Description: Set in the heart of Delhi, The Claridges is a semi-posh hotel featuring 137 rooms on three floors. More importantly, it is peaceful, secure (set within a walled compound), and close to the historic sites, shopping areas, and restaurants of India’s capital city. It lies 35 minutes by car from the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Built in the 1950s, The Claridges offers rooms in several price ranges. We stayed in a Club Room (40 sq. meters), which cost about $225 a night and featured a large bedroom with a separate seating area where one could lounge on a couch while watching the plasma TV or work at the desk. The Claridges offers some rooms that are very newly renovated but ours did not fall in that category.
High speed wireless internet access is available in the rooms and the baths are fully equipped with robes and hairdryers. More importantly (at least to me), our room was quiet and the bed was comfortable. My only problem was that during the night, it seemed the air conditioner thermostat was adjusted up so I often awoke overheated. (We were there in February.)
Service at The Claridges was a bit spacey but all rooms and public areas were immaculately serviced and there were exquisite arrangements of flowers tucked in corners throughout the hotel. We particularly enjoyed having a drink each night in the hotel’s "Space Age" style bar Aura, which specializes in vodka from throughout the world. It was fun to watch Delhi’s elite do deals here.
The Claridges also has a health club, which we had no time to try but we did sample three of its restaurants and enjoyed a buffet breakfast included in the price of our room. Though we loved the breakfast (I’d never before sampled watermelon juice, which was superb), the restaurants were overpriced for what you got.
Our first day in Delhi, we tried lunch at Pickwick’s (continental cuisine) and though we both just sandwiches and salads, our bill came to almost $100 (two people). Later on during our stay, we sampled Dhaba (Northern Indian) and Jade (Chinese). Though the meal at Dhaba was good, it was not worth the cost and at Jade, the prices were even higher and the food merely adequate.
From what I’ve read, Delhi suffers from a lack of hotels so apparently, its hoteliers are in the driver’s seat when it comes to prices. That said, several new hotels are in the pipeline so when they open, hopefully prices will fall some and visitors will have more choices on where to stay and eat in India’s capital city.
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