India with Periplus

For our India trip, my husband, Joe, and I used Periplus Travel (C-30, Nathu Singh Market, Masoodpur, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi‚ 110070, India; phone +91 11 2612 2514, mobile +91 98 1017 3158). Starting three months before our Oct. 13-25, 2011, trip, I communicated by e-mail with the owner, Ravi Kumar. He was quick to respond and included detailed itineraries. We put together an 11-night trip with private drivers, guides, flights within India, and hotels in Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. The price for two was $5,738. The service we received was top-notch. We were greeted at airports and rode in modern, clean vans. Our guides spoke excellent English and were very knowledgeable and flexible. The Imperial Hotel in New Delhi ended up being one of my ultimate favorite hotels. The decor was elegant without being gaudy; it was classy but comfortable. The service was excellent and the pool was one of the best I’ve ever seen, but it was the spa that was complete heaven. Its decor was very beautiful and I found the service top-notch… and I’ve been to a lot of spas. We stayed at the Imperial four times, each time getting the same room, which was spacious, clean, quiet and homey. In Jaipur we stayed at Samode Haveli, a palace converted into a hotel. Our suite was so unusual. I loved it. Made of marble, it had a soaring ceiling. A narrow walkway behind our bed had windows looking onto the back courtyard. At the Amber Fort in Jaipur, I chose not to ride an elephant to the entrance gate because I had read that they are treated poorly. In Dera Amer camp I got to bathe an elephant and paint her trunk. In Agra, the Taj Mahal was breathtaking. The Gateway Hotel was very comfortable. We paid separately for three nights at the Junglemantra Resort ($1,700 total) in Bandhavgarh National Park. Unfortunately, we did not see one tiger. We even paid extra to enter at the Tala Gate, the best gate for seeing tigers. I highly recommend Periplus Travel. Very professional, they provided a breath of fresh air in an interesting but sometimes chaotic country. SARA KRAS Glendale, CA