I happened to visit agra sometimes in may 2008, the peak of summers in north india.since during that time I had my holidays, we decided to go to lucknow via agra, by road in our car from delhi.
Its one of our knowns, who is currently working with the jaypee group of hotels , and currenlty he was in jaypee palace, agra.he insisted upons us to make a visit to the hotel, to have a five star experience, and that too with the known hospitality of the jaypee.
When we were just around the periphery of agra, which of course, is a tourist centric place, we could see the signboards of the hotel everywhere, at distances of every 500 metres, so that on could never lose his way to hotel.that actually, turns out to be good for the hotel, because people have a tendency to go for a place which is well marked, rather than wasting time, looking around for places in a whloe new city.
Now, speaking about the hotel, its well situated, just next to the taj mahal, and the hotel does arrange for the trips to the taj for its guests.the hotel is built on a large expanse covering almost 30 acres in utmost opulency.the hotel compound is covered with greenery to the highest degree.
As soon as we entered the gate of the hotel, our car was frisked by the guards, as its a routine check.i believe that they must have tightened their security after the taj and the trident incident.ithe driveway is huge which leads up to the grand reception.speaking about the architecture of the hotel, its a perfect blend of mughal and modern indian architecture.the hotel seems to have an inspiration from the ancient mughal era, to be prescise.
The hotel in all has 341 rooms, including 13 suites and 40 executive rooms.all the rooms are fully equipped and reflect the high standards of jaypee.i came to know that the presidential suite was at rs 2lac a night.
As soon as ur car arrives at the reception, the durban, in the traditional pathani dress, opens the door of your car, he also happens to be the valet.dont forget to give him a nice tip afterwards!!
The door opens for a completely different world inside.calm, cool, serene.u are welcomed by the hotel staff and then a light drink is served before u make ur reservations and do the other formalities.the whole lobby was filled with lavander, which was a relief from the bustle of delhi.
The hotel inside is very big.red sand stones, marbles and modern indian architecture has been used to do the interior designing of the hotel.the hotel has got all kinds of facilities to pamper u.be it the spa, gyms or jaccuzis and swimming pools.u can even stroll in the huge lawn and have a walk with nature.
Now again, about the lobby, they are huge with expensive art pieces hanging on the walls.u could also notice the local puppet show and the local folk songs being held inside the very lobby.
Talking about the dining , the hotel has an awadhi restaurant called -the spice pavillion, which serves the delectable awadhi platters, but it just opens in the night, so one has to wait till the time its opened.and also, it doent seat people more than the chairs offerred by it.
Then the 24 multicuisine coffee shop-pavillion cafe.get to taste varieties of coffee from all round the world.
The bar is called -on the rocks, which serves u with almost any drink u name.
It even has a special multicuisine restaurant-the grand buffet, which is my favourite.if u get confused with the names of the dishes , the hotel staff is there to help u.also, they serve avion water, the purest on earth(must have seen bipasha asking for it in bachna ae haseeno).
The food quality is excellent, and the cleanliness is worth experiencing.even the washrooms for that instance.the restaurant is overlooking the water body inside the hotel compound.
I even saw the summit room, remember the agra summit of 2001 where musharraf and a b vajpayee met?It was in the same room.the ambience of the hotel, including the restaurants was just perfect, and the hotel is completely picturesque during the night time.
As I had said earlier, the hotel arranges for the trips to the taj mahal, it happened with us to.we were given a vip entrance to the taj, here we didnt have to stand in the long queues waiting for the people to buy tickets.just get down at the parking, board the electric bus, go to the taj and come back.
After we had visited the taj, we returned to the hotel.the valet is very quick, he immediately had our car at the entrance, and even told us that we had forgotten to carry our cell phone with us.quite reliable!Then after handing him his tip, since we had little time left , we left the hotel.
Now , if you happen to go to agra, and want a five star accommodation, jaypee palace and convention hall is what you are looking for, you definitely get what you pay for.
