The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra

This hotel is nothing short of phenomenal, in a prime location with fantastic staff and sensational food but if you have an allergy, make sure to stay alert. Starting with the location, the property is clearly for those wanting to visit the Taj Mahal and it makes no secret of this. The majority of guests are there for one night only which in all honesty is enough - especially if you can book with extra benefits through Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts and get the guaranteed 4pm checkout like we did. The hotel is the closest (decent) hotel to the Taj Mahal and they have a golf cart shuttle which takes you to the front of the queue early in the morning. This means you can leave slightly later and also not get hounded by touts and guides as you walk down. Because you leave slightly later, you can use the extra time to enjoy the light breakfast, tea and coffee spread they put out for you to take with you which is a lovely touch. Once you return, the breakfast room is ready and what an incredible spread it is. Indian, western, fruit, pastries, meats, breads everything. Get back from the Taj Mahal and go straight to the outside terrace to sit before it fills up. My only concern and negative rating for the hotel goes on what can only be described as a slightly lacklustre approach to allergies, in our case nuts. Breakfast signs next to dishes at the buffet are sometimes incorrect and whilst staff note it down, it isn’t always followed to the highest standard - we were given a bowl of nuts with our drinks at dinner. This also, however, leads me to my biggest positive for the hotel - the staff. In particular Chaitanya, who spent our whole second day making sure everything we ate was to our desired spice level, was varied from the day before and gave us a taste of local delicacies. The guy is a superstar and a real asset to the Oberoi. Outside of this, all of the staff are fantastic, attentive, knowledgeable and polite, making you feel at ease as soon as you enter. The other two most noteworthy call-outs are the food and the beautiful facilities. We ate every meal at the hotel and would do it all over again if we came back. The Indian food is incredible, flavoursome, spiced to your choice and presented amazingly. Although the service at times could be slow to arrive, the food was always top quality and we thoroughly enjoyed our private dinner on our own balcony overlooking the Taj Mahal in what is a very unique experience and is highly recommended if you are happy to pay the steep price. The grounds are spectacular too. Set just metres from what is a busy, bustling town, enough to stress any traveler out, it feels like a sanctuary of quiet and peacefulness with lush green grass to walk on, a temperature controlled pool and picturesque features all around. It’s not big but it doesn’t need to be, in such a prime location. I would recommend this hotel to anyone looking to visit the Taj Mahal but who feels stressed out at the thought of the hustle and bustle surrounding it and has an appetite for luxury.

I can see why one of the best hotels in the world! Amazing location! Right next door to the Taj Mahal and only a golf cart ride away for visiting. Beautiful building with all rooms having views of the Taj Mahal, stunningly beautiful design and lovely pool and facilities. The thing that makes it such an amazing stay is of course also the friendly and helpful and approachable staff and management - nothing is too much trouble

Talib Khan, tourguide was exceptional. My wife and I had the great pleasure of having Talib as our guide visiting Agra and Taj Mahal. Talib is extremely kind, knowing and professional. Talib further is very good with a camera and we have gone home with a perfect life time experience and a long series of very fine photos to remind us about our visit in Agra. My wife and I give Talib our strongest and most sincere recommandations.

We had the most wonderful two days in Agra staying at the Oberoi hotel! We had a small wedding ceremony on site with just me and my now husband! On the second day we went on a tour booked through the hotel with Muzammil Hussain who was our tour guide. He is incredibly knowledgable and such a lovely person to talk to. He organised our tickets, advised us on what to bring and explained so much about the history and architecture of the site which I really appreciated as a lover of history. He was kind enough to ensure that we secured the best price with a photographer who took photos of us along the tour which was very reassuring. We bumped into some friends along the way and he kindly offered to include them in our tour also which was such a lovely gesture. I had been considering exploring the Taj Mahal alone but I am so glad I booked on a tour and that we were lucky enough to have Muzammil as it made the experience even more glorious and enriching! Thank you!

Over all the hotel was amazing!! Some of the staff in the restaurants are slower but that seems to be the norm all over India. Other than that, the staff is so personable and lovely! The staff by the pool are attentive. Golu, the bartender in the bar, is so personable. He really went above and beyond! Loved chatting with him, and he even gave me some cocktail napkins that had the cocktails I ordered on them. Truly a gift!!