Taj Usha Kiran Palace, Gwalior

Recently renovated heritage hotel. Very clean and full of charm. The staff were attentive and welcoming, but sometimes fell a little short of what you would expect from this 5 star chain of hotels. For example, one day we returned after a full day exploring the city and our room had not been cleaned. One evening we ate in the restaurant and ordered two dishes, but only one arrived. One evening we went to 5 o’clock cocktails but there was no bartender in the bar. And the first morning we had breakfast we were told it was buffet only; I asked if there was any a menu and was told no, only to realize later that there was in fact a menu full of delicious options. This hotel has potential to be amazing but it needs to pay attention to the details.

"Thank you for a wonderful stay at Taj Usha Kiran Palace. Exceptional service, clean rooms, and great amenities made our visit memorable." Special mention of Prabhjot, at the restaurant, who made sure the kids, and we adults, were served well and attended too. She has been on her toes during our stay and has a keen interest in the city's history too. Teresa, has been very supportive to our requirements and made sure our stay here was truly delightful ! Vivek, Ambika & Rajesh at the spa / J wellness were remarkable. Our heartfelt thanks to Ms. Tanika, GM at Taj, who has an aura of leadership around her and the warmth of a good host.

Awesome experience with royal views and peace to be in for some time. We used it was pit stop while going to Jabalpur and was memorable experience. We would like to experience again …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Hotel with great ambiance.nust visit place. Luxury rooms are also great value to money Amazing property With excellent staff Mr Pawan ,Miss Lavisa ,Mr Gourav Centralized location with all amenities like gym spa .hotel is sufficient enough to spend more tha! 2 nights .

Lovely hotel but no comparison to the Umed bhavan or fakaknuma. Newly done up interiors. Food was good. But not compared to other taj hotels. No way even near. Breakfast spread is also less compared to other taj hotels. Spa ac not working. Dirty towels in the spa toilets. Extremely upset on that.

The view was awesome. Service was amazing and we just loved the vibe!! Food was extremely tasty, loved the beverages, everything was top-notch! Soooooooooooigooooooooooooooooooooooooooodddddddddddddddddd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These days Taj has been quite aggressively promoting their ten palace hotels. I, in fact, get an email almost twice a month. Out of the ten, Taj Usha Kiran Palace at Gwalior is closest to us and an easy drive away. Moreover, last time when we were at Gwalior (almost two years back), the property was closed down for renovation. This time when another Gwalior trip appeared in the horizon during the Independence Day long weekend, I wasted no time in booking a Palace Room. That was almost five months ahead and I think we managed a reasonably good rate. We were also celebrating our anniversary and both our kids were travelling. About 10 days before the trip, I noticed that our Palace room had been auto-upgraded to a Historical Suite. This was a pleasant surprise, as the property only had 3 such themed suites and now I was very curious to know their details. The webpage for the suites said little and so I tried to get in touch with their GM Tanika Taneja over email. She forwarded my email to Dhruv Chawla who signed as the duty manager. I guess he had no clue of this upgrade, so he mentioned something like it is “based on availability at check-in”! He also forwarded me the web link for their Historical suites when I asked for more information, which of course was of no use. We arrived at the hotel at about 11 AM after driving for 5 hours. There was an outer entrance to the palace where we were first stopped and got out of the car. They took our luggage for security checking. I then assumed that we will be perhaps taken to the front porch via some carriage as I had seen in some review. But no, the security guys promptly handed the keys back and we were to drive to the porch ourselves. This extra luggage screening stop thus made no sense. As we stopped near the fountain, no one was initially there. The welcoming drum was not beaten, nor the big horn blown but eventually as we waited an executive came down the stairs to take us inside. There was no proper valet here and we would be parking the car ourselves from here on. We were taken up the stairs to the lobby past the bust of Maharaja Jayaji Rao Scindia. At the lobby there was a significant presence of cops that day while the GM was there too, perhaps preparing for some Independence Day ceremony. However, no one greeted us for a while till Teresa Shaw appeared who introduced herself as the FoM. She mentioned how our allotted Maratha Suite was the most beloved of the three Historical Suites and that it also included a very nice sit-out. As the room got ready our hopes went high again and we followed the same executive who had greeted us at the porch. As we walked toward the room I asked her a bit about the history of the palace and all she could tell us was when it was built and who did it! The room no. 105, Maratha suite, was right there at the ground floor behind a large heavy-looking door accessible via an old-school key attached to a rather large metal key ring. The first

Renovation of this 180 yr history tracing heritage property neared completion a few months back and we decided to try what the Taj group had in offer for their guests . Verdant greens greeted us at the outer gates even as a royal welcome with blowing of traditional horn and “ Aarti” awaited at the steps leading up to the grand entrance and lobby. Riya, supervising the front desk team, then took charge to ensure we got the best this Palace could offer throughout our stay right upto a rare warm send off - embodying Taj hospitality in the truest sense. All other members of staff who we interacted with, were also warm, friendly and welcoming - Ishika & Muskan, Dhruv, Sanny among others. Once inside, the property transported us to a royal past through heritage furnishings, murals, paintings, filigree work, stone corridors and courtyards, marble pillars, et all. A blue tiled large, pool with arched bridges leading to tent styled decks in the middle, situated in the centre of a manicured expanse of garden was a feast for the eyes. Taj have erected a few luxurious tents at one side of it , adding to the heritage look. Need one add that all this is accompanied by state of art modern comfort and amenities. All other facilities like a regular swimming pool, gym, spa, restaurant, a royal bar with resplendent furnishings exist to meet all your demands. Of course rooms and suites for all tastes and budgets exist done up with care to minimise any compromise with their heritage design and layout. Few minor fault lines may be encountered in a corner or two, but maintenance of a heritage property in its original look is difficult, and managerial team are willingly open to guests’ suggestions. Overall a wonderful experience! Go ahead and enjoy some royalty yourself, courtesy Taj.

The welcome ritual was very nice. Staff was very warm and courteous. It was a wonderful experience of stay at the luxury tent rooms. It gives you the feel as if you are out on a jungle trip with a royal entourage. The feel is further complimented by warm, respectful and traditionally attired staff.