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Konrad Tillman

Review: Leela Palace Hotel New Delhi

My next adventure would begin following a terrific stay at the Roseate House (https://www.jettoajet.com/post/review-roseate-house-new-delhi) and a memorable trip to the Taj Mahal. Next up lay the Leela Palace which is supposed to be one of the nicest hotels in New Delhi. My mum would join me for this portion of the trip and seeing that she was only in Delhi for the evening, we chose the Leela Palace.


In all honesty, we had VIP treatment while staying at this hotel for reasons that cannot be disclosed on the internet. This means read into how you will but I tried my best not to let the VIP treatment affect my review.


How We Booked


Once again, using hotels.com, we booked this one-night stay in a Royal Premiere Room for 363$ including taxes and fees.


Expensive

Originally, the room we booked consisted of two double beds. However, upon check-in, we were upgraded to a Junior Suite.


Arrival


My mum was UA816 landing that morning in New Delhi. Excited to see her, I made my way from the Roseate House to the airport to meet her upon arrival. The staff were waiting for her at the baggage claim while I was outside. Once she gathered her belongings the car was brought around to drive us to the hotel.



A gorgeous and new BMW.



There were cold towels and sealed bottles of water waiting in the car.


After a 50-minute drive (Delhi traffic, I'm telling you😩) we arrived at the Leela Palace.



We were greeted by the assistant manager with all of our necessary documents for check-in. Our bags were taken up to our room, while our check-in formalities were completed in the room. I don't believe this usually happens but it was a nice touch.


The waiting area by the elevators was gorgeous. This hotel does feel like a palace!



The Room/Junior Suite


Upon entering the room, there is a majestic hallway with a beautifully decorated table. This design sort of reminds me of my old home when I was younger, nostalgic much.



Immediately after entering, on the left-hand side is the bathroom. The bathrooms in the Junior Suite consist of a shower, bathtub, two sinks and a toilet. Ths shower was decent but I didn't like that it wasn't an overhead shower, there were definitely some signs of age here.



A toilet that didn't seem all that luxurious, although I did like the artwork that was hung behind it.



The best part was the bathtub. It was large and deep sinking which made for a fantastic bubble bath which I had.



Two housecoats were provided which were extremely comfortable, as well as two pairs of slippers.



There were a few amenities like shaving kits, which were of high quality and always appreciated.


In between the bathroom and the bedroom lay a closet for storage. Upon arrival, our bags were placed in the closet. I do like this design as if you are busy and forget to fold your clothes🤥, they're not scattered all over the room.



The bedroom is decorated with brown and red touches. While not my favorite color scheme, it was done well. At first glance, I found a brown couch with a coffee table. While it was comfortable, it did feel a little old.



On the opposite side of the couch lay a TV, which wasn't everything one would hope for. Considering that I was out and about the whole time I was in Delhi this wasn't an issue, but I did check to see if I could connect my phone to the TV, and I couldn't.



There was a desk featured in the corner of the room as well, which was spacious and perfect for working.



Finally, we get around to the bed. While the design was pleasing, I didn't like the fact that the duvet was as thin as it was; that's my personal preference. There was also a pink headboard, which doesn't quite go with a dark red carpet...



There was an ottoman at the end of the bed, which if you know me by now, I love.



Turn-down service happened while we were at dinner (more on that later). This is what the bed looked like before crawling into it.



Overall, the Junior Suite was a pleasant way to spend the night but frankly, it did feel a bit old. After some research, I found that the Leela Palace opened in 2011 in New Delhi, I wonder if it has been refurbished since.


Dining

At the Leela Palace, there are a couple of restaurants to choose from when it comes to mealtime. When we first arrived, we headed down to the Qube for lunch.



I opted for the lamb chops for lunch which turned out to be great. While I did have to send them back originally since they were overcooked, the second time was absolutely perfect. Sometimes things happen, it's part of life. They were so good I forgot to take a picture of them before eating😁.



The Qube also does the morning breakfast buffets. While we headed out on our flight to Bhutan later that day, we did have time to enjoy a hearty breakfast, which was included. The Croissants were spectacular, to say the least. Like the Roseate House, anything you could have wanted was at the breakfast buffet.



We managed to get a table at one of the best restaurants in Delhi, located inside the Leela Palace. The name of the restaurant is Megu, a fine dining Japanese cuisine.



Supposedly, we had a reservation pre-booked. However, when we arrived there was no record on file of our reservation and they said it was full (even though it was empty the whole time we were there). Somehow, a table appeared moments later.


To start I had a couple of pieces of Toro which were divine. If I remember correctly, it was about 15$ for two pieces.



Following the Toro, I indulged in some chicken teriyaki. Regarding Japanese, I only like sashimi weirdly and even that is a new found. The chicken teriyaki was delicious!



To finish off, I spotted a lava cake on the menu. My mum and I shared it, and while it was decent, it was a little bit too rich for my liking. This is a Japanese restaurant so I won't hold it against them.



Megu was fantastic dining, if you happen to stay in Delhi, I highly recommend it.


Facilities


To start with facilities-wise, there was a rooftop pool that was heated! While I didn't have time to go in, I did go upstairs to take a picture. However, I can't find the picture now 😂. Here is a stock image.



Next up came a spa, which was located on the second floor, and while I didn't have time for any treatments it looked plenty nice.



Treatment prices were in line with those across hotels in India.



The most interesting part of the spa was the dining tables towards the back. I am perplexed as to why there were dining tables🤨



Inside the spa area lay the fitness center. Once again, I didn't have time to use the gym but it seemed quite large.



With plenty of treadmills to burn off all of those calories from Megu if I wasn't so tired.



There were also weight machines as well.



My favorite part of the hotel was in the lobby. A mini Christmas decorative house was built in the lobby, making the lobby feel like it was Christmas time, even if there was no snow in Delhi.



In terms of amenities, this hotel has everything you could ask for. In this category the Leela Palace is much better than the Roseate House, I was extremely impressed.


Overall Service


From start to finish the service was flawless. As I mentioned in the introduction, we were treated like VIPs for certain reasons, but I will still report as I saw. Here are a few instances that stood out to me.

  1. We wanted to go on a tour of Old Delhi and the driver took us and arranged with a local to have us go in a TukTuk around the traditional spice market.

  2. We had one main driver whose name was Amit, he was incredible and a great conversationalist throughout the long drives we had.

  3. Check-in was efficient and I loved that it took place in our room.

  4. In the morning I woke up early, before breakfast started, the front desk arranged for a cappuccino to be delivered to the lobby.

  5. Every staff member said hello as we walked past, while this is a small touch, it doesn't happen everywhere.

  6. The general manager checked in with us and we had a nice conversation with him. He seemed to welcome feedback which is always great news.


Checking Out


Checking out was seamless and took only a few minutes to complete. Soon enough we bid farewell to the hotel staff and were back in the BMW on the way to Delhi Airport. Leela Palace arranged for an escort to take us through to passport control which was another great touch by them.



Final Thoughts


The more I reflect on this one-night stay at the Leela Palace, the more I realize it was better than I first thought. While the hotel could become the best in Delhi if they updated certain features such as the shower and toilet, it is a fantastic place. The dining options are incredible, the staff is attentive and welcoming, and the facilities are world-class. If you are in town for a longer period of duration (not just one night), I would recommend the Leela Palace!







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