More about The Claridges Hotel Delhi
best to avoid this hotel - go to Oberoi instead
by TripAdvisor Member travellers_k-s
My husband and I would not recommend the Claridges hotel. We stayed there for 3 nights (because we got a good deal), but it was not worth it. The front desk staff will try and scam you into upgrading your room and paying more in the luxury tax (12.5%). They overcharged us when we checked out by lying and saying the rack rate had changed for the whole hotel on our last night. It was extremely unprofessional and frustrating.
Other negatives: the breakfast is not that good, the pool is dirty and not chlorinated (we were really disappointed about not being able to swim), the gym is small. We needed to call a particular cab company and the hotel kept trying to make us take one of the taxis that is based at their hotel.
Some positives: our room was very large and clean, the Jade restaurant was just lovely.
If you decide to stay at The Claridges, please be prepared to put up a fight and expect to be taken advantage of.
We spent our last two nights in Delhi at the Oberoi Hotel (on golf course) and even though it cost a bit more, it is in a totally superior class. Everything was up front and absolutely perfect. We highly recommend booking here instead!
Claridges - staff excellent , treat you like a Viscount
by TripAdvisor Member Barti
Stayed in The Claridges for 4 days. Excellent in every way; attentive friendly staff, scrupulously clean, excellent restaurant choices (Italian, Indian, Chinese ), trendy Vodka Bar ( especially on Wednesday and Friday). Taxi service was inexpensive and prompt, notwithstanding the infamous Delhi traffic. UN personnel guests brought added security checks, but it will be my home from home on future trips.
great experiance
by TripAdvisor Member BananaRepublic
i had checked into the hotel mid october for 3 nights and i must say that it was quite good experiance.
The staff was really nice and helpful.the rooms were excellent and were much beter than the rooms at the Taj or the Oberoi. I guess since the renovation has been done on the rooms the hotel had done a fabulous job. I celebrated my birthday along with my wife at the heotel must i say without my giving any such hints they organised an excellent dinner for the both of us with a bottle of wine along with the staff and the general manager's compliments. Recommend all to visit atleat once.
A nightclub, not a hotel
by TripAdvisor Member 7J1AIL
Any hotel review in New Delhi should be prefaced with the caveat that "India Rising" has prompted a flood of business visitors into the Indian capital from all over the world. As a result, when it comes to quality hotel rooms it is a seller's market. Thus visitors should have no illusions that a $500/night room will get them value you'd find at a Four Seasons, Shangri-La or any other top tier Asian facility.
When it comes to The Claridges potential lodgers should be aware that the hotel was recently sold (locals tell me that the family which sold it had been feuding and the place was allowed to deteriorate). However, the new owners still have a long way to go to get this place up to acceptable standards.
When making my reservation I specifically asked not to be located near the ground floor Aqua vodka bar which is infamous for its blaring house music into the wee hours. You guessed it -- I was booked onto the ground floor about half way down the corridor. The floor of the hallway is marble and the corridor is arched, thus forming a wonderful acoustic amplifier. If you and a friend want to hold a conversation at opposite ends of the hallway, you will have no problem. If it's past midnight and you are trying to sleep ahead of an important morning business meeting then you will be miserable. The bass from the music can be clearly heard and inebriated patrons outside the door to Aqua or in the lobby will be audible inside your room.
Yes, I did complain several times, but to little avail. Bluntly, the owners need to decide if they want to run a hip nightclub or an acceptable hotel.
Those who also find an internet connection a priority in their hotel will be disappointed. The hotel offers a pay-as-you-go wi-fi service that is unreliable. The hotel also charges an extortionist 875 rupees per day for a 24-hour-long connection. That's nearly $20! I don't think I've ever paid that much at any hotel in the world and is certainly beyond the pale for a hotel in India with a sporadic connectibility. An alternative is to hunt down a staff member to log you on to one of the three computers in the business center for which they will also charge you.
Other concerns: the key card for the door seemed to de-magnetize every couple of days or so. Cigarette smoke and other undesirable odors from the room adjacent to mine wafted in through the vents. The toilet paper dispenser was situated behind the toilet lid meaning some tricky maneuvers to comfortably carry out operations. Stained carpet in the room. Towels and bedsheets that smelled of smoke or had stains. The morning tea at the breakfast buffet tastes more like coffee (pots obviously interchangeable, ask for your own pot of hot water and tea bags instead).
After several days here, I remarked to colleagues that staying at The Claridges was a part-time job in itself.
On the positive side: the food is good in the restaurants. Wait staff are polite and efficient except for the infrequent glitch in orders. There's a Sunday brunch served on the front lawn. Aqua has the best selection of vodkas in New Delhi which you'll be able to enjoy before the DJ arrives and blasts you out of the bar. The hotel is centrally located.
I previously stayed at the nearby Taj Ambassador which had a lower rate (not sure if that's the case any longer) and would recommend that over The Claridges. Unless you are hostage to this hotel as part of a tour package or can secure a room elsewhere besides the ground floor, you will definitely desire to give this place a pass at all costs, especially at the rates they are quoting these days.
GREAT PLACE TO STAY
by TripAdvisor Member zaraatullall
Am i glad that i decided to stay in a hotel that is safe, central and good in all respects.
the service is amongst the best i have experienced, staff is polite and helpful - nothing is too much. Their new restaurant, Saveilla, is to die for. the food is out of this world (book well in advance). the hotel is partty refurbished, a few dollars more is well worth it as they have all the great features.
The breakfast at the senate (only for new club rooms) is superlative.
We were there for 5 days and really enjoyed it.
Did not like this hotel!
by TripAdvisor Member KatarinaEurope
Did not enjoy our stay in this hotel!
It started while we were checking in: Internet booking clearly stated in writing that the rate of the room per day was 149:- USD per day, but they tried to charge 300:- USD per day!
The pool was not as attractive as it could have been; art deco type of rooms might be fashionable in Delhi, but it is not the style we are looking for while staying in a hotel.
All together: not impossible place to stay, but definitely not a place where I would stay again!
Food poisoning plus other problems. Buyer beware!
by TripAdvisor Member visitor18
To begin with...a number of problems that other reviewers have already noted:
- the swimming pool and sorrounding area does not seem to have been updated since the 1950s, or thereabouts
- I was initially given a room that looked on to a wall a few feet away, despite prior assurances via email that an internet booking did not mean getting the leftover rooms no one else wanted.
- the room rate was very high relative to quality of amenities, and inferior to what other similarly priced hotels can offer in Asia (e.g Four Seasons). And to make matters worse, tax was charged on the rack rate, not the actual room rate I was paying (this was explained as government policy, which it may be).
Now the more important stuff...
The main problem was the food. On day three evening I was struck down by acute nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, profuse sweating followed by cold shivers. Please note that I had not eaten anywhere outside the hotel since I had arrived from UK, so it could only be the hotel food. I should say that this was worst food poisoning I have ever had, I could not lift my head up from my knees for half an hour after the worst phase of diarrhoea. (I have travelled extensively in Africa and Asia, so my stomach has plenty of other experiences to compare this to). With some effort I was able to call a friend, and the hotel doctor (2 calls were needed before he arrived) and get some medicine to treat the problem. Although the worst was over by around midnight, the cramps continued through most of the night until whatever it was worked its way through my system.
Two days later, when checking out (I only ate yogurt and bananas the rest of the time while I was there) I had to press the hotel management very forcefully (but politely) and publicly, in the lobby, to persuade them that they should reduce their charges in compensation for this painful experience. And I asked them to email me to let me know what steps they have since taken to make sure no other hotel visitors will go through the same experience in the future. They said they were already investigating the causes, and promised they would email when they had resolved the cause of the problem. But so far, three weeks later, I have yet to hear a word from them. I will be writing to them, to remind them of their promise
