The Taj Mahal Hotel

The Taj Mahal Hotel

Ask for a room on one of the upper floors at Taj Mahal, New Delhi, and the leafy boulevards of Lutyens Delhi unfold beneath the window, a reminder that this address sits within walking distance of India Gate, the National Gallery of Modern Art and Lodhi Garden. The hotel recently completed a full renovation, and its 213 rooms and suites across eleven floors now carry that polish. Diplomats and business travellers cross paths here with leisure guests, which fits a property built around six restaurants and bars: Machan for all-day international plates, House of Ming for Cantonese, Sichuan and Hunan cooking, Varq for modern Indian food, Emperor Lounge, Captain's Cellar for wine, and Ricks' for cocktails. What sets this hotel apart from its Delhi peers is less visible: air purification systems installed throughout the entire property, a detail that matters on the city's harder air days. The Chambers, India's premier business club, gives corporate guests a serious working base, while the outdoor heated pool, gym, sauna, steam room and J Wellness Circle spa cover the slower hours. Family rooms, highchairs and babysitting service mean parents are not an afterthought, though anyone travelling with a pet should look elsewhere, since none are allowed. Wi-Fi runs free throughout, and the staff includes English and Turkish speakers as part of a wider multi-language team. The property also carries EarthCheck certification, for guests who track that sort of thing. This is not a quiet retreat from Delhi. It is Delhi, distilled into eleven floors, and it makes no apology for that. Central New Delhi hotel with air-purified interiors, six in-house restaurants and views over Lutyens' boulevards. It suits diplomats and business travellers who want the city close, not families chasing a quiet retreat, and not anyone travelling with a pet.