Deluxe Delhi

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• Location: Delhi
• Holiday Type: City break

• by: Aline
• on: Thu 24 May 2012

2 like 195 views

India is the land of my birth, a wonderful place to which I try to return every year for a month, during which time I travel all over the country.

I am planning just such a trip now and wanted to share some of my ideas on ways to make the most of India. I love to fly into Delhi - very often using Emirates because we travel from Scotland to Dubai and then onto the destination of our choice in India, which is usually Delhi as a start. However there is the helpful fact that at the end of a trip one could fly out of another major city back to Dubai and then on home to Scotland. I am not a fan of London Heathrow!

Indira Gandhi Airport is now much improved on the dismal place it once was and remained for decades; now it passes for a good international airport. Arrange for a car and driver to collect you and whisk you off to one of Delhi's wonderful five star hotels; I have three favourites - The Imperial, The Claridges and The Maurya.

The latter is beloved of world leaders such as Putin and Clinton because it has some of the finest presidential and executive suites you could ever hope to find - I have stayed in an executive suite but been shown over the presidential suites which are superb. The Bukhara restaurant is also a favourite with the famous and we try to have a lunch there every time we return to Delhi. The chicken and lamb is so exquisitely cooked in the tandoor oven and that with delectable naan breads and raita and dhal make a wonderful meal. It is immensely popular with Delhi-ites so you have to book.

Maharani at The Maurya is a shop that will make you outfits to order if you do not find something suitable on the shop floor. I have used them for a most special outfit which was then sent to me by DHL and is excellent - the workmanship is superb.

The Imperial is a most wonderful hotel which has a special resonance for me as I had first been there as a young girl 50 years ago with my parents - I told you I was born in India and we lived there till my parents retired in 1963. If you want a Raj-era elegant cool, splendid place with fascinating artwork and interesting public areas with lawns and an opportunity to watch Delhi's elite then stay there - we did for four nights earlier this year. The swimming pool is excellent and I have a lovely memory of relaxing in the warm water in February this year before we left for the airport.

The Claridges is another great favourite with me; a truly lovely five-star hotel built in the Art Deco style but in the 1950s in the Lutyens area of heritage Delhi in Aurangzeb road. It too has a lawn on which to take tea but there are four different restaurants to sample and one is the Dhaba which produces excellent north Indian food in an atmosphere of a 'dhaba' - the off-road cafes that lorry drivers and travellers might experience on India's great roads - but this one is truly five star and charming! The Tapas Bar is also delightful and the Chef loves to interact with guests.

There are various choices in luxury suites and wonderful corporate meeting rooms and entertainment rooms and the UN is a favourite client. We stayed there for two days in February this year. Ask to be taken to the nearby Lodi Gardens and walk there amongst the ancient tombs; that is the magic of Delhi a city upon cities where the past will speak to you if you allow it.

I like to walk in the gardens at sunrise or sunset. Particularly in the early morning the birdlife is chattering and eating the grain put out - bright green bossy parakeets, busy little chipmunks, crows bathing in the pool left by the mali's hose, folk doing yoga, shy mothers with babes and gossipy old men having a read of the daily news in the first light of day.

If you would like to experience 'home from home' luxury then I recommend a stay at Tikli Bottom, which is owned and run by Martin and Annie Howard. Tikli is just outside Gurgaon - one of the two new satellite cities to Delhi. It takes about 50 minutes in a chauffeur-driven car which Tikli can organise for you.

Tikli is designed on the tried and tested Lutyens's bungalow architectural plan and is truly beautiful; Annie has a wonderful way with decor and her style is a fusion of British and Indian. There are only four suites but that is why it is perfect; there is a half moon swimming pool and guinea fowl root around, the dogs greet you; children come in shyly to smile and engage in a bit of small talk - they are the children or grandchildren of the domestic staff which run the place so beautifully. Moona and Gokal are both charming and the food is good and European - I emphasise that, because undoubtedly Gokal would cook superb Indian but they in fact do not serve it at Tikli.

The property is at the end of the Aravalli Hills - which started life in Rajasthan and in the cool morning air the sound of peacocks calling and the garden birdlife give you the essence of India. Sit with an early morning cup of tea and let its charm work on you. 

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