Hotel Review: Le Méridien New Delhi

Le Meridien New Delhi was one of three luxury hotels in New Delhi we gave a try while travelling through India in February. The Starwood property has a decent location in the heart of New Delhi, not far away from most touristic hotspots and a little under one hour from the airport. While the design is quite nice and modern, the hotel didn’t really step up to the level of other hotels in India.

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• Classification: Five Stars
• Room Category: Superior Room
• Month of Stay: February

Le Meridien was one of the brands I was looking forward to giving a try since it’s been some time that I’ve stayed at a Le Meridien.

Upon arrival after midnight, the hotel was anything but busy. In such a situation, you’d usually expect the check-in procedure to be quite efficient.

However, the check-in was neither warm and friendly nor quick. Especially compared to how amazing all the interaction with the staff at The Oberoi Mumbai was, the check-in at Le Meridien New Delhi was a real disaster.

Superior Room at Le Meridien New Delhi

The “highlight” of the check-in was the fact that we did not only get a room on the lowest floor (we requested a high floor), but also a smoking room.

After getting back to reception, asking for a non-smoking room, we were upgraded to the 17^th floor. However, the view, which was quite nice, was the only difference to basic rooms.

The Superior Rooms at Le Meridien New Delhi are on the small side, but have a very nice design. In the center of the room, there’s a Queen Bed with two spacious bedside tables.

Opposite, there’s a flat screen television, some storage room and also the minibar. Next to the window, the Superior Room at Le Meridien New Delhi comes with a lounging chair, a small table and a working desk with an ergonomic chair.

While the welcome treatment consisting of fruits and a bottle of wine was a very nice touch, I was a little surprised to find a heater in the room. After writing more than 100 hotel reviews, this is the first time I found a heater in the room, which is especially weird in a generally hot country like India.

Bathroom of the Superior Room

The Superior Room at Le Meridien New Delhi itself was not too small even though the official size was just below 30 square meters. However, especially the bathroom was on the very small side.

There’s a single sink, a toilet and a shower-tub combo. While the design was quite cool and stylish, I was surprised to find a shower curtain.

As I’ve already written in other hotel reviews, I find shower curtains to be somewhat unhygienic.

Especially in a design property like Le Meridien New Delhi, I would have expected anything but a shower curtain.

Something else worth mentioning is that there was a nice choice of toiletries and amenities.

Pool & Gym at Le Meridien New Delhi

Even though our stay at Le Meridien New Delhi was very short, I decided to check out the pool and the gym in the morning. Both are located above the lobby and though don’t offer a stunning view.

The gym of Le Meridien New Delhi is quite nice with three different rooms and a lot of relatively modern equipment. There’s also an instructor available during the day.

The pool is located on the outside and is surrounded by several comfortable loungers. Interestingly, the pool is shaped round and though a little strange for swimming.

Also, the pool doesn’t seem to be heated and though was freezing cold in February.

Additional features at Le Meridien New Delhi include a sauna and a steam bath in the changing rooms.

Breakfast at Le Meridien New Delhi

Due to our late arrival at Le Meridien New Delhi, we didn’t have the pleasure of trying some food at Le Meridien New Delhi. However, we had the pleasure of enjoying breakfast at the luxury hotel.

You’ll recognize that I write quite positive about breakfast in India in our hotel reviews. Le Meridien New Delhi is no exception in this regard. While the restaurant was quite crowded, we got a table after two minutes of waiting.

The buffet itself consisted of several different areas and the spread is rather European orientated. Nevertheless, there’s a choice of Indian dishes as well. Next to the buffet areas, guests can find three live-cooking stations where you can order several different hot dishes including omelets, waffles and parathas.

The service was okay, while the quality was good. Overall, the breakfast at Le Meridien New Delhi was absolutely satisfying.

Bottom line Le Meridien New Delhi

Usually, I rarely focus on service in my hotel reviews. However, it’s worth noting that I especially missed the friendly and warm hospitality in India at Le Meridien New Delhi.

While the hotel has a decent hard product with a nice gym, a decent pool, good breakfast and modern rooms, the service was sub-par. The employees seemed somewhat arrogant throughout the stay, which was something I didn’t recognize in any other hotel in India.

So, would I recommend staying at Le Meridien New Delhi? If you don’t have to interact with the staff too much, yes. If you are looking for a service orientated stay, you’d better choose another option in New Delhi!

Book your stay at Le Meridien New Delhi now:

• Hotels.com
• Priceline
• Expedia

 

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