On a recent tour or Rajasthan we began our travels in New Delhi and checked into the Imperial Hotel recommended by our travel consultant with Cox and Kings. It is one of the original colonial buildings in the city and has a very attractive interior. We stayed in one of the Heritage rooms which was large and very comfortable. There are two bars and several restaurants, including a South East Asian Restaurant which is apparently one of the best in New Delhi. The food was very good but the prices really are quite extortionate. The waiting staff will try to get you to order the tasting menus but these are a lot more expensive than just ordering dishes from the menu and we found there was just too much for us even though we have healthy appetites! Wine and spirits are also very highly priced. There is an outdoor swimming pool which is pleasant enough but it is quite hard to relax there because of the noise of the New Delhi traffic and we found there was quite a lot of smog when we were there. The staff were all very polite and helpful. One oddity we noticed was that on paying the bills a "Delhi tax" had been added. We asked our guide about this and she said she had never heard of it. We suspect it was just a ruse to push up the service charge. We probably should have questioned it but never actually did. Perhaps if anyone else finds out they could let us know! All in all we would recommend the hotel to friends but do beware the pricing. One last comment - my husband and another couple that we met later on our travels all succumbed to "Delhi belly" whilst staying there. I was fortunate and escaped it. However, we would recommend that anyone travelling to India takes a travellers diarrhoea management kit with them (available from MASTA travel clinics) which includes two doses of antibiotics and were definitely a necessity in this instance.

This is the third time that we have stayed at The Imperial and, because of its excellent service, we make a point of staying there every time we go to Delhi. The service is second to none, the rooms are wonderful and very comfortable. The staff are friendly and eficiient and the food is excellent.
Three years ago we arrived and they had over booked the hotel. They told us to wait and while we did they gave us drinks and then put us in their biggest suit for the night! It was incredible. I asked for a little fruit and was given a large plate and they also put an enormous bowl full on the duining room table too!
It may cost a little more, but you get what you pay for.

We have stayed one week. Very nice, clean facilities. Nice pool. Several restaurants to choose from. Some tips:

- Hotel is in a convenient location, but there is no "good location" in Delhi, in the sense you can go out for a walk etc.

- Food could be an issue if you are not into spicy dishes. Even with four restaurants, and with some tolerance to hot food, your choices are very limited. Avoid the salads etc., my wife had food poisoning even though we had absolutely nothing outside the hotel.

- There are about half a dozen places to see in Delhi, then you are done. We allocated too many days not knowing that.

- Take the triangle tour: Delhi - Agra (Taj Mahal) - Jaipur. Each leg takes about 4-5 hours driving. You can book a car and guide from the hotel (or outside) for the whole thing. Do this is 2 or 3 days. I hired an outside car&driver for 2 full days, to Agra and back, for $350 (or 14,000 Rp) plus tip (you've got to tip everyone here).

- You need to hirea car to go anywhere in Delhi. Hotel cars are about $20/hour, or $100/day. You can get a car from outside for $60/day, usualy even better than hotel cars (they are all white Toyota SUV's), but there is no clear way how to find these people. Ask your hotel driver or consierge if they can get a car for hire from outside. I have hired Devender (Dave) cell number [--] and J.S Katoch cell number [--]. Both are good.