JAYPEE PALACE

- Agra

Luxury 5-star (Feb 2012)

http://www.jaypeehotels.com/jp-page.php?id=jpWelcome

Address:
Fatehabad Road, Agra 282 003
(located in the main tourist district of Agra)
Tel: 91 562 233 0800
Comments:
Close drive to the Taj Mahal.

TAJ MAHAL

- Agra SLEEPY EYE's PICK!

Mausoleum (Feb 2012)

http://www.tajmahal.gov.in/

Access:
Around 5 hours drive from Delhi airport
**check website for other access methods
Price: INR750 (for foreigners)
Opening hours:
Sat-Thu sunrise to sunset
Fri closed
(**check website for more details http://www.tajmahal.org.uk/timings.html )
Features:
White marble Mughal style mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
Comments:
A must see.  Was more impressive than the photos I recall seeing in books.

The East Gate (Fatehabadi Darwaza)

The South Gate (Sidhi Daewaza)

The Great Gate (Darwaza-i-Rauza)

The Great Gate leading to the Taj Mahal

around 5:00pm

Front view of the Taj Mahal

view from the Taj Garden

side view of the Taj Mahal

the queue for locals to enter the Taj Mahal...a lot longer than the queue for foreigners

Arabic inscriptions in black marble is inlaid into the white marble surrounding each entrance of the four-sides of the mausoleum.

the white marble walls

The Minarets (Minar) - set at the four corners of the platform of the mausoleum, it was constructed slightly leaning outwardly so that in event of a collapse it would fall away from the tomb.

sunset...6:00pm at the Taj Mahal

Taken by our tour guide as his best picture spot of the Taj Mahal

AALANKRITA RESORT

Resort 4-star (Feb 2012)

http://www.aalankrita.com

Address:
Thumkunta Village, Karimnagar Main Road, Shameerpet Mandal, R. R. District 500078, Andhra Pradesh
(from Rajiv Gandhi Airport: approx. 1-hour drive)
Tel: 08418 309999
Comments:
This resort was not a personal choice but we stayed here to attend an Indian wedding.  All the wedding guests were staying here for the traditional 3-day wedding 'marathon' however we just stayed one night to attend the actual ceremony the next day before travelling off to visit Agra.
About the resort itself, we found the communal areas inside the hotel looked more pleasant than the room interiors.  The one major problem we had was the hot water supply which we didn't manage to get much of...it ran for probably around ten minutes and turned cold again!  Luckily there was a big bucket in the shower so we boiled our own hot water to bathe with...well, that was my first unforgettable experience of India...

Guest room

        

Cafe Lounge

Elevator

   

Hotel Restaurant 'ATIROOPA' (multi-cuisine)

restaurant interior