Incredible India

I have just returned from an incredible trip to India's Golden Triangle. Our destination management company in India, TBI hosted 11 of us alongside one of my favourite hotel chains, Oberoi. Oberoi own some of the most beautiful and iconic hotels in India and the rest of the world. We stayed at the The Oberoi, Gurgaon, The Oberoi New Delhi, The Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur and The Oberoi Amarvilas in Agra. We also stayed one night at The Imperial in New Delhi. We started in Gurgaon as our flight arrived late: https://www.oberoihotels.com/hotels-in-gurgaon This hotel is the perfect location for people arriving late or departing early as it's only 15 minutes from Delhi airport. Rooms were very comfy and breakfast was very high quality, a standard we found throughout at the Oberoi hotels, with pretty much everything you could want and many international and UK type foods. We ate lunch next door, at their sister hotel Trident Gurgaon: https://www.tridenthotels.com/hotels-in-gurgaon/ and I will never forget the amazing thali they presented after several little starters. See the pic for my very happy face! The next day we checked into Oberoi New Delhi: https://www.oberoihotels.com/hotels-in-delhi/ This hotel is amazing - no words can describe the luxury and how the staff are there for your every need. We went to the pool and before we jumped into the refreshing water, a staff member appeared with a box full of goodies, including rose scented facial mist, water and fresh, thick towels. We had a few amazing excursions while in Delhi, organized brilliantly by TBI. First we visited the Qutub Minar, an amazing site dating back hundreds of years and a combination of Muslim and Hindi ruins. The second day we visited Gandhi's last house and the place he was assassinated, followed by a visit to Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, a place of worship for Sikhs and a place where people go for food and worship. We visited the kitchens run by volunteers. Both were very moving places to see, for very different reasons. In the afternoon of the last day in Delhi we had a heritage walk, conducted by Salaam Baalak trust - an amazing Delhi based NGO which supports street children. The man who took us was an ex street child and hearing his story and the way this trust turned his life around was fascinating and eye opening. We ended our stay with rickshaw ride around Old Delhi - one of the best ways to see the life and sounds of the city. Definitely recommended! We left on day 3 for Jaipur, a journey that took around 4-5 hours but with a stop on the way at Umaid Palace. Our hotel in Jaipur has to be seen to be believed: https://www.oberoihotels.com/hotels-in-jaipur-rajvilas-resort/ This hotel has to be one of my favourite hotels I've stayed at. It's a glorious, low rise, terracotta hotel with single story rooms or luxury tented accommodation set in splendid grounds with peacocks and other beautiful birds and wildlife wondering around. The service here was the usual outstanding Oberoi service and we were spoilt from the moment we set foot in this property. We even had rose petals thrown at us as we entered! The hotel is around a 15 minute drive from Jaipur, and during our two days there, we visited the flower and vegetable market, the city palace, the Jantar Mantar (a massive sun-dial) and had another rickshaw ride, this time by motorised pink rickshaw and driven by women. This is an initiative run by ACCESS development services to support women from low income households. We ended our stay in Jaipur by visiting the Amer fort - a beautiful 16th century fort palace, which gave us a glimpse into maharaja life! We left Jaipur for Agra on day 5 and had another very comfortable 4 hour journey to our final Oberoi hotel: https://www.oberoihotels.com/hotels-in-agra-amarvilas-resort/ What a location! If you are going to Agra, this is the place to stay. Every room at this resort has a view of the Taj Mahal and guests here are treated to the Oberoi luxury and service we were starting to get used to. It has been a shock to the system coming back to the UK and not having someone there for my every need! Joking aside, this hotel really is in the best location. A few minutes by golf cart and we were at the Taj Mahal itself. This is one of the best places I've ever seen, and the forth modern wonder of the world I've been to. The Taj has to be seen to experience, as I don't think pictures do it justice. The marble structure is perfectly symmetrical and so beautiful, and seeing it is an emotional experience. On the way back to Delhi, we stopped at dance studio and were treated to a Bollywood dance class. This should honestly be a dance class in the UK, we all loved it despite having no previous clue in how to dance the moves. The teacher was patient and didn't even laugh at our attempts! 100% recommended! After we drove to Delhi via a tour of the Maharaja Express, India's iconic train which has several routes including to Agra and Jaipur and beyond. The train is very luxurious and similar to the Orient Express, with huge bedrooms onboard and amazing dining. We then checked into our last hotel of the trip: https://theimperialindia.com/ This hotel is stunning, and is massive but still has a boutique feel to it. The building was opened as a hotel in 1936 and has a colonial feel to it with luxurious features and some of the best restaurants in Delhi housed within it. Sadly we had to return home the next morning so didn't get very long at this hotel, not even a dip in the pool, one of the biggest in New Delhi! Our time in India will stay with me for a long time. It is a truly fabulous country and the Golden Triangle is a great way to see a good bit of the North. Please let me know if you would like to see this captivating country for yourself!