Need advice on hotel in Agra. I just got a quote $159 for the Gateway Hotel. 5th floor Taj View for 2 nights. Is that a good deal? Should I go ahead and make this reservation.

I have posted this earlier in another message too. There was no response so I am posting just this separately.

If you are looking to book for February or March then its a good deal. If your are looking after March then I would suggest you to skip Gateway Hotel and look for some options.
Thanks

Personally, I would only stay at the Oberoi Amarvilas in Agra and to hell with the expense. It's like heaven on a stick, about 500 metres from the Taj and every room has a view of the Taj.

We stayed in el-cheapo hotels/B&B's/guesthouses in India with the exception or Agra.

And we have NEVER regretted the expense of the Amavilas! For two nights we lived like royalty!

This hotel was formerly known as the Taj View hotel, and is run by the Taj Group. (“Gateway” is their new name for their 4-star brand hotels.) I have reccod this hotel many times. Yes, I think that is a good deal and a good location. You cannot walk to the Taj, but it is near some interesting old town areas. I would agree that for the price the Oberoi is worth it, you may want to check the prices just to see what they are currently compared to the Gateway, as prices have come down quite a bit in India generally, and if you are in low season, even more. The advantage of the Oberoi are that you can walk to the Taj and the old town areas surrounding it, it has a much closer view, and it has balconies.

Sorry, I guess I should say that I don't think it is the greatest price currently going, as you can probably get other hotels for less, but for the hotel and the location is pretty good. The Mughal (a Sheraton) is probably cheaper or about the same, but has no Taj views from the rooms and it really reminds me of a US motel, although it has nice grounds.

Thank you Mitch, TravelIndia and Cicerone. Amarvilas was coming upto $400 a night and it is way out of our budget. The only other two which came with Taj View are Gateway and Shiraz. They said Shiraz was a much older hotel and was a little run down. So we looked at Gateway. We will be there in June. That was the same price on expedia, make my trip, and the Hotels site.

Can you all give any suggestions for stay at Ranthambore for 1 night, and Jaipur 2 nights in June.

Thank You!

i had very good luck with the sheraton and it is in a good location not far from taj...

look on the sheraton site for deals including AAA and senior rates

Thank you. I went to the Sheraton site and got a $210 (2 nights) at Jaipur Sheraton Rajputana. It is an internet rate. No discounts. I am quite a few yrs away from availing senior discount. The internet booking cannot be cancelled or changed.

Mughal Sheraton was fine. No Taj from the room but great observation deck

The <i>Jaipur</i> Sheraton Rajputana is of course a completely different hotel from the Mughal, which is the hotel in Agra run by Sheraton, so hopefully you want to stay at the Sheraton when you are in Jaipur. Otherwise, you might want to just stick with the Gateway in Agra, as perhpas you meant to say you got a US$210 rate for the Mughal Sheraton in Agra.

Gateway at Agra for $150 for 2 nights

Sheraton Rajputana at Jaipur $210 for 2 nights

Ranthambore- we loved the Sher Bagh. Lovely tents with great marble bathrooms, organic food from their own gardens. English breakfasts, Italian lunches and Indian dinner. Tea for the guests in the afternoon and live music certain nights.
Excellent service, and they are very good at getting seats on the jeeps (vs the larger shuttles) for the rides.

Glad that you decided not to spring for the bucks to stay at Amarvilas. We stayed there last November and thought that it was way, way overrated. The rooms are on the small side, and the furnishings were hardly lavish. (We did enjoy our stays at other Oberoi properties in Ranthambhore and Udaipur however.) Much has been written about the Taj Mahal view from Amarvilas, but do keep in mind that the monument is not lit at night and most tourists to Agra spend daylight hours at the Taj and nearby sights!! We had friends who stayed at the Sheraton Mughal, and they raved about the hotel's lovely landscaped grounds. Have a great time!

Our family stayed at the Taj hotel last year(I quess you are saying the Gateway now?) and loved it. The location was perfect,accomodations terrific and we had a view of the Taj from the distance which we enjoyed.
I know you will die when I say this but we stayed at the closest edge of Ranthambhore(sp?) park in a family style hostel hotel for $30 a night. My son who is working in India picked it out and it actually was perfect for the early morning safaris,had a decent restaurant and gift shop ,etc.The staff was very nice and the grounds in the back backed up to the part for some nice views.

Hello,

I am back after trying to research a little more on the hotels. We are looking at Gateway Taj in Agra, Tiger Den or Pug Mark in Ranthambore, Alsisar haveli in Jaipur.

Can you please give me your opinions on these choices.

Its about $250 for 2 nights at Jaipur, 160 for 2 nights at Agra and $165 for Tiger Den, $132 for Pug mark in Ranthambore.

Only in Ranthambore, Bfast, lunch and dinner are included. In Agra, Bfast is included and nothing at Jaipur.

Thank you for your help!

Taj Gateway is basically the Taj View Agra which has been re-branded by the Taj group now.

Rates - I think the rates you got are slightly higher - I would peg the rates there around USD 120/130 for a superior Taj view rooms for winters (till 15 April) - and even lower after 16 April.

You can also try Tirdent of the Oberoi group which is a nice hotel and has good rates.

In Ranthambore try the Taj Sawaimadhopur Lodge unless you can afford the Oberoi Vanyavilas or the Aman-I-Khas.

In Jaipur a very good value for money hotel is Shahpura House...and other good value places are Trident, Radisson and Country Inn and Suites.

All the best

holikurry. let me clear that Radisson is not in Jaipur. Always think twice before giving suggestion.

Don't bother staying at the Mansing Hotel in Jaipur-they lost my son's identification(his driver's license) and he is American but lives and works in India right now so he could not get another one till he came home a year later.This was upon checkin and then they proceeded to deny it the whole time there.he finds that in India and traveling around it is nice to have both his passport and driver's license for photo ID clarification.
We spent so much time trying to get the police to help us(think of an Indian version of Mayberry) and the whole thing was such a sham.The hotel staff lied numerous times to us and I will say that it really ruined our stay in Jaipur for the amount of time trying to find out where it went-never did get it back.

I would like to say that if you are in Ranthambore and would like to support the economy and help the tigers in the park to stop by the women of the arts there called Dastkar-(www.Dastkar.org). They have a small shop near the Tiger Den hotel in town but the really nice shop is outside from the park about 3 miles away(cab it). We found beautiful things there to take home to friends and family and it not only supports the various families in the coop but also encourages non-poaching in the park of the tigers.
We bought everything from tiger material sleep pants to jewelry,purses,decorative things for your home,etc.It was VERY reasonable and to see them working on the actual things that they are making is very interesting.

I am back only to comment about TravelIndia...

Travelindia - you may be a travel agent of sorts but let me remind and correct you - Radison group Hotel in Jaipur is Called Country Inn & Suites .

Gosh - I wonder how you designate yourself as TravelIndia - when you are not aware of the facts yourselves....Heavens help people who take advise from you.