Why e-book
To examine in someplace which may simply supply essentially the most romantic view on the earth.
Set the scene
As you enter the foyer, the Taj Mahal comes instantly into view. Just 600 metres from the lodge, it rises serenely from a cover of fig, mango, neem and sisham bushes, its white marble luminous towards the inexperienced. Flocks of parrots and doves flit throughout the scene and strains of classical Indian music fill the air, courtesy of the proficient native musicians on the lodge. The sound threads by the house as naturally as daylight falling throughout the geometrical patterned marble flooring. The view is just and completely breathtaking.
When you do lastly handle to look away, the lodge reveals a second, equally compelling narrative. The Oberoi Amarvilas is a design lover’s lodge. Nothing is superfluous and every little thing is made to be checked out intently. Mughal influences unfold in layers – symmetrical gardens, scalloped arches, delicately carved jaali screens filtering the sunshine, handwoven tapestries, fantastic materials and hand-cut marble inlay craftsmanship like on the Taj Mahal itself. Water is all over the place, in ornate fountains, glowing channels and nonetheless reflection swimming pools, softening the house and including to the soundscape.
The backstory
The Oberoi Amarvilas is a relatively latest chapter in Agra’s lengthy historical past. Opened to company 25 years in the past and impressed by Mughal palaces and royal gardens, the lodge was designed with terraced lawns and reflecting swimming pools rigorously organized so that each room enjoys an uninterrupted view of the monument that defines town.
Wellness
The spa affords an in depth menu of massages, magnificence therapies and non-clinical therapies, mixing historical Ayurvedic rules, aromatherapy, and Western methods.
For the therapy itself, a therapist collects you out of your room and leads you to one of many spa suites positioned on the fourth flooring of the lodge. Each of those are personal sanctuaries, designed for 2, with deep soaking tubs, steam showers and saunas – all going through the Taj Mahal. Treatment oils are scented with jasmine, patchouli and oud.
Yoga and meditation periods are held outside, finest taken earlier than the day unfolds. Afterwards, the lodge’s giant sapphire blue pool beckons. It’s beneficiant, serene and completely positioned for doing little or no in any respect, in addition to possibly getting a cocktail (the signature Mumtaz, named after Mumtaz Mahal, for whom the Taj Mahal was constructed, is made with rum and pomegranate whereas the Shah Jahan, named after the emperor that commissioned the mausoleum, mixes tabasco and elderflower with gin).
Food and drink
The Oberoi Amarvilas doesn’t simply allow you to go to the Taj Mahal and tick it off an inventory, it invitations you to style the world that when surrounded it. Nowhere is that this extra obvious than at Esphahân, the lodge’s speciality restaurant. Set in crimson sandstone and Greek Thassos marble, the restaurant evokes Mughal craftsmanship. A musician on the santoor supplies a fragile soundtrack to the expertise. Here, the normal thali, a silver-plattered feast showcases a big selection of regional dishes. The kebabs are so tender the knife is nearly redundant, they yield on the lightest contact. Petha, Agra’s signature candy, is reimagined in a number of varieties, all made in-house. The chef’s signature saffron-infused model is to not be missed.
Bellevue, the lodge’s all-day restaurant, strikes effortlessly between cuisines. Hand-rolled pappardelle right here is each bit as scrumptious because the miso salmon. Mornings unfold outside beneath vivid yellow parasols, the place the breakfast unfold is expansive and covers every little thing from shakshuka and pancakes to native treats akin to bedai, a spiced, fried flatbread served with a potato curry and candy jalebis served with yogurt. The Bar, in the meantime, lays declare to a exceptional distinction: it’s the one bar on the earth with a direct, uninterrupted view of the Taj Mahal. Come at nightfall, order one thing celebratory and watch the marble shift from blush to silvery as night time falls.
Rooms
Every one of many lodge’s 102 rooms and suites locations the monument on the centre: the Taj Mahal is seen from the mattress, the bathe and the bath. Interiors are luxurious – Mughal miniature work adorn the partitions, hand-knotted carpets heat the flooring and inlaid Burmese teak furnishings sits alongside headboards embroidered in gold thread. Thoughtful touches are all over the place: a pillow menu for each sort of sleeper, Ayurvedic bathtub merchandise by Forest Essentials, attractive block-printed robes (which you could buy to take house), contemporary flowers and native fruits, and an impressively intricate, stable white chocolate mannequin of the Taj Mahal that feels virtually too stunning to eat.
All rooms supply arched home windows framing the Taj, spacious marble bogs and walk-in closets. The suites supply larger house and privateness, with separate residing and eating areas, deep soaking tubs and panoramic terraces with sunbeds, good for spending hours observing the hues of the marble change with the sunshine.
Service
Every room and suite comes with 24-hour butler service and round the clock in-room eating. And the identical stage of care extends all through the lodge. Service right here, as in any respect Oberoi inns, is finely calibrated. Attention is fixed, however by no means intrusive. There is a heat to it, a generosity that feels distinctly Indian, paired with an instinctive eye for element and an ease that makes every little thing really feel taken care of.
Eco effort
Across all Oberoi properties, together with at Amarvilas, devoted groups oversee sensible conservation efforts: waste is separated and recycled, biodegradable cleansing brokers are used all through and plastic water bottles and straws have been phased out. Landscaping is likewise aware of place, with indigenous gardens and handled wastewater used for irrigation.
For households
The lodge may be very household pleasant, and lots of company listed here are travelling with youngsters. Activities for little ones embody puppet reveals, pottery periods, and historian-led talks for these over the age of eight. There can be a specifically created Oberoi Amarvilas e-book for youths, making it simple for households to have interaction with the historical past and their environment.
Accessibility
Lifts present entry to a lot of the property, barring the out of doors pool. Several rooms throughout completely different classes are wheelchair-friendly, and one room contains a totally accessible rest room.
Anything left to say
However many occasions you glimpse the Taj from the lodge, nothing compares to seeing it up shut. Go early earlier than dawn or later within the night to keep away from the crowds (the Taj Mahal attracts over 5 million guests yearly, so timing is every little thing). The Oberoi Amarvilas arranges golf buggy transfers to the gate and pairs company with one in every of its handpicked guides, together with these frequently entrusted with internet hosting world leaders.
And if time permits, linger longer in Agra. To wander the ramparts of Agra Fort, make the journey to the previous Mughal capital metropolis of Fatehpur Sikri, or just give up a day to the lodge’s wonderful pool.