new delhi hotels---moderate, but comfortable
 

i find the hotel prices in delhi to be outrageous... we have been there before and will return, probably, next year....

looking for suggestions for comfortable mid-range hotels around new delhi. don't want B&B's but don't want imperials either.... maybe 4,000-7,000 with breakfast

We stayed at the Hotel Roi in Pahraganj and only paid $70 USD a night. We liked it alot. Very clean, new and modern. I discribe it on my trip report.
The area looks sketchy at first but isnt. I walked by myself to the subway and market. The staff and resteraunt were good.

http://delhihotelsleroi.com/paharganj-india.php

The Amber in south Delhi gets terrific reviews on Trip Adviser; we thought of staying there, but as we're only going to be in Delhi for two nights, wanted a more central location (we're making our first trip to India on 11/26--but I did an obsessive amount of research while planning). There was a report from a Fodorite sometime over the summer who stayed there and reported it as living up to all the reports on TA...but the location isn't central.

One thing to bear in mind is that trying to look at hotel prices more than a 6 months to a year out may not really give you an accurate picture of what prices are going to be closer to your travel dates. However, also bear in mind that India did not have a recession in the last 3 years like the US did; their economy is still humming along, and therefore prices are too (ask locals about inflation if you want a conversation starter).

That being said, a few people on this board seem to have liked the B Nineteen hotel, which I believe is along the lines of a B&B, but an upscale one (http://www.bnineteen.com/). I have not seen it, but have asked some local New Delhians about it, who are aware of it for its architectural significance. It is in southeast New Delhi basically next door to Nizamuddin Station and not far from the Oberoi hotel. It is also quite close to Humayun's Tomb. The neighborhood is fairly upper-middle-class residential (Mark Tully apparently lives in the area, which is one reason I would want to try this hotel). There is no subway in the area, but you could take a taxi to most areas rather inexpensively, areas like Connaught Place, Defence Colony and the Dilli Haat market area are probably 20 minutes or so by car with daytime traffic.

One of my sisters was in India in February, and stayed at the Tara Palace (see http://www.tarapalacedelhi.com/). She thought it was fine, although it seemed a little basic to me, but it is hard to beat the location very near the Friday Mosque and the Red Fort. The prices should be a bit below your 4,000-7,000 range.

One other thing to consider is staying in Noida or Gurgaon, which are suburbs of New Delhi to the south and east of the airport. If you plan to do a lot of sightseeing in New or Old Delhi, then these probably are going to be a bit inconvenient, although several hotels would be close to the new HUDA Metro station in Gurgaon, and it may work well to use it to go into and out of New or Old Delhi (I have not taken the line all the way to Gurgaon, so can’t speak about how long the journey would take.) See hotels like the Crowne Plaza Gurgoan, the Park Plaza (http://www.parkplaza.com/gurgaonin) or the quite nice Country Inn & Suites Gurgaon (see http://www.countryinns.com/hotels/indcigs.) If you have or want to collect Marriott points, the Courtyard Marriott Gurgaon is also quite close to the metro station, and is brand new and very nice. None of these hotels are in “neighborhoods” really, they edge corporate parks, housing estates and malls which have come up in the area in the last 10 years or so. So there is not much to see in the immediate area; however they should be cheaper than downtown New Delhi hotels of equivalent standard. By car, you are looking at about an hour to get to Old or New Delhi, so if the subway is faster, these could be a good choice; otherwise if you plan to do a lot of sightseeing in New or Old Delhi, these are probably not good choices. (They are close to several FabIndia shops, however, if this is an interest).

http://www.hotelpalaceheights.com/

I had my eye on this for next trip to New Delhi, in an area I love(d). You can't get more central than this for New Delhi, and at least as of now, fits into your required budget, and is a hotel, not a homestay/b and b.

Connaught area was a mess of construction debris this past June, in prep for infrastructure improvements prior to October's Commonwealth Games. By now should be cleaned up and restored to its original beautiful British colonial look (which is what i recalled from a trip in the ancient day of 1971).

fabulous suggestions....i have already looked at the marriott courtyard, but will look at the others and the B&B's too.... we have seen the sights...we just want to shop and we will have a driver...

I don't know whether you'd consider it closer to a BB than a hotel but the Lutyens Bungalow seems to match your requirements well. It also goes by its slightly less popular name Nath bungalow.

We stayed at the Lalit and wouldn't hesitate to return

clark, i have looked at that place and it looks interesting, i shall take another look

Bob, have you checked out the Shangri-La? Look at their specials, as they are usually much better priced than the regular rates. I found it to be just as convenient and the rooms just as comfortable (though not as trendy) as the Oberoi.

i did look today but its really too soon for my dates...thanks...

see you next week

Bob - Just a thought -- it might be lovely to fly most places, but drive from Jodhpur to Udaipur through the Aravelli Hills. About half the drive is highway, but then when you get closer to Udaipur, the road veers off into hills with rural villages, monkeys, the Ranakpur Temple, and the Kumbhelgarh Fort. It will take about five-six hours, but the time is well worth it.

(My post about Dogster has been shut down. I guess I've scored many coups on Fodor's.)

you are not alone in having posts removed....

thanks for these suggestions....

i am now thinking about flying to udiapur and having the driver meet us there and then work our way back to delhi through 3 other cities/areas and finish up for a few days at neemrana fort palace...

i just get so discouraged looking for indian hotels....the prices are just so outrageous....they are getting more middle ground hotels each year but they do not come fast enough.... we hope to be trying some other heritage hotels this time too.. neemrana is fantastic... i see no reason to pay oberoi prices, but we can't stay in dumps either...

Rhkkmk, I'm not understanding the discouragement over reasonable places to stay in India. There are many, many places between the "dump" level and the Oberoi level.

Do also check sites like Expedia. I recently found the wonderful 5* ITC Maurya in New Delhi, in January, for less than $200/night. True, that was rare, and probably for a limited availability ....but fantastic deals do occasionally appear in even the high priced places.

will do cali

i should also say that i would be very pleased with a $125 hotel but i think they do not exist with the comforts we need

did you look at Le ROi hotel?

Bob, you've probably already done this but if you haven't use the hotel price comparison sites like www.hotelscombined.com and
www.comparior.com

Using these 2 websites I put in random dates for next May because I don't know when your dates are and the Meridien came up for 140 dollars which isn't bad.
We booked the Lalit last year through www.otel.com and thought that for the price of 135 US$ it was a steal. If we had booked it on the hotels own website the price for the same room was 220 US$ nearly double so hunt around.

Last year our hotel prices were as follows

Lalit in Dehli 135US$ per night with breakfast
Ganges View- Varanasi 69US$
Sheraton - Agra 130US$ with breakfast
Umaid Mahal - Jaipur 60US$ with breakfast (Best Butter chicken in India)
Ratan Vilas - Jodhpur 55US$ with breakfast
Jagat Niwas Palace - Udaipur 75US$ with breakfast

We were the same last year, we couldn't believe the prices. Mumbai was the worst, everyone kept saying don't stay at the beach area but at least we got the Marriott that was reasonable.Varanasi is also expensive but it's only worth going there if you get a hotel on ther river and there's not that many hence the high prices for a guesthouse. I think you'll find that in the other areas you can get good hotels for less we loved the hotels in Jaipur, Jodhpur & Udaipur.

Bob, I think you also posted a request for havelis for your trip, and Dogster has created a fairly extensive one that he referred me sometime in late May or early June when I was organizing our November trip. I don't know if you can still call it up, but it was interesting and helpful--as was so often the case with Dogster. I do miss his postings. Our travel agent, Ajay at Yatrik, actually referred us to a number of the same ones, and I'll try to find his in my file and post it.

We've booked high--middle--and low middle for our trip, but I know when I first started looking at the hotel prices in Delhi, I thought we might not be able to make the trip--and part of me wishes that we hadn't booked as many "high" as we have. But as the dollar seems to be going down again, and we just sent in our final payment, we may be getting a better deal for a kind of posh trip than would be possible for sometime to come.

Will be interested to see what you decide on.

520--i think you are going to be at ITC Mughal in Agra? We loved it, but i just read that there is now extensive renovation in the lobby. It wouldn't be quite the same in that case. Do have your TA check.

I bookmarked this a while back. Hope it's helpful:

fodors.com/community/asia/dogsters-list-of-secret-treasures.cfm

thanks for all this help...

it does not help that we will be going in nov/dec when i fear the prices are at their highest

A friend of mine from India likes Jan-Feb best. Of course, we ignored her and went in Nov-Dec.

Thanks Cali; we are staying at the ITC Mughal. I've read that the lobby is being worked on, but as we're only there one night, I don't think I'm going to try to change out reservations. We'll be getting up early to try to see the Taj at sunrise (although I've read that at in November, it may be covered in fog in the early morning hours). We'll take our shots, I think.

Taj Mahal in morning will very likely be grey sky--either fog or haze. We had the same haze in June . I have a feeling to see the true, clear-skied sunset or sunrise pink colors is more unusual than not.

Will you arrive early enough the previous day to indulge in their huge spa? I iwish we'd have had the time for that! But we ended u p spending hours at the Fort--an amazing place!!!

The restaurant downstairs from the lobby is called Peshawri(I think) and the food was super.I believe this is a slightly lower priced (fortunately!) version of the same Northwest food at the famous Bukhara Restaurant at ITC Maurya.

The main important thing is you are getting to taj Mahal VERY early!!!!I was just looking at my photos, and it was interesting: I could time them by how many other people were in the background. When we first arrived, there were ten other tourists max--one Indian family at the start of school holidays-- and the emptiness made it so serene. Mind you, this was June (and HOT) and there were fewer visitors than will be there at peak tourist season.
The buffet bkfast at ITC Mughal was super, the restaurant must've been open very early, as we ate there before leaving to Taj Mahal. As you go down the staris from the lobby, make a left into the sunny , airy dining room; the dining room on the right is darker, and for tour groups. (A manager politely and gentley steered us to the right one after seeing us at the chai urn!)
ONe other tip: you will be approached at TM , jus as you get inside the gates, by guys who want to take your photos.. They'll say "no obligation" and that is true. But the prices (after a bit of bargaining) were so inexpensive, and the little included album such a sweet keepsake, even with our own photos, that we bought it--it's a reminder e of the day, and the young enthusiastic guy who took the photos, including one of my daughter leaping in the air with TM in background.
And to keep in perspective the kids selling postcards, magnets, books, etc--our driver said, "At least they are working to earn money...instead of gong begging out on the street." ANd those cheap magnets make great easy-to-carry souvenirs for home!!

i.e. the mg steered us to the correct , non-tour group bkfst buffet.
There's a little passage from the hallway leading out straight ahead of the lobby, with stairs going up to a small terrace with a swing seat, where you can see Taj in the distance, across the roofs of the city. ANd lucky you will be there at a cooler time of yr, and be able to stroll on thelawn walks, or stay up in this little parapet, without baking in 110 degree temp!!

Oh--and make a point of seeing the lobby bathroom with its white marble and inlaid flower pattern, modeled after Taj mahal idea. It was the first, and probably last, time i took a photo of the floor of a public bathroom!! (-:

Can you tell I'm envious!!!!!????? YOu're gonna love your trip.