Review: Andaz Delhi – Aerocity (They tried to take my camera)

After getting off our flight from Frankfurt, we cleared immigration within a matter of minutes and made it outside where a car was waiting to take us to the Andaz Delhi Aerocity. The unfortunate thing about Indhra Gandi Intl Airport or IGIA for short is that there are no “good/premium” hotels directly connected to either of the terminals. (Reader Sonu mentions the Holiday Inn @ T3 but the reviews for it are laughable). None of the other hotels offer a “free” shuttle, with the ride costing 1500 INR (~$18).

While the airport itself is adjacent to runway 28-10 at IGIA (the longest one), the ride takes about 15 minutes because of the way the roadways were constructed.

How did I book this?

I booked these rooms using my dad’s Hyatt annual free night certificates from having the Hyatt personal credit card. Room rates were crazy that night (>$400) at the Andaz despite the hotel being seemingly empty looking at the website.

Check In:

Before our arrival, I had checked in on the Hyatt app and saw that my dad was proactively upgraded to an Andaz View Suite as a Hyatt Globalist. However when we got to the property, the hotel claimed that there were no suites available nor were there any upgraded rooms. Since it was 3 AM in the morning and all we wanted to do was hit the bed so I didn’t argue. As we waited, I snapped a few images of the lobby using my Pixel 6.

As we were being handed the keys, one of the security guards walked up to the receptions and said (in Hindi) that my camera wasn’t allowed in the hotel. I had it around my neck, but didn’t use it yet. One of them even insisted I hand over the camera and pick it up later. After asking why that was the case, the receptionist vaguely said pictures of the hotel and rooms were not allowed using a camera. When I said I haven’t even used my camera, he nodded and said he will make a one time exception if I don’t remove it from the bag. The other agent however kept eyeing it and trying to insist that I hand it over.

I was about to get into a tussle over the rule before my dad stopped me and agreed to the receptionist’s request. Sometimes lack of sleep certainly clouds judgement. There was nothing I would gain by arguing with the receptionist, especially after he let me through.

We were assigned rooms on the 6th floor of the hotel. The hotel had a nice design with doors having beautiful leaves and flowers carved into them.

The room was your typical Andaz hotel room with modern wood accents and furniture. Electric outlets were in convenient spots and the beds were comfortable. I did like that they had a US outlet adapter already there in the room. I can’t tell you the number of top tier hotels that miss this feature.

To the right of the entryway was a large restroom featuring a walk in shower, double vanity, and tub. The toiletries were from a brand I had never heard of and the closet had some used slippers and a weighing machine. Again the cleanliness here was not up to snuff and the water pressure and temperature weren’t great.

While I appreciated that there was a seating area next to the window, the sofa was quite dirty. In fact the entire room had stains in various places and the floor of the room appeared to be slanted slightly.

I took a shower and conked out the moment I hit the sack. I woke up at almost 12 the next day to notice that the highlight of the room had to be the window which looked out onto the runway 28-10 in the distance. The morning fog impeded my view earlier that day.

Breakfast was included with our stay as a Hyatt Globalist and is served from 6:30 am to 11am everyday at the hotel restaurant “AnnaMaya”. My family went down for breakfast and said it was one of the best there was throughout the trip (even when compared to places like the Leela Palace). I was a bit annoyed that I missed it, but I also didn’t have jet lag because of my nap.

Botttom Line:

The Andaz Delhi was perhaps the most disappointing Andaz branded hotel I’ve seen to date. And it’s bit odd to say that such a hotel is located in India, which is generally a country known for great service and cleanliness standards at five star properties. It was good to note that the breakfast was pretty good because the rest of it was very “meh”. The whole rule about the camera was absolutely bonkers considering that I could take whatever pictures I wanted with my phone camera. Have they never seen a photographer stay overnight at the hotel? Anyway, I stayed at the JW Marriott Delhi Aerocity (an older property) recently and that experience was leagues better. I even enjoyed the Holiday Inn Aerocity more than this property.

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