It all begins with a cookie—or three—that doesn’t crumble. A boxful of chocolate chip, oatmeal and sesame confections, balanced by a wholesome quartet of apples, which constitute our warm and well-flavoured welcome into the Courtyard—long before we set foot into its front court. It turns up as we buckle in for the 2.5-hour ride from the eastern edge of the NCR to Agra, going one better than the touted sweet and warm reception at its closest competitor, which edged ahead by a head and shoulders into the city of the Taj Mahal.
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Arriving, it looks very… square. Like the eponymous courtyard, in fact, with plenty of sharp lines and geometric flair. Very contemporary, very glocal. There are fountains in the front court, punctuating the lobby, and asymmetrically lining the inner ‘swimming square’. There are Mughal arches, pops of colour dragging them playfully into a modern baroque wall and out of the history books. There is a ‘vintage’-looking carved façade as backdrop for a shaadi mandap. And unlike your average upscale Courtyard elsewhere, this one has an extra touch of five-star luxury with a sense of place: the mirrorwork motifs flanking the bed and reflected in the shower closet, the black and white granite floors, the ornate banquet and boardroom curtains and the mirror-ceilinged portico, the mosaic-lined pools, the perforated screens with electric diyas in the lobby, crystal chandeliers in ballrooms, top-end rooms with terraces framed by carved jaali screens, a spa and an outdoor Indian barbecue (tandoor) to be laid on by winter.
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The rooms, all five categories, have a more Art Deco air. Lots of polished chrome and granite and mirror panels, squares and stripes and chevrons, taupe and brown and lime, flex-armed lamp, replica Eames desk chair and Jeffrey Bernett’s Metropolitan swivel accent chair, minibars hidden in upholstered cabinets, round and oval side tables… But also, importantly, the spirit-of-place black and white image of a local tourism landmark. And as we amble across from the restaurant after breakfast, a flautist pipes up with happy dignity from a sofa in the lobby.
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Interestingly, possibly the most impressive element of our diminutive suite remained the in-room dining menu—for a change, including the entire a la carte offering of the main restaurant, MoMo Café, which includes Indian, Continental, sandwiches and burgers and a small kids menu, as well as a small selection of Asian (Thai and Chinese-ish mostly). If you think comfort food, you will be well covered and well pleased, without the fusion food and modern gastronomy pyrotechnics. Even more impressive, in-room dining actually managed to outdo the restaurant itself, despite its thrice daily laying on of the ‘most lavish buffet in town’ complete with teppan ice-cream station, salad bar and live kitchens. The oatmeal came with brown sugar and honey. The dosa was as competent as the tom kha; the potatoes with sesame seeds and peanuts as satisfying as the pizza margherita—simple things, well done, with just a few surprises thrown in. The MoMo2Go station is a cross between bakeshop, deli and coffee vendor’s station, with Lavazza brews, a few different candies, some sandwiches and quiches and cakes, and those cookies we started with. The Onyx Bar serves cocktails.
For the tourist-bus crowds and the wedding party and the corporate contingent, the location is great. About the third closest of the big-brand hotels (not including the government ones, which of course have the prime picks) to the Taj Mahal, yet tucked away from the flurry of the main thoroughfares and congested city roads with auto rickshaws and cycle rickshaws, tongas, cars and lorries and buses, and sundry shops.
What is most impressive about what could have been a cookie cutter property is that it takes a bunch of unexpected chances—and wins more than it loses while gambling.
The information
Where: Taj Nagri, Phase II, Fatehbad Road, Agra 282001. 8km from Agra Cantt railway station and 10.5km from the Agra airport.
Accommodation: 189 rooms: 96 deluxe, 71 premier (pool view), 4 terrace, 11 junior suites, 7 executive suites
Tariff: Rs 4,050 (deluxe), Rs 4,700 (premier), Rs 5,900 (terrace), Rs 8,900 (junior suites), Rs 11,900 (executive suites)
Contact: 0562-2457777; www.marriott.com