This hotel will be lovely if you make sure to arrive and stay there when they are not working on it. We spent two nights. When we checked in, at about 6pm, after a hot day at the Ellora caves, there was very loud hammering and drilling, and bathtubs were being moved up the walkway. Very strong paint fumes permeated the rooms. Then the electricity went completely off and stayed off. But the really irritating part was when we went to the front desk to ask when the construction work would stop, the desk clerks looked me in the eye and said "what construction?" Needless to say, we were not happy. We finally packed up our suitcases and took them to the lobby and demanded rooms away from the construction, which they agreed to. These rooms, while quieter, and away from the noise, had obivously just been renovated, and the furniture had just been moved back in--or at least some of it; we had no furniture on the terrace and no chairs, but were too tired to complain. I guess it is just greed that makes hotels try to undertake renovations while they juggle their guests around. I guess the Taj is the best bet in town--we went off to dinner elsewhere, as we didn't really feel like giving them more money, and there are some other business hotels--but this is probably the best bet if you want a western style luxury hotel. As i say, it will probably be much nicer if you get to stay there when they are not rennovating, and if the staff doesn't lie to you.

We couldn't agree more with the previous reviewer - this hotel provides an excellent base for visiting the Ajanta and Ellora caves (which are simply amazing). Here are a few words on our stay to help readers considering this hotel:

Pros: Great room (ours was freshly renovated - be sure to get these rather than the old ones); fabulous bathroom in the rooms (after roughing it for a while this was a godsend); lovely grounds and pool; good staff (interestingly the male staff tend to be chaffing at the bit for tips - which can get tiring - whereas female staff simple give great professional service).

Cons: none really - the food was fine but unlikely to excite (this is common in chain hotels).

Also: we used a package organized by the Taj which included a room upgrade, driver and meals which was quite good value.

Aurangabad is really a a base for visiting the nearby Ajanta and Ellora caves - assuming you're a tourist.
If ths is the case, this place is great - rooms and bathrooms are spacious - and there's a swing on most balconies. Someone's spent a lot of time on the entrance hall, and it shows. Pool is pretty good as well. I think most rooms overlook the garden. Staff are all happy to help with whatever you need.

The only thing that's really missing is a proper restauraunt - under refurbishment and due to open in Feb 2008. They're using another room as an eating area in the meantime, but it's utterly charmless - you're better off going somewhere else instead. The menus they're currently using looked rather shabby - some of the ink had already come off !

Having said all that, the same kind of place would cost 5 times the price in London - I liked the place at least

Paid $116 per night. Beautiful quiet spacious rooms, however one room had mold smell after wet season, so they moved us to another room, clean and mold-free. Very nice bathrooms. Laundry service is unpredicatable and very expensive, not really worth it. Pool's stunning, gym's okay, bar's okay. Car service to sites is reasonable and very friendly (we had Sanjay, a great guy) - about the same price we paid for car service at Angkor in Cambodia. Front desk and concierge are super helpful and really attentive, making sure you have everything you want while you're there. The main drawback is the understaffed and wornout restaurant, but they said they're starting renovations next month on that, so could be a whole new deal by December. Overall, a great value for the price we paid, a beautiful property and very central to all the sites.