. I believe this is just a Delhi issue. I became aware of it while browsing a thread in the India forum to get some sightseeing tips on Delhi and Agra.

I have spoken to both parties and neither are helpful. Marriott just keeps repeating the same line - "taxes are imposed by the local authority and not dictated by Marriott" and the hotel either just doesn't understand my question or care enough. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes once I get there. What I don't want is to receive an upgrade and find out that the taxes were calculated on some obscene rack rate. On the flip side, if the taxes are not that ridiculous I'd rather have the upgrade, but I need the information to decide one way or another.

Since you've been there multiple times, can you let me know if the hotel provides a free shuttle to/from the airport for Platinums?

Crazyhorse - no free shuttle. They used to pick up for free, but now its a charge both ways. Its not cheap either. I usually get the Sclass / Audi A8 which is nice. The upgrades here are few but nice. I typically get one of the suites. They are located at the end of the hall closest to the airport (more noise) or behind the elevator banks (much less noise). The lounge is nice, but my favorite is the buffet, and I'm not a buffet person.

How close is Aerocity Metro Station to JW?
 

Somewhat OT - is it reasonable to plan to walk to the Aerocity Metro Station from the JW? From Google Maps/Satellite it looks as if it's two blocks. I'll be at the JW for two days/nights in January on a MR and am considering using the Delhi Metro to get downtown and just walk about.

I know the recommended way to sightsee in Delhi is a private car and driver, but I'll be there by myself and I prefer to use mass transit when I'm by myself in a new city just to experience it.

I have NOT done it personally but some one visiting me who is not local, DID take the metro to come and visit me and found it to be not at all a problem. I am not sure about the safety during the evening hours to you might want to play it safe and take a taxi back at night from downtown.

JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity
 

Thanks RetiredFF! On my way there now so will post a trip report including info about walking to the Metro station.

Enjoy your stay. The lounge offerings are one of the best I have experienced. I don't recall now IF I had booked a breakfast rate OR Gold/Plats have a choice of having breakfast in the restaurant. The restaurant breakfast is amazing.

Thanks FF - have been here past three days and agree this is one of the best lounges I've experienced. Did not try to eat breakfast in the restaurant so not sure about Gold/platinum benefits. Was not mentioned at checkin and no info in the room on club or welcome note for Gold, unlike other hotels I've visited.

Will post review here shortly.

As promised, here is a full stay review for the JW Marriott Aerocity New Delhi:

Have spent three days here as a short mileage run. Picked a hotel by the airport as my original flight combination arrived at 1:30 am and departed at 3:30 am. Later changed flights so did not need the proximity to the airport but also realize that it would have been more convenient to stay in a more central location. But if you're considering staying here, here's my thoughts:

This is a fantastic modern luxury hotel. Contemporary style with stone and woods and plush comfort. Service is ever present and uniformly over the top friendly and helpful. To me, it felt hovering, but I understand that many people enjoy that style of service.

Arrival with mobile checkin was efficient and friendly. Other interaction with the front desk and the concierge over a few days have been helpful and courteous.

Room was Executive King on Club Floor (3rd floor, not top floor like I'm used to). Large room with extensive electronics and push button controls built in. Uncomfortable and really pointless curved sofa. Large and well-laid out desk area Lots of plugs everywhere for charging devices. Favorite feature: the bath has a large rain shower and a soaking tub. The tub has a retractable opaque glass wall so you can have privacy or leave it open to the room.

Did not use the bar or restaurant as I had club access and was out on food tours in the evenings. Club was good sized for the crowd and extensive selection at breakfast and in the evening. Friendly and efficient staff. Breakfast 6-10, Drinks and heavy hors douvres 5:30 til 9 pm (there was no info about the club hours or service in my room, nor any welcome letter with that info).

Great gym with full range of LifeFitness equipment and small free weight area with Dumbbells and a Smith Machine rack. Normal cardio machines facing a wall of windows overlooking the pool.

Do not normally use the spa when I travel but had a tour cancelled on me last minute so decided to get a massage. Great facility and excellent massage. Prices are very reasonable in USD. Separate sauna/steam area (for men at least and I presume ladies) without paying for a treatment.

Now the cons. As mentioned the service can feel hovering, which may be fine for serving breakfast but is annoying while you're trying to workout in the gym for example. The security is also extensive: cars are checked as they enter the hotel sector, then again at the hotel gate, then all bags are xrayed and guests go through a metal detector and are hand wanded. To be fair there had just been a terrorist attack at the Indian border the weekend I visited but it felt over the top. This is the first trip I've made to a third-world country in many years so this may be the new standard at 5-star hotels, just new to me especially when I expected India to be more modern and open.

Also, the hotel is only a five minute walk from the Airport Express Aerocity station, but the walk there doesn't even have a sidewalk all the way so you're mostly walking in the road. The management could make the ease of access an advantage of the hotel location, but instead you have to overcome resistance to walking. Once you figure out how to get there the Airport Express is more pleasant and much faster than driving to get down to New Delhi Station and connect with the Delhi Metro system - 15-20 mins tops, in air conditioning and not crowded, unlike a car trip stuck in traffic.

Overall I'd prefer to stay at a more central location next time but this is an excellent luxury hotel option if you want to be by the airport.

Stayed January 2016, traveled solo

Thanks for the detailed trip report. Much appreciated.

And in fairness to them, if there had been a terrorist attack & they didn't do due diligence ;) :p :D

Cheers.

I just stayed here for three nights so thought I would share my experience. I pretty much agree with everything that has already been said earlier in this thread.

One thing that was a bit annoying. The week prior to arriving, I tried to arrange for an airport transfer when I arrived through the Marriott app. I always found myself questioning when I would actually use this app and this seemed like a perfect time! I inquired about an upgrade and then an airport transfer through the app. Then I stopped receiving responses (this was 2 days prior to arriving). When I finally arrived, I didn't see any hotel cars waiting and ended up catching a Meru taxi which came out to ~300 INR. The biggest difficulty was finding a driver who understood where the JW Marriott was. When I arrived, the hotel apologized for the confusion and credited me for my taxi and assured me they would arrange transport back to the airport. Then the manager came out as well, so I think they did what they could. I think it would be quite a walk from the metro with conditions not being the best so I'm glad I took the Meru taxi.

As a Platinum I had an option for breakfast in the lounge or in the K3 restaurant. I found the K3 restaurant had a lot more options so went for that. There appear to be a lot of custom dishes you can order that aren't standard in the buffet (ie. Dosas) so you may want to inquire. As for the breakfast, I found the best item to be the cheese croissants. I know this sounds crazy but these were out of this world!

One gotcha. I was kind of in a hurry for a meeting one morning and ended up taking the hotel car there. According to Google Maps, the office was ~10km away and the hotel car ended up costing ~5,000 INR (75 USD)! After investigation it seems there is a flat rate of 4,500 INR for 40KM or 4.5 hours and you must also pay for the car's return to the hotel. This was a bit of a surprise for me but also the first time I have ever taken a hotel car! I will chalk this one up to lessons learned.

In terms of sightseeing, I ended up hiring a car through a service my company uses. It includes a driver and ended up costing me 8,000 INR for an entire day (14 hours). I was able to visit Agra to see the Taj Mahal as well as Fatehpur Sikri and some other sites in between.

I too am not a fan of the hovering service which I felt a bit of here, yet it also seemed lacking to some degree based on a few minor things. I don't usually stay at JWs but have recently stayed at the JWs in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta and found the service a little bit better here. The location is obviously very convenient to the airport so I would probably stay here again based on that.

Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

Am searching online for a way to contact them to book a car pick up/transfer to the hotel and don't see anything. I'm not a Marriott whiz so sorry if there is a standard way I am not seeing, anyone have contact email, or do I just need to call the hotel? Thanks.