Just back from a month in India - spent 2+ weeks in the north and 2- weeks in the south. Here are impressions of the hotels in the north with the room class we were in. Grateful thanks to all of the similar posts I read before we left in planning this trip. Breakfasts were included (at least by our travel company) at all and all were quite similar and very good. The exceptional ones are noted.

Delhi The Imperial Heritage Room

We loved this hotel and it was a wonderful place to spend 2.5 nights just after the 26 hour flights from CA. Built in 1931 it is an elegant British origin hotel. Peaceful, wonderful service, very nice pool area, complimentary access to hot tub, steam etc. in the spa. We had a corner room over looking the pool with a view of the sunset. Large room with large walk in closet, very nicely appointed. The breakfast was among the best and the breakfast room and outdoor porch was beautiful. The usual continental and Indian cuisine, plus smoked salmon, house made croissants etc. Would go back in a heartbeat on another visit to Delhi.

Varanasi Taj Nadesar Palace Palace Room

10 room former guest house for one of the maharajas. Lovely room, the whole place felt like a private home, lovely gardens. On many acres of land and also houses a more regular Taj hotel with a set of restaurants and bar also that are close by. Food very good; breakfast was order off the menu rather than buffet. The only real downside to all of that lovely peace and quiet is that it is a little ways from the Varanasi ghats and action. But worth it.

Khajuraho Sarai Toria

Not a luxury property but a really lovely eco-lodge outside of town to the amazing temples in the town run by British photographer and her Indian academic husband.

Agra Oberoi Amar villas Premier -Balcony

To state the obvious, the location is fabulous; every room as a Taj Mahal view and we had a nice balcony room, although the decor was not to my taste and my husband joked that the pool area looked like Vegas. And the service there was surprising to me. The staff seemed young and a little green and there were some quite unexpected lapses for an Oberei Hotel (this was our fist visit to the properties). For example, I went to get coffee while my husband was sleeping one day and had about 20 minutes. Asked the breakfast staff for a newspaper (which were not out) and 2 requests and 13 minutes later I finally got one. They were delivered to the rooms only at 8:30-9 am. I needed a sewing kit just as we were leaving for a quick but necessary mend and they sent up one that had been used and the one thing I needed (light colored thread) was already gone. No time to ask for another. Finally I called the concierge to ask what the overweight charges were for internal Jet airways flights. They seemed flummoxed by the question and it took 2 calls and 25 minutes to get a sort-of answer. But they also comped my husband's haircut after they ran 15 minutes late and knew we were on a schedule and the breakfast was very good. And they have coffee set up in the lobby for guests leaving at 6 am for the sunrise visit to the Taj Mahal.

Not an impressive first Oberoi visit for us, but would still recommend it for the proximity to and views of the Taj Mahal. We thought the balcony was worth the upcharge.

Jaipur Taj Rambagh Palace Palace Room

Former Raj palace. Lovely large room with not great closet space, but a beautiful hotel. Amazing swimming area. Interesting history of the palace and they do a tour at 5:30 every day that ends at the Polo Lounge with a complimentary glass of champagne. The Indian dining room is utterly amazing and has a history that the staff recounts. Food is excellent.

Udaipur The Leela Palace Palace Suite

Quite the reception to the hotel. Boat ride across the lake, flower petals strewn on us on arrival. Gorgeous hotel with lake views and beautiful and well designed rooms, although not large in size. Very good service and within walking distance to the old city. Also very short walk to a local outdoor restaurant called Ambrai with probably the best restaurant view of the lake and quite good food at reasonable prices.

Mumbai The Leela Mumbai (airport) Premier City View

Stayed twice on our way to Aurangabad. About 15 minutes from the domestic terminal. I believe it is the original Leela. Large, mostly business hotel but well run. Rooms extremely compact (i.e. small) but well arranged and comfortable and with all of the 5* essentials. Our only issue was arriving tired at 8:15 pm and being told our room was "not ready yet". With some pressure they got it ready in 10 minutes. Amazing buffet breakfast. Lively dining room and one of the most varied buffets we saw with cuisine from any culture you wanted it seemed.

Aurangabad Taj Residency Deluxe room

Perfectly OK hotel, but not 5* and seemed to be a Taj lower brand. Lovely grounds but think Courtyard and not Four Seasons. The only reason to be in the town, Elora and Ajanta caves were amazing and the property is the best in town.

A final note for anyone who cares about hair dryers, my only real complaint about every single hotel I stayed at in India in was the hair dryers. At most if not all of the 5* hotels they were lackluster wattage hairdryers wired into a drawer with a short cord, making them difficult to use. The rest were similarly low wattage and often had to have a button held continuously to be used. It did not matter how upscale the hotel was, the best that can be said about them is that they were marginally better than nothing!

Interesting mix of hotels! Pity you missed some of the better ones in the North, but great feedback nevertheless. Thank you!

good details, especially good to hear about taj palace nadesar. did you fly to agra via taj palace nadesar and khajuraho?

Thank you for the good review. What travel company did you use for these reservations? Did you get a good deal on the rates?

Sounds like a great trip - thanks for posting. The only one of these hotels I've stayed is the Rambagh Palace.

Excellent tip on the hair driers - one of my pet hates is ineffectual hair dryers. I have longish thick hair and trying to dry my hair in hotels is sometimes a useless endeavor. My own hair dryer is quite heavy so I only take my straighteners with me.

We used an Indian company called Travel Scope . They work with a company in the US called Asia Transpacific Journeys but we worked directly with Travel Scope. And I assume we did get good rates although I don't know exactly what was charged for them.

We flew from Varanasi to Khajuraho, then drove to Jhansi (with a stop at Orchha) and took the train to Agra.

Which ones should we have gone to instead vuitton?

Mine too and it was really surprising to find such incredibly bad ones at otherwise luxurious hotels. Aside from the low wattage and the ones stuck in drawers with short, fixed cords, some of them had buttons that had to be held constantly to run them. We spent a month in the country and I think I only found 1 hairdryer that was even close to what you find at an average Courtyard in the US.

Not necessarily instead of, but I would have included Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, which is unique, and would have spent time at Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai, which is a superbly run icon not to be missed, and I would probably have stayed at the Oberoi Udaivilas instead of Leela in Udaipur.

I love Nadesar Palace Varanasi, also Oberoi Amarvilas and The Rambagh - perfect choices.

Now you have dipped your toe in the water of India, there are many more experiences to be had.

We did not get to Jodhpur at all and unfortunately we stayed at the airport Leela Mumbai 2 nights because there simply was not enough time to stay more centrally, but did regret missing the Taj. We walked through the lobby on a quick day tour. And the Devi Gahr booked us into the Leela (after they cancelled our reservation 6 months later to book a wedding!) rather than the Udaivilas so next time for that. We did have lovely views of the Lake with large windows - that actually opened!

Yes, more lovely hotels to explore there!