Bonvoy Hotels in Delhi & Mumbai
 

Hello everyone!
I am traveling to India with my spouse for the first time for a little over two weeks at the end of December into January. We are planning to be based in Delhi for most of the trip with a short five day hop to Mumbai in between. After searching the forum I have not found a lot of recent information on Bonvoy properties, and I'm hoping you all could please help me out.

New Delhi--I understand there are other properties such as Le Meridien, however, for our purposes we are only looking at these three. We have narrowed it down to the JW Marriott Aerocity, the Westin Gurgaon, and the ITC Maurya. The most important aspect for us would be lounge access (we are Titanium elite), and accessibility to the train system. How extensive are the benefits at these properties, as far as breakfast, laundry, and food in the lounge? How are the onsite restaurants?

Mumbai-- We have narrowed it down to either the ITC Grand Central Mumbai or the Westin Garden City. Is it better to stay at the ITC and be closer to the sights the whole time, or to do a sightseeing tour one of the days and relax at the Westin the rest of the time? Also, how extensive are the benefits at these properties, as far as breakfast, laundry, and food in the lounge? How are the onsite restaurants?

And in general, do you recommend Uber or using the hotel car service?

Thank you so much in advance for any help you are able to provide. And if I have missed any more recent threads on this topic, please do share. We really appreciate it!

HI,

I can't comment on the hotels, as I usually stay in the Renaissance in Mumbai. Re car service, it depends what you want to do. When I'm there for work, I can get an all day car and driver for about £30 a day from Avis India. That's picking me up in the morning, travelling between offices and then going out at night too, then back to the hotel.

If you're not travelling much, then Uber is usually fine (or Ola iirc).

T

The JW AeroCity is superb. Amazing lounge, great rooms, and awesome staff. I've stayed 10+ times since its opened.

I've also stayed at the Westin Gurgaon and if you want to be on the west side its a fine choice. I prefer the JW all things being equal.

In Mumbai I've only stayed at the JW and it was great.

I stayed at the St Regis in Mumbai with the wife and we both loved it and the location and the service was top notch! I would say seriously reconsider as I cant speak highly enough of it!

the 3 properties you have narrowed down to are all nice but come with their set of problems as far as location is concerned....

the marriott aerocity is a very nice property but is right next to the airport, close to the border of delhi & gurgaon....if you plan on being this side of the city then its a great choice but its far from all the tourists spots & you could be spending hours on the road shuffling between the hotel & the city....

the westin gurgaon is also nice but i would never stay in gurgaon if i need to be in delhi....during peak hour traffic it takes up to 3 hours to travel between the 2 cities....the metro takes less time but is overcrowded....

the itc maurya is a great hotel but once again, its located in the middle of nowhere....not much to do around the area & its far from all the tourist sites....

if lounge access & accessibility to the train system is a primary concern then i would consider either the le méridien or the sheraton....the sheraton is actually owned by itc & is a luxury collection property....both are located in a much more lively area with lots to do around the hotels....both have lounges & are close to metro stations....the sheraton has one of my favourite restaurants (dakshin) onsite....both would also tend to be less expensive than your other 3 options....

your suite upgrade chances would also be great at the le méridien....

every year i end up spending close to 30 nights in mumbai & they get divided between the itc grand central, st. regis & the westin, depending on where in the city i need to be....all 3 are not close to the tourist sites (westin is even further away) & you will need to get a car for the day, no matter where you end up staying....if i were to rank them in order of benefits, food, lounge, etc then it would be the st. regis, followed by the westin & then itc....but all 3 are great properties & you can't go wrong with either....

you would have a great chance of getting a suite upgrade at the westin, a decent chance at the st. regis & a very poor chance at the itc....

i use uber all the time but you may want to consider getting a car from the hotel or from one of the local car rental companies for the duration of the day....they will cost around $50 & you have the convenience of having the car & driver with you at all times....