Top Five Most Expensive Hotels in India

No.1
Grand Presidential Suite, Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi


The living room at the Grand Presidential Suite at the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi.
The most expensive hotel room in India is the Grand Presidential Suite located at the Taj Mahal Hotel on New Delhi's Man Singh Road.

The tariff: An astounding $5,000 (about Rs 225,000) per night.

Styled after the architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyen, the famous English architect who built Delhi over 20 years in the early 20th century, the furniture and artifacts in the room reflect his designs. Aptly the suite offers views of Lutyen's Delhi.

The ten-room suite -- two master bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a pantry, a workout area, a library, a vanity room, a powder room, a bathroom -- is equipped with Italian Frette linen, Bose speakers, a personal treadmill, an IBM thinkpad and state-of-the-art Avaya digital phones.

The Grand Presidential Suite has recently played host to guests like Australian Prime Minister John Howard, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, Japanese Premier Junichiro Koizumi and then Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon among others.

Interestingly, both then US President Bill Clinton and current American President George W Bush chose to stay in the $1,500 (Rs 67,500)-a-night Presidential Suite at the Maurya Sheraton for security reasons.

New Delhi is also home to the $1,800-a-night (about Rs 81,000) Curzon Suite at Oberoi Hotels.

Incidentally the world's most expensive suite is in New York City at The Plaza, Manhattan for $15,000 (about Rs 675,000) per night.

No.2
Presidential Suite, Taj Palace and Towers, Mumba

The sitting room at the Presidential Suite at the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi.

Mumbai too has its fair share of plush hotel rooms. They don't come with New Delhi price tags but one night at the Taj's Grand Presidential Suite close to the magnificent Gateway of India will set you back $3,500 (about Rs 157,500).

Located in one of India's oldest hotels, this palatial suite with Italian marble floors and old-time grandeur offers a patio overlooking the harbour, a balcony in the shadow of the Gateway, a master bedroom and a living-dining room.

The hotel, which was built in 1903 in a combination of Moorish, Oriental and Florentine styles, boasts alabaster ceilings, onyx pillars, exotic furnishings and 1920s Bombay-under-the-British-Raj charm.

In recent years the Presidential Suite or the adjoining and equally fancy Rajput Suite have hosted Prince Charles, Mohamed VI the king of Morocco, novelist Salman Rushdie, singer Tina Turner, Olympian legend Carl Lewis, actor Richard Gere, actress Jane Fonda, philanthropist David Rockefeller, mathematician Professor John (A Beautiful Mind) Nash, Rolling Stone Mick Jagger and plenty of princes, princesses and heads of State.

Mumbai has a couple of nearly as expensive rooms in other hotels like $2,500 (about Rs 112,500) Kohinoor Suite at The Oberoi on Marine Drive and $1,800 (about Rs 81,000) Presidential Suite at the ITC Hotel Grand Central Sheraton & Towers in central Mumbai.

No.3
Grand Presidential Suite, Taj Rambagh Palace, Jaipur
Kohinoor Suite, Oberoi Rajvilas
Grand Presidential Suite Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur
Kohinoor Suite, Oberoi Udiavilas
Grand Presidential Suite, Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur

The courtyard of the Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur. Photograph courtesy: Oberoi Hotels

The scorching sands of Rajasthan have for centuries been dotted with hordes of enchanting palaces and havelis owned by some of the 560 royal dynasties that once ruled India.

Today these mahals house some of the most exotic and magical hotels in the world. Hotels with lavishly expensive rooms, furnished with period pieces overlooking fantastic gardens, verandahs and grounds, evoking another epoch.

It is an eye-ball popping $3,500 (about Rs 157,500) per night at the Grand Presidential Suite at the 47-acre Taj Rambagh Palace Jaipur, India's first palace hotel; $3,000 (about Rs 135,000) a night at the Oberoi Rajvilas in the same city.

At the yellow sandstone Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur and the white marble Taj Lake Palace, in the centre of Lake Pichola, Udaipur, accommodation in their top suites, outfitted with rainforest showers, marble bathtubs, jacuzzis, crystal chandeliers, high priced art, are $3,500 (about Rs 157,500) per night. At the Oberoi's Udaivilas in Udaipur one night at the Kohinoor Suite is a stiff $3,000 (about Rs 135,000) per night.

No.4
Kohinoor Suite, Oberoi Amar Vilas, Agra

The bathroom at the Kohinoor Suite at the Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra.

This stunning, one-of-a-kind view comes for a fortune at the Kohinoor Suite at the Oberoi Amar Vilas at Agra. Even the bathroom peeks at the Taj.

Isn't $3,000 (about Rs 135,000) per night quite justified?

Thrown in for that price are facilities like a private pantry, a terrace sit out, separate living and dining rooms and a study.

Famous guests: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and his wife Sehba.

No.5
Presidential Villa, Taj Exotica, Benaulim, Goa

The bedroom at the Presidential Villa at Taj Exotica, Goa.

Goa has been recently rated the best bargain holiday destination in the world and -- surprise, surprise -- expensive hotel rooms are pretty hard to come by in this hippie paradise.

But like the Indian cricket team or Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the princess of Thailand, or Profesor Gilber Bukenya, the vice-president of Uganda, you too can stay at villas exceeding $400 (about Rs 18,000) at this resort.

One night at the luxurious Presidential Villa with its private pool and view of fabulous beaches, is priced at $2,750 (about Rs 123,750) per night. You can be spoiled by a 24-hour private butler service and a massage at your private pavilion.