Retired FF

I am sure that you will enjoy both stays. Do make sure to check out the lounge in Delhi which is open 24 hours..
Delhi is known for its food and the food choices, especially if you happen to like Indian food, you will love the K3 and the lounge choices. We eat early and light dinners so few of the evenings, we ended up having dinner at the lounge. I only had a beer but there seemed to be a good choice of hard liquor and wines starting at 5:30 P.M.
Pune location is more central so if you choose to eat elsewhere, there are easy to get to choices.
Look forward to your reviews upon your return and feel free to PM if you need any advance information....

aap

My wife is visiting this hotel on a trip to India by herself. She'll spend most of her time in the heart of Delhi, so I was little worried that this might be too far away. I've read the thread and sounds like Airport Shuttle Service is not ready yet, so you need to get a taxi or arrange for hotel car service. Is that still the case?

We've stayed at plenty of Taj properties in India, and love their service. The Taj properties always offer an amazing breakfast buffet included in the cost of the room. Does the same apply at the JW Marriott or is there a separate fee for breakfast?

Can any of the elite members share their experience and if they were offered specific benefits/privileges apply to elites only? Specifically, details around the concierge lounge and if internet is complementary.

Also, what's the general consensus around how complicated it is to get into the city? My wife is not a huge fan of public transportation, so I'll have to do some convincing assuming it's not too complicated. Otherwise, it will be car service and taxis.

lucycan

Plenty close to Delhi for her stay. The city is huge and traffic is so bad that your going to spend a bunch of time sitting in traffic no matter where you stay.

PLEASE don't put your wife in a taxi or public transportation. Unless you are sick of her? Hire a driver for the time that she is there.

Breakfast is WONDERFUL and included in most rates. The lunch buffet is even better IMHO.

You'll get lounge access as an Elite and its one of the nicest anyplace. Plenty of food and drink. Most of the suites are still not complete, so don't expect a room upgrade, though the "base" rooms are very nice! Internet is comped for Elites.

PM me for the GM's email and the name of a good driver for the area.

helosc

I think the metro is the best ( fastest ) way to get to central New Delhi. She will avoid traffic this way. As far as I can see the hotel is very close to the aerocity metro stop.
The metro in New Delhi has carriages exclusively for women and they are generally much less crowded ( as a lot of women use the normal carriages ).
My information about carriages for women is from a trip almost 2 years ago but I can't see it having been changed.

Retired FF

The hotel is literally five minutes from the airport. If she is looking for an economical solution , she can take a taxi for about $5.00. A hotel car service is of course a much better and worry free option but at a much higher cost.
Getting to town is a pain due to local traffic if one is going by a car. If she has to go there often, then this hotel might not be a good option. IF on the other hand she DOES decide to stay here, I agree with Lucycan above that she should arrange for a car with a driver.
From our post, I gather that she is NOT an elite and in that case, unless you book a club room, she will not have access to the lounge. I highly recommend the lounge so if you can get a club room, she would love the experience.
Breakfast at the hotel is as good as any so I am sure it will match Taj standards.
Since you are not going to be with her, you can always try and call/write the GM and see if they will be willing to extend elite benefits to her as a courtesy. They may not but does not hurt to ask..

johnaalex

I used this hotel as a “base” for my trips to Sawai Madhopurn (for the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve) and Agra (for the Taj Mahal) this meant I had three separate days of 1 night each over a 10 day period. I have to say the hotel really impressed me. The staff were almost OTT in their attentiveness. The food offerings in the lounge were as good as I have had and on par, if not better with the JW Bangkok. The pool is temperature controlled and a welcome break from the Delhi heat. On the final night I was upgraded to a suite (room 3001) and it was a very nice room with a great “rain forest” type shower. Not sure if it was because of my Platinum membership but there was a complimentary airport transfer provided in a Mercedes S Class to and from the airport.

Zalmistinks

Interested in any recent updates on this hotel? I have choice to stay here for 5 nights as a Gold. Still highly recommended? Is there alcohol in the lounge offerings?

Regards,
Z

lucycan

Yes, easily the best Marriott in the city, if not the country. Yes, plenty of good booze in the lounge.

Zalmistinks

Great to hear these updates, how much was the car service from the airport to the hotel? Where do the drivers meet when arriving?

Regards,
Z

crazyhorse

Visiting Delhi for the first time this Dec and was considering places to stay. This hotel seems to getting some good reviews on this forum but am unsure if this is the best place to stay for sightseeing/tourism purposes.

Presently I am Plat Premier and wife is regular Plat with a gazillion points between the 2 of us. She is also SPG Gold, Club Carlson Gold and will soon be Hyatt Diamond with much smaller point balances in each of these programs.

My question is -
1. Will the JW be the best bang for the buck (I mean point) given that it is now only a Cat 5 which means I can get 5 nights for 100K. What are the chances of a nice suite upgrade? We will be having our little daughter with us and need a fridge in the room at the least.

2. The other options are the Hyatt Regency (where she should have lounge access due to being Diamond) but I am not sure of the location. SPG options I have narrowed down are the Le Meridien and the ITC Maurya but not sure if Gold will get us much there. There also seem to be a number of Radisson Blus around but their Elite treatment is pretty much non-existent, though they appear to be in better locations.

3. If I do decide to stay here how easy is it to get around? I hate sitting around in traffic and would much rather take trains to save time. Is the Delhi Metro well connected? (FWIW, I am originally from Mumbai so travelling by Indian trains doesn't freak me out )

4. Finally, thinking about making a day (or overnight) trip to see the Taj and Fatehpur Sikri and would definitely like some recommendations on how to go about getting a reliable car service.

Thanks much!

Zalmistinks

NachoAirline

Does anyone know contact details in order to arrange airport car service and possibly a day trip to Agra ahead of arrival for the hotel? I'm staying next month for 2 quick nights and wanted to try and arrange ahead of time if possible. Thanks!

lucycan

For airport service you can contact: [email protected]

For Agra day trip I recommend: http://www.driverindiatour.com/DayTr...DPID=DPID-7518

PM me with any questions

crazyhorse

I am booked for a 5 night award stay in December but just learnt from a colleague that most hotels in DEL charge some kind of crazy luxury tax on the published rate of the specific room you stay in (and not the booked rate)

Has anyone stayed here on points? If yes, did you have to pay this obscene luxury tax on top of your points? Whenever I have redeemed points, I have never paid any taxes since taxes are always a percentage of the paid room rate and that rate is $0.

If taxes do get charged on award rates, then I probably shouldn't be asking for any upgrades either since the tax on a suite is going to be much higher than for a regular room. Just FYI - I have used points in Bombay and Goa and have never been charged any taxes. This appears to be a Delhi thing.

Any recent experiences would be appreciated.

Edited to add: I pulled up my reservation on marriott.com and at the very top it states - "Please Note – Tax on room rate is 23.40 percent as follows - 15 percent on published tariff and 8.4 percent on booked rate"

However, I do not see what the published tariff is for the room I booked.

SkiAdcock

Call Marriott & ask them to tell you how much the published tariff is.

Cheers.