Mother-In-Law’s First Trip to India: Radisson Blu, Agra

March 7, 2013 By Meghan Hunter

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Emily: We were in Pune, India, for Christmas and boarded our IndiGo flight to Delhi the day after Christmas and hired a van from Delhi to Agra. The IndiGo flight was cheap and punctual and got us to Delhi on time.

We rented a small van for all of us, including our luggage. Daraius booked the van for us at half the price of what the Radisson would have charged. We paid INR 16,000 ($292) to drive from Delhi to Agra and back and use the van while we were in Delhi and Agra for 4 days total.

We were informed that the trip would take 3.5 hours by car, but it took 5 hours due to an unexpected detour and traffic.

Delhi was only 13 degrees Celsius or around 55 Fahrenheit in December so we were pretty cold for most of the car ride because there was no heat. It’s standard in India for some cars not to have heat and so this was not entirely unexpected. Bring sweaters and coats in case you get cold while traveling in winter!

I had 5 layers on and was still cold, as it eventually got down to 43 degrees Fahrenheit. This does not seem too cold, but imagine sitting in a car for four hours in it.

Daraius: I was fine!

Emily: On the way, we stopped at a rest stop to use the restrooms and get some food. The food offerings were pretty bare, and we decided to stick to packaged food like chips and cookies. Daraius: I had a samosa which warmed me up! Emily: After almost a whole day of traveling, we finally arrived at the hotel. Daraius redeemed points to stay at the Radisson.

It was very foggy when we arrived, and we were warned not to visit the Taj Mahal early in the morning because we wouldn’t be able to see anything.

The hotel was large, modern, and clean.

There was a large lobby.

And a walkway with furniture and a bar on the right.

There was a small shopping arcade, but nothing very exciting.

Daraius had booked standard hotel rooms, but we were all upgraded to the executive floor.

There was a bed, desk, chair, and TV.

There was small desk as well.

The bed was very comfortable after a day of traveling!

We received complimentary bottled water.

Darius set up his laptop on the desk, but it was a bit cramped.

The room did not have any heat, and I was very cold in the 40 degree weather! So we turned off the AC and the roomed warmed up a bit, though I still needed to layer up. This was my biggest disappointment with the hotel!

The bathroom was modern and clean.

There was a marble countertop and tilework in matching brown tones.

The shower had the same tiles.

There were the usual amenities.

And there was also a hot water heater to make tea and instant coffee.

We went to the hotel restaurant (which also did not have heat, but had small space heaters). There was an Indian restaurant.

And a Continental restaurant/coffee shop.

We ordered spaghetti…

…chicken Thai curry…

…a kathi roll…

…and a hamburger, tomato soup, and a club sandwich.

I loved my spaghetti and it was some of the best “continental” food that I have had in India.

Aunt Judi really liked her hamburger and potato wedges too. The potatoes were served very hot and fresh. Darius really didn’t like any of the food in the hotel and thought it was the worst food of our trip!

The service in the restaurant was pretty slow—we had to remind them about our drinks and two of our meals were served 15 minutes after the previous plates were served so we all had to eat separately.

There was also a large buffet, but we just wanted a snack, and the food was very overpriced. However, the hotel was close to the Taj Mahal, and it was free. I would have been more disappointed if I had actually paid cash for the hotel!