The Imperial New Delhi

I stayed at the Imperial Hotel for 6 weeks in August and Sept 2017 so I had an opportunity to take advantage of all the services they offered from the laundry, pool and spa, the restaurants and the bakery. Everything is simply divine!! The staff members are kind, attentive, and offer you the level of service one would expect from a 5-star hotel. The food was amazing at every single restaurant. The hotel concierge organized and booked a day trip for me to Agra by train on the Gutamaan Express and made sure that everything went without a hitch. I felt safe the whole way knowing I was in good hands. I felt so happy and comfortable here. The whole place smells so good. Entering the hotel every day after work was like coming home. I also ordered two cakes as a thank you gift for colleagues from the bakery and those were delicious as well. What can I say? Total perfection from A-Z!!

This artfully decorated hotel is beautiful - from the halls and walkways which are decked with photos and pictures of old India, to lighting and deco that gives you that colonial feeling to wonderful services by the hotel staff 24/7

We couldn't justify staying here when we visited Delhi but as my husband had previously visited with family, it was on our list of "must do's". We had been touring Delhi, Agra and Jaipur and returned to Delhi for our last three nights staying at our fourth hotel. Our final hotel, the claridges in Delhi was a real disappointment so we decided we needed a treat to finish off our trip and visited the imperial hotel for cocktails and food. We ate on the veranda of the 1911 bar/restaurant. Staff were lovely, and cocktails were the best. My husband had one that loosely translated means "give it laldy" which had at least 10 spirits in it. Mine was delicious called "what's next" lots of coriander and chilli, very nice. Food was very good. This was a treat for us. From the minute you enter this building you can see it's very special. I would recommend a visit even if you don't stay here.

We were having a hard time deciding where to stay since the Oberoi was undergoing refurbishment. So we finally picked the Imperial and what a good choice that was. Public areas were spotless. Breakfast in the Wintergarden was a treat every morning. Spicy route was very good and service in general was very good. Also, grounds were beautiful and pool area very nice. And a sense of history pervades the whole property. Only the standard rooms felt a little tired and in need of some update. However in general a very nice hotel and certainly more authentic than the other modern palaces of Delhi.

This British Raj era hotel has remarkably been able to maintain its elegance and stature over the decades. I first stayed here in the 1960's when the rooms were a bit worse for wear. But today this wonderful establishment has been restored to its original elegance, plus modern facilities. It's restaurants , bars and cafes are amongst the best in India. No hotel in New Delhi can match the Imperial on any vector or scale! May I extend that generalisation to across the subcontinent!