5 Star Hotels Are Expensive!

slhudson

Hi All,

I am returning to India in November and am not good at roughing it (I'm 60 and I think I'm past that kind of thing so take pity on me).

I'd like to stay, for example, at the Taj by the India Gate in Bombay - but right now, they are quoting a rate of over $400 (ack)!

So is there a way to get better rates on hotels in India - rather than going through Expedia or Travelocity? I did book the Taj a couple of years ago thru the Five Star Alliance website and got a rate of around $200 (but they too are quoting this $400 rate).

Stephanie

bruce3404

Only 60? Well, I'm 58 and while I appreciate luxury as much as the next person, I'm certainly not willing to pay $400 for it (I can afford it, but my penurious nature just won't allow me to). So I guess the next question is, "How much luxury do you really need?". I've stayed in places in India ranging from $8 to $35; I can tell you the $35 place I stayed in while visiting Amritsar was pretty close to luxurious (and they had ESPN so I could watch the World Series, which is why I stayed there in the first place...but I digress). It seems to me that almost anyplace in India that charges $100 a night is going to be VERY nice; you might have to pay a bit more in Mumbai or Goa. Forget about Expedia or any of the online services; instead, book directly with the hotels through their websites...and you might be able to do better through a consolidator based in Asia. Are you booking well in advance? If so, that might be why no deals have been offered. Sometimes you can save money by calling the hotel directly. Just for fun, I checked the rates for tomorrow night. The regular rate is INR 12,500 + 10% tax, but if you click on "specials", you'll find a rate of "only" INR 10,000 + 10%, or $250, a savings of almost $60. And if the $250 or $400/night isn't money you're going to miss much, then go for it!

04274108

If you live in the U.S. or Canada, check out buying an Entertainment Book. They list a lot of restaurants giving discounts in your area, local attractions etc....but when I last bought one 2 years ago, they had all sorts of international hotel chains that were giving discounts.

Don't know what the reach is of these chains (whether or not they extend to India) but you should be able to browse online.

bruce3404

While I love the Entertainment Book for restaurants, IMHO they're pretty useless for hotel bookings; while they offer a 50% discount, it's off the rack rate (which nobody pays) and you can generally get as good a deal simply by shopping around. Also, they only list hotels in the US, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean in the current edition.

04274108

Agree with the restaurants...only booked a hotel once and had no complaints with the price.

I dunno about this but perhaps Priceline (sorry mods...I'm not affiliated with the company) might have something in India. I've gotten incredible deals for U.S. and Canadian hotels.

skk

There's a certain insanity about hotelling everywhere - as an everyman, ask yourself - unless you are on company business and company expense account will you really pay the Inn At the Park in London, the MayFlower Washington DC prices ?

If not, think of what you do when you go to DC or NY for a visit. Now plan accordingly - except the concept of budget hotels, western style is not well developed in India. You have to go native so to speak. Think of where an INDIAN middle manager on company business in India will stay while away on biz. You'll be able to afford that without any problems. But think in those terms - you won't be slumming it by any means, its actually very spacious, with good service - its just, well, set up to cater for the Indian manager.

-skk

Ignite

If you want to stay at the Taj, what you can try to do is go on their own website and try booking through that. But do keep in mind that these are top of the line hotels in India and are literally "5 *" so you're probably going to have to spend around $400.

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slhudson

Hi All, thanks for your ideas - I have stayed at an Indian businessman's hotel in Kochin and liked it - that's good advice.

Still hoping for a rate drop at the Taj Apollo Bunder though - although it's definitely "snooty", it has a wonderful charm.

Stephanie

edwardseco

You can take a nap on their couches. Ah ain't proud..

zoltan

I'm certainly up there in age (not quite 60 yet), and I still stay at $5-$20 per night places.

I don't consider the excessive charges of 5* hotels worth the money.

Cheers
Zoltan

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puchoo

How about something other than the Taj group...say something like The Imperial in CP ... i just did a random search for 2 nights and the lowest quote i got was 8500 i.e 400 USD for 2 nights which translates to 200 or so per night..

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Sidharth

puchoo.wordpress.com

singsub

i advise the OP to try 3* and 4* hotels instead. they offer good deals/service for a lot lesser than 5*.

costaguana

The Times of India ran a story a few days back about the declining demand for five-star hotels in India recently. The story is deliciously vague , but at the very least it offers some general encouragement for your search!

Nick-H

Five-star is no so much about comfort, as luxury.

Sure, comfort is an element of that, but luxury is, perhaps, comfort taken to extremes.

It is also, or should be, about a standard of service, about having five or six people ready at any moment to cater to your requirements or, at least, to give you attention and make you feel important. Pampered even.

By the time five stars is reached, all the basic stuff like cleanliness, swimming pools, gyms, saunas, etc etc is just taken for granted: of course it is there!

I am lucky enough to be an occasional guest at a relative's hotel in UK, which actually only has four stars (but the UK system is more demanding I think). Given the ambience of the place, the beauty of the old building, the comfort of its furnishings, the wonder of its modern facilities (pool, sauna, massage, etc etc) and it's situation by the side of a lake, I sometimes feel that there is hardly any need to explore outide the hotel (it is in a very stunning part of England); just being there is enough. Of course, the top resort hotels really do try to achieve this.

So, a five-star hotel should be a holiday in itself; a complete experience! What a waste to use such a place as just a bed for the night!

It is an experience that, given the chance (My wallet does not support it these days), I can thoroughly enjoy. Sybarites'R'Us!

But comfort, and even many facilities, should be able to be taken for granted at a four-star, or even a three-star. Strip away the pools, restaurants, bars and so on, and even a higher-end guest house should be certain of providing simple comfort.

Of course, as my economics text book said in its last paragraph, all this is theoretical, and does not necessarily work in practice --- there are gems and hell holes at all tariffs!

In this city, there has always been a shortage of five-star accommodation, with hotels often full.

Of course, the more one pays for that ticket, the less is left for hotels, and India is hardly a cheap destination to reach from Europe or America, even without rising airfares. I don't think it is a destination for the super-rich (except for those among them who are Indiaphiles anyway), those in the don't-need-to-ask-the-price category. It is certainly not a standard luxury destination.

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puchoo

Interesting article, quite a turnaround, thanks for sharing..