Hotel in Agra

knight999

I'm looking for a nice, quiet and clean hotel in Agra up to 50$US/night in mid November. Sorry for bothering you again, but I could not find a suitable recommendation in previous posts. I have tried to contact hotel Sheela but the homepage is under construction and e-mails are not answered. Any recommendations?

Aussie 5

Hi knight999

What about the Hotel Taj Khema? Just a little further from the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal than Hotel Sheela but still in the no-car environmental zone.

I've not stayed there yet, so I can’t confirm how good (or bad) it is but I understand that there are good views of the Taj Mahal from the garden. I notice that a number of classy tours include dinner in the garden without staying at the hotel itself. President Clinton signed an environmental agreement in the garden in 2000 (see extract below and I'll scout around for the photos and try to post) and I have booked the room he 'stayed' in (not too sure why he would with so many five star hotels around!) - the Presidential Room with private bathroom and a/c for 1575R including tax, Yes, 1575 R. I understand that their other rooms are much the same but cheaper.

As with a number of Indian hotels, I had great trouble contacting them. They did not respond to emails, so I had to phone them twice. Sometimes the phone number is a fax and they claimed that the only number I had success with was actually their fax number!! Hope it all works out! Comments from other IMers welcome – asked on the site before but got a nil response.

Contact details:
Phone: 562 223-0001 Fax: 562 223-3056 (I could not get this to work)
Web: http://www.indiahotelsandresorts.com...taj-khema.html
Email: hoteltajkhema@sify.com

Media Extract 2000 - Environmental Signing Ceremony, Taj Khema,Agra

“The U.S. and India will sign an agreement to increase cooperation on the environment, and the President will announce a package of initiatives to promote clean energy and combat climate change.

The Taj Khema is five hundred yards from the Taj Mahal in a reserved forest area along the banks of the Yamuna River. It was constructed in 1979 to provide unique views of the Taj Mahal, particularly at night. Khema is a word used for the royal Mughal tents that were often used as temporary residences. The Taj Khema is a state tourism corporation property that, in addition to the overlook point, contains a small hotel, a restaurant, and tented accommodation.

Agra is one of the most polluted cities in India because of its 150 iron foundries, nearby oil refineries and emissions from trucks and other vehicles. In 1982, the GOI declared a large trapezoidal region around Agra area (the “Taj Trapezium”) to be a specially protected area with regard to air pollution. This designation subjected the area to a special set of air and water pollution regulations designed to eliminate certain uses of coal and coke fuels for such applications as foundries and leather treatment. The intention of these rules was to move heavily polluting industries out of the Agra area.’

Aussie 5

Try this link:
http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/New/Sout...3/photo17.html

jarman_ah

I can't remember how I got the phone number of the Sheela.... I think it's in some threads on this forum, or maybe Thorntree..... but we rang and booked that way. Everything went smoothly, even though we arrived after midnight.

Pookstar

We booked at the Hotel Sheela on this number a few weeks ago....

00 91 0562 1194