Agra
India


The Experience

The stately Oberoi Amarvilas is built like a Mogul castle and replete with the expected luxuries of this chain. But why you really want to stay here is its location: Just 1,900 feet separate the hotel and the Taj Mahal, and this nearest hotel to the towering white spectacle offers clear views from every guest and common room. Of course, the hotel also offers a drama of its own, with a domed lobby featuring a gold-and-lapis-blue ceiling and cut-glass chandelier, as well as stepped terraces leading to onyx reflecting pools lit by flaming candles come evening.

The Rooms

The Oberoi serves up a panorama of the Taj Mahal from every room and even from most rooms' beds, which are four-posters draped in Indian quilts with bright silk cushions in the style of ancient India (and the winning view is even on display from some of the tubs). Even the most basic rooms are notably spacious and have a private terrace with floor-to-ceiling doors. Of course, the most central views are reserved for the suites, with the Kohinoor providing the ultimate in eye candy and decadence, with a living room, study and large private terrace.

The Service

Service here is lightning-fast, no matter whether it's the front desk or the pool servers. Friendliness and efficiency seem to come naturally, especially with the miniature-golf-cart drivers who take you from the hotel to the Taj Mahal entrance.

The Highlights

Even the spa takes advantage of the view, with massive tubs in some treatment rooms looking out onto the spires, the perfect precursor to traditional Indian massage, aromatherapy or fruit- and vegetable-inspired body treatments. While the Bellevue restaurant offers decent international cuisine in a modern setting, the Indian restaurant, Esphahan, is worth a meal; you can even ask to take a peek in the kitchen to see how your traditional dinner is prepared. Yet you'll still want to end up in a deck chair by the pool, surrounded by the delicate archways of this palace while marveling at the famous white spectacle just across the horizon.

-- Kristan Schiller

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