I am in total agreement with the 2 previous reviews.

While our room was a good size it was damp and the carpets were stained. The bathroom was stained and do not look clean. The room was very dark, even with lights on. That was those that worked. There were exposed wires in the corner of the room where another light should have been fitted.

We got over-charged for a car to Bharapur. We were quoted a price prior to checking into our room and foolishly agreed on a price. Then looked at the prices quoted in the room for side trips and they were half the price. When we questioned this they said they had been changed...however I am not so sure.

On the plus side, the restaurant food was pretty good.

We stayed in 5 hotels during out time in India and this is one of the worst.

Agra itself is great and a welcome relief of hustle and bustle of the big cities. Its fairly small (what we saw) and definately worth taking a look in the evening particularly for dinner.

On the hotel

The hotel foyer was designed in 1970 and the furniture and surroundings have not been changed since then, although it is generally pleasent.

There are two types of rooms - standard and deluxe. The are both the same size but the deluxe have been renovated - but very badly, whereas the standard rooms are awful. The bathrooms are are stained and as a result do not look clean. The carpets are stained and rather disgusted....... etc (not nice rooms).

We originally were put in a standard room overlooking the main road. We asked to be moved as there would not be able to get any sleep with noise. Fortunately we were upgraded to a deluxe room. The size and shape of the rooms are the same as the standard but they have been modernised. The feel of the room was much better but some of the furnishings were still the same. Whilst the room was considerably better and overlooked the back of the hotel over the pool (I think it was a pool!!), the quality of the finish was dreadful. For example, one of the lights in the bathroom fell down during the evening and there were one or two exposed wires around. The room felt as though it was not finished and it probably wasnt.

If you do fancy a swim whilst you are there, you would probably be safer trying the nearby river. The pool looked disgusting and dirty (although a good size).

Food in the hotel was OK.

On a positive note the hotel staff were very friendly and helpful both within the restaurant and behind the front desk.

The foyer to the hotel Ashok looked fantastic and I thought I had got a good hotel. However, on seeing my twin room I realised looks can be deceiving. The first room I tried smelt very damp, some of the carpet was coming up off the floor and when I went into the bathroom there was something unidentifiable but brown splattered up the back of the door. I requested to change rooms.

The next room still smelt of damp but the carpet was stuck to the floor and there was nothing splattered on the bathroom door. Progress. It turned out that the room was right next to the road and lorries drive along there, honking their horns all night, sleep proved to be elusive. Even without the traffic the pillows were so nasty that you wouldn't want to put your head on them anyway.

Don't stay there. There has to be a better hotel in Agra. Plus it's changed its name to something else. I think it has the family in its title. Watch out.

Also, they have a microwave in the restaurant which they use to nuke the breakfast