We spent the last weekend in Agra at the Taj Mahal - a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday! The travel schedule was a little crazy: 9PM flight from HYD on Friday night, landing late in Delhi at midnight. 6AM train from Delhi to Agra, arriving 8AM. Full day in Agra, arriving back in Delhi at 10PM. Then, Sunday we planned to tour Delhi so my parents could see the city.
Since we weren't spending much time at the hotel, I figured a 3 or 4 star place would be OK - why spend the mucho $$$ for a 5 star when we'd only be there for 5 hours the first night and only for sleeping on the second? I scouted around between various guidebooks and websites, and landed on the Hotel Ajanta. Good price and close to the train station, which would help with the early morning train departure.
What holds true in almost all cities around the world proves true for India: hotels by the train station are in sketchy neighborhoods. When the car pulled up to the hotel, I almost told the driver to turn around and take us to a Hyatt or Sheraton or something. I couldn't believe I had booked this hotel for my parents and son to sleep in ... but, the staff seemed attentive, it was already nearly midnight, and the idea of sleep was very important since i had to be up in 4 hours anyway. So, we stayed put.
Saturday morning, I was still not impressed ... stray dogs and a alley-way barber on the street, lots of people on the street staring at William, passing many more sketchy-looking hotels on the short drive to the train station ... needless to say, I once again seriously debated changing hotels that evening. But, when we got back from Agra totally exhausted, I really couldn't move. So, we stayed put.
As it turns out, Sunday morning in the day light things didn't look so bad. Shabby, yes, but not dangerous like my first impression. The hotel staff was actually very friendly - especially to William - and the sheets and towels were clean, even if they felt like sandpaper (I'm not exagerating!). The breakfast was OK and there were many other foreign guests, though they were all staying in the main building, not the annexe. When we checked in, the elevator was broken, and none of us wanted to walk up 5 flights of stairs ... so we went to the annexe. I wonder if we had been in the main building with the other foreigners if things might have looked better.
In any case, if you're travelling on a budget, a three-star hotel would probably be OK (room $50-70/night), though I expect there's some variation. This place had quite a few good reviews on TripAdvisor.com and in Lonely Planet. BUT, I would caution against going anything lower than 3 star. And, if you can afford it, the extra money for the nicer hotels is definitely worth it!
1 comment:
Just want to add the the bathroom in the hotel was bigger than the one Tod and I had in Venice several years ago. The sheets and towels were very scratchy but no harm done. The water was hot and had pressure and the shower was super after a hot and dusty day in Agra. Everything always looks better in the daylight but on the way in I expected to see the "ladies" in their red dresses in the windows :) However, the entire weekend was $300 US which could have been 1 night at a 5 star. On hindsight, good choice.
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