Taj Swarna Amritsar, Punjab, India » Luxury Indian Traveler

Introduction

Taj Swarna Amrtisar is a newly constructed (only 3 years old) hotel based in the centre of the holy city of Amritsar. This is the only 5 star hotel in the city and is rated number one on Tripadvisor. We stayed here for 2 nights and booked using the American Express promotional offer which gave us 25% off when booking with our American Express Platinum Charge Card (Link here). We booked the room for approximately INR 7,000 per night compared to the regular fare of INR 10,000 per night which was an absolute steal.

Check in

We hotel is located around 12 km from the Airport and it took us around half an hour to reach from the Airport to the Hotel. The lobby area is extremely beautiful and has plenty of seating.

The Check in counter is beautifully designed and the staff ensured that we had a smooth check in. The hospitality at Taj is very different compared to the popular chains like Marriott, Hilton etc. It is really difficult to describe in words but you feel pampered.

Our Room

We had booked the base category room which is the “Deluxe Room”. Gold members with Taj are eligible for an upgrade subject to availability and we were upgraded to the “Luxury Room”. The room did not really feel like an upgrade and I guess these rooms are located on a higher floor with better views of the city. Both rooms are 31 square metres in size which is adequate for a short trip to this wonderful city.

We were given a quick overview of the room features and were offered a choice of welcome drinks. We went for Masala Tea and Fresh Lime water. I did not like the Masala tea at all but to be fair my standards for comparison are pretty high and not a single super luxury hotel in India has served good tea. The cookies from the bakery were really nice though.

Some of my favourite things about the Taj Hotels is the Himalayan Mineral Water (I just love its taste) and direct USB Charging. Mineral water is complimentary throughout your stay. There was also a bowl of fresh fruits in the room. The decor of the room is modern with a large 40 inch flat screen TV and a work desk.

The rooms have a hot water kettle for making tea/coffee. The room also had a well stocked minibar and plenty of snacks for those late night hunger pangs. The bathroom is stocked with amenities from Forest Essentials which a Luxury Ayurvedic brand from India. There is plenty of storage space within the room and they also have an in-room safe.

La Patisserie - The bakery

The Hotel has a wonderful in house bakery called La Patisserie which is located on the lobby level. It serves a delectable mix of sweets, pastries, cakes and light snacks. We were served complimentary chocolates from the bakery every night during the turn down service and they were awesome.

Grand Trunk Restaurant

The main restaurant of the Hotel is called Grand Trunk which is a 24×7 all day dining multicuisine restaurant. The buffet meals (Breakfast / Lunch & Dinner) are served here. In addition, the hotel also has a Chinese speciality restaurant called “The Chinese Room”. While we do like chinese food (especially with an Indian twist), we could not resist mouth watering Amritsari cuisine from the Grand Trunk restaurant and we had all our meals here. The buffet spread was really massive and mouthwatering. We resisted as we end up eating too much and feel guilty later and instead opted for a la carte for Lunch, Dinner & Breakfast.

The restaurant is quite huge and there is a lot of rush especially on weekends. They also have live music playing in the restaurant during luchtime on weekends. They have an open plan kitchen and you can interact with the Chef’s and ask for food to be prepared as per your preference. The food here is awesome and the two must have dishes in this restaurant are the “Amritsari Chole Kulche” and the “Chole Bhature”.

The Amritsari food here was so delicious that this was the first time we ended up having only 3 dishes throughout our entire stay. The Amritsari Kulcha is not to be missed and we are not staying anywhere else on our future visit to this city.

North India is also famous for its paranthas and the Aloo parantha at the restaurant was also great.

While these dishes may look small, they will fill your stomach in no time. For those who want to sample a larger variety of the North Indian cuisine, you can try the Amritsari Thali which will give you a glimpse of even larger variety of food. It comes with Choice of breads, rice, two starters, two vegetables, two dals, a drink and dessert. A single thali was more than enough for the both of us.

The breakfast spread is also impressive and there is a host of choice from Continental / North Indian / South Indian cuisines.

The Peg

The Hotel has a large bar and lounge at the lobby area. North Indians are known for their large drinking capacity and this was the first 5 star hotel where there was an entrance line being regulated by the Hotel Security. They have plenty of seating area for great conversations.

Hotel Amenities

The Hotel has a Jiva Spa which offers a variety of treatments from Indian and Western Therapies. Both of us had a great time relaxing at the Spa.

On arrival you are presented with their Vishuddhi Tea which is a tea made of Jaggery, Lemon and Holy Basil. I really love the way this tea is made and never visiting a Jiva Spa just to taste this tea.

After a brief interaction with the therapist, you are escorted to the treatment room. The rooms are well appointed and stocked with all essential amenities. Both of our therapies were wonderful and we always have a great Spa experience at Taj. They also have a separate relaxation area once your Spa session is complete if you wish to relax further.

The Hotel also has a small gym right next to the Jiva Spa with plenty of cardio equipment. There is a trainer throughout the day to assist you if required. They also have a few exercise machines and a free weight section.

The Hotel has an impressive swimming pool right next to the Gym. There is plenty of seating next to the pool with some loungers inside the shallow area of the pool as well. They also have a small play area for water polo as well.

The Hotels also have bicycles for guest use. There is a small area right outside the property which is maintained by the Hotel where the road is really good. However, I would not really be confident to venture further into the city on the bicycle. For anyone not used to Indian traffic, our advise would be a strict no-no. The Indian style of driving is unlike anything you would have seen before. The Hotel also has a live folk musical instrument performance which we experienced in the night. The music was so blissful and we ended up staying for almost 30 minutes in the lobby when we had other plans. It was a string instrument and the music was just lovely.

Local Tours

The Hotel also offers guided tours of major attractions near the City. Every first time Visitor to the City needs to Visit “Wagah-Attari Border” and the “Golden Temple”. While you can use local taxis for these city tours we would highly recommend the Hotel’s guided tours. The Vehicles are top notch, experienced guides and very flexible in accommodating your needs.

We first visited the Wagah-Attari Border which is approximately 40 km and a 45 minutes drive from the Hotel. This place has plenty of rush and it is better to depart early. Irrespective of the weather/season be prepared for large crowds and long queues. Try and get a VIP pass if possible (Only possible if you have contacts in the military). The lowering of the flags ceremony is a daily military practice which needs to be experienced at least once. There are patriotic songs on both sides of the border and the atmosphere is unreal.

Our Visit to the city coincided with one of the most auspicious days in the Sikh calendar. Our first attempt at visiting the Golden Temple which is the holiest shrine in the Sikh religion did not go very well. The rush was so much that we decided to try the next day. Our guide was local and advised us to return around midnight when the rush would be lower. Surely enough we had a great time and a guided tour of the temple premises as well as the kitchen which runs 24×7 and serves free food to everyone (Its known as the Langar). This is a must visit monument which is covered in real gold and everyone is welcome here. We were fortunate enough to get a glimpse of the Guru Granth Sahib.

Turn Down Service

The Hotel offers turn down service for all guests. We were delighted to be presented with two excellent desserts on both of our nights. Not sure if this is for all guests or restricted to Taj Elite members. They came from La Patisserie and were mouth watering.

The turn down service was quick and efficient. Staff is very attentive to all your needs and our requests were taken care of swiftly. Taj had put together a great team.

In Room Dining

The food is one of the main reasons you should visit this hotel. Food was always delivered piping hot to the rooms and the taste was excellent. We had Aloo Parantha and Aloo Puri for breakfast. It was served with Curd and Pickle.

We also repeated Amritsari Kulcha for In Room dining lunch on our checkout day. The food was tasty and we just loved the crispiness of the Kulcha. We have not found such kulchas anywhere else in India.

Checkout

We had requested for a delayed checkout and the hotel was more than happy to extend our check out time. Being Gold members definitely helps (2 PM subject to availability). On check out were were presented with curd and jaggery which is a traditional punjabi dish.

Conclusion

The Taj Swarna is an impressive hotel in the city of Amritsar. It is a great base to explore the major attractions of the city, unwind and relax and have mouthwatering local food. The staff is friendly and very helpful. Taj is known for their impressive hospitality and you cannot go wrong with this choice. Check out our video review of the property as well below. Have you traveled to Taj Swarna? How was your experience?