Oberoi Amarvilas Hotel, Agra, India

...stop in front of the Oberoi Amarvilas.

FIRST IMPRESSION AND ARRIVAL
Simply stunning. The driveway winds alongside part of the hotel before ending at a courtyard to one side of the hotel. The doorman pointed us up some wide steps, between two huge, carved elephants, and into a covered terrace.

The other side of the the terrace was a large courtyard, filled with square pools, each with a central fountain. Paths ...
...

The Oberoi Amarvilas hotel offers a number of special reasons to stay - service, food, a spa (read on) but it has one thing which few others, if any, have: a view of the Taj. From each and every room. And not just a "Look out there...over the trees...to the right....no, that'a seagull who is very lost...there...see it?" type of view, but a "lie in bed, open eyes, look through the window and there it is" type of ... more

A few weeks back, while we were in Delhi, my dear Mrs V arranged for us to get out of the city for a weekend and go somewhere special.

"Where are we going?" I asked. She wouldn't say.
"Tell me if we're flying somewhere; I would like to do an op of an Indian airline."
"No."
"Does that mean no, we're not flying?"
"It means no, I'm not telling.
"Are we going to see tigers?"
"Not saying."
"Are we going on a train?"

She wouldn't say. So, after several days of fruitless badgering, on the Friday afternoon we piled into the car and set off. We headed away from the airport, but I thought it might be a ploy, so I kept my pen and notebook out. An hour later I realised that we really, really were not going to the airport and around the same time I noticed that we were following signs to Agra.

Sure enough, about three hours after setting off, we were winding our way through the back streets of Agra, and eventually up a nondescript private road, before pulling to a stop in front of the Oberoi Amarvilas.

FIRST IMPRESSION AND ARRIVAL
Simply stunning. The driveway winds alongside part of the hotel before ending at a courtyard to one side of the hotel. The doorman pointed us up some wide steps, between two huge, carved elephants, and into a covered terrace.

The other side of the the terrace was a large courtyard, filled with square pools, each with a central fountain. Paths ran between the pools and, surrounding the courtyard, was a covered passageway, with small seating areas in each corner.

The entrance to the hotel building was to the right, and to get there we had to climb down a few steps into the courtyard then back up to the entrance. It struck me that, magnificent as this was, it would be difficult for someone in a wheelchair.

The lobby area was surprisingly simple; there was a desk to the right, which was staffed; further round to the right were a couple more desks which I later found out were for cashier and concierge. But we didn't need any of them; as we came through the door, a young man in a wonderful local outfit came forward and greeted us by name (how did he know?) and invited us across the lobby to the far side, into a small lounge area filled with chairs and tables.

Having been sat in a car for three hours, we declined the invitation to sit down again but accepted the glasses of freshly squeezed mango juice that were offered. It only took a few minutes to fill in the registration card, sign the form etc. As I handed back the form I glanced out of the window, and saw it. The white shack at the end of the road. The tomb. The Taj Mahal.

"How much do I love thee?" The Stuff of Legend.
Shah Jahan was Emperor of India, a large and rich kingdom. He first met Mumtaz, his wife-to-be, when he was 15 but they were not married until five years later. That she was more than pretty is beyond doubt - poets wrote that, before her, the moon hid its face in shame. They were married for 19 years, in which she gave birth to 14 children but, tragically, she died giving birth to the 14th. On her deathbed, she asked him to build a monument to his love for her.
The Taj Mahal was the mausoleum that Shah Jahan designed for his beloved Mumtaz. It took 10 years to build, is finished in white marble throughout and sits in a garden with four reflecting pools. At sunrise and sunset, it appears to change colour. In the final years of his own life, Shah Jahan was held prisoner by his son in Agra Fort, spending his days gazing at the Taj Mahal. A fakir told Shah Jahan that he would die on the day that his hands did not smell of apples. One day Shah Jahan awoke, sniffed his hands and heaved a sigh of relief. As usual, he looked across the river, at the Taj Mahal, where Mumtaz was at rest forever. He did not see that sunset. When he died, he was buried in the white Taj Mahal, beside his beloved for eternity.

The Oberoi Amarvilas hotel offers a number of special reasons to stay - service, food, a spa (read on) but it has one thing which few others, if any, have: a view of the Taj. From each and every room. And not just a "Look out there...over the trees...to the right....no, that'a seagull who is very lost...there...see it?" type of view, but a "lie in bed, open eyes, look through the window and there it is" type of view. 600 metres away. Unmissable.

THE ROOM
We were escorted to our room. I noticed that all of the rooms were on one side of the corridor only - no prizes for guessing why!

The room was fairly normal, perhaps a tad larger than some of the box rooms that most newly built hotels offer, but it was beautifully furnished, with lots of little extras.

There was the usual double bed, TV cupboard, bedside tables, armchair etc but all were beautifully made, locally crafted and special in some way. The bedside tables had a small pull-out tray for drinks; next to the armchair was a magazine rack; there were decorative bits and bobs on the desk; the bedside lights were unusually pretty and well crafted; there was a small coffee table of marble, inlaid with coloured stone. But best of all, without a doubt, was the view through the window, across the magnificent, terraced pool gardens, straight to the Taj Mahal itself. And on the balcony were two chairs, so we could sit together and watch the sunset over Shah Jahan's monument to love everlasting.

The bed was quite high, soft but comfy. There was a minibar under the TV cabinet, but with a limited range of alcohol. The desk was well placed for working, but I decided that - this weekend - it would be more than my life was worth if I whipped out my laptop and composed a few emails.

In the cupboard was a DVD player and, by the bed, was a catalogue of DVDs available to borrow for the evening. There were over 50, ranging from recent hits to old classics.

The bathroom, too, was extra luxurious. There was a marble topped sink, scattered with rose petals, and a box full of the usual condiment - nail file, cotton buds etc. The full size bath tub had an overhead shower. There was a small table next to the tub, also with a sprinkling of rose petals, and blue, glass bottles of shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. These were made by a local ayurvedic company. The shampoo and the shower gel both smelled wonderful - fresh and spicey!

Having settled into the room, I picked up the spa brochure for a look at the massages available. After all, if I was to be pampered, why not stretch out and let a nice young lady get to work on me!

THE SPA
The Spa booklet offered page after page of treatments, from facials, manicures, pedicures, peels, exfoliation, body wraps and more. There were two full pages of massages including Jet Lag, Re-energising, Relacing, Thai, Shiatsu and even a Twin Massage, with two masseuses working simultaneously in harmony - there IS a Heaven!

I phoned down and booked my massage for later that afternoon. When I wandered down, at the appointed time, I found myself relaxing almost as soon as I stepped out of the lift into a corridor scented with incense and oils. I turned into the Spa and was welcomed by two charming young ladies, one Indian and one from Thailand. I was pointed to a changing room with lockers, baskets full of bottles of shampoo and shower gel and thick towels piled high. After a brisk shower, feeling and smelling refreshed, I went back to the reception and followed my Thai masseuse into the massage room.

I was first invited to sit in a chair, where she washed my feet in a bowl of water with rose petals. Perhaps she didn't trust my shower technique? From there I was invited onto the massage bed, she selected an aromatic oil and there followed fifty minutes of bliss! I had opted for the jetlag massage; whether it really cures jetlag, I don't know, but when she had finished I felt less tense, several knots in my neck and shoulders had been untied and I emerged a happier chap!

She then invited me back into the Spa area, where I could enjoy a sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, or just lie back on a recliner, which I did while she brought me a fresh lime soda.

The Spa is one of the "Leading Spas of the World" group, and understandably so. The masseuses are trained, apparently, at the Banyan Tree Academy in Thailand, not only in traditional Thai massage but also in Indian Ayurvedic techniques, aromatherapy and more.

FOOD AND DRINK
This was the only area where I felt disappointed. There was a choice of just two restaurants, one of which was closed for renovation, and in the one working restaurant the service, while very warm and friendly, was extremely slow.

Both restaurants are located on the ground floor. To get to them, from the lift, you have to go up a few steps, across a small watercourse, and back down a few steps, then left for the main Bellevue restaurant or right to the Esphahan. This adds to the atmosphere and grandeur, but I can imagine would be somewhat awkward for anyone of limited mobility, or a pain in the bum for anyone unable to walk.

The Bellevue is the main restaurant, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It looks out onto a verandah which overlooks the stunning pool terraces, which resemble how I have always imagined the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The menu is not very wide, but the food - when it eventually comes - is plentiful and delicious. My lunchtime Chicken Kathi Roll was huge, enough for two, and just mouthwatering! The service, while impeccable, was slow - which is inexcusable when there were only three or four occupied tables. Other than that, superb.

The Esphahan was sadly closed, so we never ate there.

The Lobby Lounge is decribed as a "Tea Lounge" and offers drinks and tea/coffee. We only passed through.

OTHER FACILITIES
The Hotel has meeting Rooms and conference facilities for up to 150 guests. But who cares, the Taj Mahal is next door!

The outdoor pool is stunning. The landscaped gardens are Hanging Babylon-like, descending on each side in stepped terraces, split by narrow canals. The pool is mostly outdoor but one end slips under romaneque columns into a covered area, decorated with greco-roman paintings.

There was a small pavilion of shops, the standard hotel retailers, with a good selection of local handicrafts, souvenirs, books, magazines etc. The prices were expectedly high, though not much higher than the shops in Agra centre.

The Hotel offers complimentary transportation - by golf cart, no less! - direct from the front door to the Taj Mahal entrance. Our driver asked us when we wanted him to pick us up and we agreed a time. When we came out, suitably bowled over, we had a moment's panic as he was not there, and we could see at least five hundred touts, post card vendors, "guides", "My brother has a shop.." people etc bearing down on us. However, a few seconds later we saw our chap emerge from behind a rickshaw; he was right on time, and rescued us from the hoard of vultures!

SERVICE
It was impeccable, almost, throughout. All of the staff looked well turned out, were friendly and helpful without being overly familiar, and only too willing.

On arrival we were escorted to the room, the facilities were explained and the host invited us to contact him if we need any help at all. As he left I tried to tip but he declined and said that we should not tip during our stay. If we wanted to leave a gratuity it should be left in an envelope at reception.

From the chap who drove us in the golf cart to the Taj, to the waiters at the slow restaurant, everyone was helpful, pleasant and welcoming. I can't fault it.

THE WALLET DAMAGE
Strictly speaking I wasn't supposed to know how much it cost. However, I got the credit card bill!

During the quieter summer months, the Oberoi group have some great special offers at a number of their wonderful hotels around India. My dear Mrs V availed of one of these, which made my card scream to the tune of Rs41,000 (Indian Rupees) for three nights, full board, including one 60 minute spa treatment each day, transfers and taxes. This equates to US$1,000 or GB£525, for three days inclusive. Not cheap, but very good value.

SUMMARY
If you are visiting India, the Taj Mahal is a must.
If you do go, then you won't do better than staying here.

For the hotel, design, views, rooms, service, 5*****
One star lost for the dining, but who cares, it still gets 5!
 

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