India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) - Keith Bain [366]
Hans Plaza Hotel The best reason to stay here is the location: conveniently located near (10-min. walk) Connaught Place. Staff members at this small hotel are also wonderfully friendly and enthusiastic, which is a major draw, particularly after surviving the dread induced by the building’s hideous facade (the hotel occupies only the ground and upper floors of some sort of office block). Inside, things have been spruced up quite dramatically, with a modern makeover in shades of brown against white marble floors, but be aware that guest rooms vary quite a bit. Ask for an executive room on the 17th or 18th floor, and you’ll have a decent wood-floor room with larger windows; deluxe doubles have better beds and furnishings. The rooftop restaurant and bar afford grand views of the city. However, at the current rates, we’d personally prefer to be at one of the classier options such as Amarya Haveli & Gardens or The Manor.
15 Barakhamba Rd., Connaught Place, New Delhi. 011/6615-0000. Fax 011/6615-0000. www.hanshotels.com. 74 units. Rs 9,000 executive double; Rs 10,000 deluxe double; Rs 12,000 suite. Rates include breakfast. Taxes extra. AE, DC, MC, V. Amenities: 2 restaurants; bar; airport transfer (Rs 1,200); babysitting; currency exchange; doctor-on-call; Internet (Rs 200/hr.); room service. In room: A/C, TV, hair dryer, minibar, Wi-Fi (Rs 200/hr., Rs 675/day).
Hotel Palace Heights If you’re in town with an urgent need to be in a very central location, and don’t demand too much from your lodgings, this is a great value, and considering its location—in the very heart of Connaught Place and just a 2-minute walk to the Rajiv Chowk Metro station—a good find. It is not however by any means a palace, and the only sense of height you’ll get is the view from either the restaurant or the rooftop terrace, from where you can watch the mayhem on the street below or the fairly ugly urban scene created by the surrounding Connaught Place buildings. Accommodations, which occupy a single floor, have been entirely refurbished in a modern, clean aesthetic: LCD TVs, small marble bathrooms with glass-walled showers, and fairly comfortable mattresses, all packaged in a neutral, pleasing palette. Windows, thankfully, are double glazed to keep out noise and have both blinds and curtains to keep out the light.
D 26/28, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110 001. 011/4358-2610, -2620, or -2630. Fax 011/4358-2640. www.hotelpalaceheights.com. reservations@hotelpalaceheights.com. 14 units. Rs 6,000 double. Rate includes breakfast. Taxes extra. DC, MC, V. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; doctor-on-call; room service. In room: A/C, TV, cookies, hair dryer, minibar, Wi-Fi (complimentary).
The Manor If you favor intimate, boutique-style hotels, this is a preeminently classy option, head and shoulders above the Hans Plaza, but it is somewhat inconveniently situated in Friends Colony, a smart residential quarter in the southwestern part of New Delhi. As such it’s a little cut off from the sights and shops, but the neighborhood provides a wonderful respite from the madness and traffic of the city, and if you’re in transit or only here for a couple of nights you won’t need to seek out dining options, as the little restaurant, Indian Accent, has an excellent reputation. Given the over-all elegance, facilities and gracious service (as well as a spirit of generosity typified with free airport transfer and Wi-Fi), and an intimate atmosphere unmatched by the larger city hotels, the standard rooms offer one of the best value deals in town.
77 Friends Colony (West),