The views from this hotel are stunning, but frankly it was the shabbiest customer service experience (of the 8 luxury) hotels of our India trip.

The good: we paid for an upgraded the room and indeed had a great view of the Taj from our balcony. However, although the room was well appointed, it the was the smallest and most cramped of all the rooms we stayed in on our luxury trip (and the door bell didn't work for service staff delivering luggage, dinner etc)

The rest:
1) the restaurant has no view, so dinner was ordered from limited room service menu for our terrace and was bland (but expensive; and we had to actively seek our ordered dinner due to the non-functioning door bell!).

2) the hotel was overbooked. -our 30' delayed checkout request was denied, despite being a preferred guest of the luxury chain and being advance requested by the travel agent and us again upon arrival. We were firmly told to be out 'by noon sharp' since they wanted the room ready for other guests at 1pm. Also no day room available they "can make the pool area available and store luggage safely", so we had to check out by 10am for our sightseeing tour.

3) Upon returning from our tour we requested access to our luggage- we were shocked to be shown to our bags dumped in the open in a completely unsecured service area out the back. (Hours later, we arrived at our next location and discovered some expensive smashed camera equipment , although nothing was stolen, so negligence rather than malice was probable cause).
4) We then decamped to the pool area for a couple of hours, however no loungers or chairs were available, so we had get some mats put in the shade to sit down before our afternoon departure!
5) finally a minor warning- in case you fancy a G&T after a hot day of sightseeing- they posted a surprise 'no alcohol day' when we were there. OK only a minor disappointment given the above- except for the fact I wanted a cold drink that wasn't a sugary soda (I guess the bar/lounge staff were given the day off as an excuse) and after 30' wrangling in the lounge I did manage to extract some tea and cold lemon wate to quench my thirst.

Overall- this hotel thrives only by providing high end accommodation by its virtue of the great location and views near the Taj (which is indeed stunning). At $1100 night (12 hrs for a room) I really expected better service based on similar hotels in India

My husband and I travel widely. We just came back from India. We stayed a few nights at the Oberoi Amarvilas in Agra for the excellent view of / proximity to the Taj Mahal.

This hotel property is superlative. In fact it was recently rated the 10th best hotel in the world by the Conde Nast Travel Goldlist.

The service is excellent. The rooms are very nice. We had a room higher up which gives one the best view of the Taj Mahal. As another reviewer mentioned, local talent puts on tasteful dancing shows every night at sundown so you can sit on your balcony and enjoy.

2 downsides to this hotel:

1) Every night there is a cacophony of sound coming from various temples etc. Some of this is bell ringing, chanting etc which would not be hard to put up with. However I am talking about extremely loud chanting/singing from many LOUDSPEAKERS that play up to about midnight every night. We would have stayed on our balcony longer each night but gave up due to the extreme noise.

2) There is a strip of "park" land between the back of the hotel and the Taj Mahal - an area consisting of barren soil, shrubs and dense trees to one side. Every morning while having our breakfast on our lovely balcony we were met with a view of about 25 men defecating on the ground immediately in front of us i.e., in order to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise you must look at 20 + men defecating on the ground right in front of you between the back of the hotel and the Taj Mahal. The hotel clearly does a lot to keep the hotel safe etc inc. posting a guard at the wall that separates this "park" from the manicured hotel grounds in order to ensure that no locals get over the wall onto the hotel grounds. Given this I don’t know why they cant do something with the city powers that be to get the defecating men to at least move over into the dense trees on the other side of the "park" (the women go into the dense trees to defecate). I mentioned this to the concierge. She said there is "nothing we can do."

So ...this hotel is a 5 star experience with a superlative view of the Taj Mahal - as long as:

1) You are not turned off by watching people defecate while eating your breakfast.
2) You are not bothered by extreme noise while sitting out at night enjoying the view

We arrived at the hotel after a very 'interesting' train journey from Delhi and were greeted like royalty. Upon arrival there is a member of staff waiting to 'bless you' at the door and put the traditional dot of colour on your forehead. We were then shown through to the bar to have a welcome drink. We sat down on a sofa and there, through the window, was the Taj Mahal. The hotel is just a stone's throw away and every bedroom has a view of it. The hotel is designed like a palace and it is stunning. The staff are wonderful and bend over backwards to make you feel very special. We went on to stay at the Oberoi's in Ranthambore, Jaipur and Udaipur and they are all amazing. The only very slight disappointment was with the choice of Indian cuisine on the menus of the Oberoi's. They seem to concentrate more on the Western dishes. We did go to a couple of the Taj hotels for meals and their Indian cuisine was much more varied. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Oberoi's to anyone though. A truely amazing holiday.

What makes staying at this place perfect is the approach of the staff. They are all courteous, helpful and wonderfully friendly. All the staff will strike up conversation without being intrusive. We enjoyed talking to everyone we met who worked here. They are interesting individuals who clearly take pride in their work and add real value to the experience of staying here.

We had dinner at Udaivilas in Udaipur and the staff there had a very similar approach. The Oberoi group in India have managed to foster a thoroughly "hospitable" approach that makes the service at their hotels stand out in a truly memorable way.

Yes, the view is unbeatable, the facilities are faultless and the building itself is gorgeous (I think this is how heaven must smell..
.). One of the best luxury hotels in the world - justly rated by the travel magazines, etc. We were only inagra for 24 hours and decided to limit our sightseeing because of the quality of the experience of staying at this hotel.