Enjoy an Indian summer

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19 MAY 2004
Wildflower Hall, Himalayas
Colonial meets giant Swiss chalet in Wildflower Hall, the hotel surrounded by tall dark cedars over 8,000ft up in the Himalayan foothills. It owes its existence to a spat between the Governor General and Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, and Army Commander-in-Chief, Lord Kitchener.

Kitchener chose his retreat in Mashobra, well away from the politics of Simla, home of the Viceroy. After Kitchener's tenure it was turned into a hotel, closed, and then restored, and reopened recently. Memories of its founder linger; a bemedalled portrait gazes sternly over arriving holidaymakers in the lobby. Kitchener would no doubt approve of the acres of teak and polished parquet, redolent of a gentlemen's club, and the card and billiard room with portraits of dashing Bengal Lancers.

Eateries include a brasserie where the all-day dining menu includes the kind of scrumptious afternoon tea your granny might have made. Bedrooms are large, comfortable and airy, but make sure you bag one with a view of the sublime mountains.

Sightseeing: Opportunities to explore the scenery abound; walking, boating, rafting and picnics can be arranged.

Amarvilas, Agra
Breakfast is a somewhat quiet affair at Amarvilas as guests gaze as if hypnotised at the view through the picture windows. But it's not only the breakfast room; the bar, lobby, bedrooms all boast stunning views of the Taj Mahal. In the suites even the Jacuzzis, double showers and toilets enjoy a vista of the exquisite 17th-century mausoleum, the world's greatest monument to love, built by Emperor Shah Jehan for his favourite wife, Mumtaz, who died bearing their 14th child.

Agra's first really sumptuous hotel, the Amarvilas is just 600 metres away. It is entered through a vast courtyard of stone pillars and a moghul-style water garden. The bedrooms are filled with covetable artefacts and the bathrooms boast expanses of translucent blue and white marble.

Outside, ornate gardens bristling with elaborate pavilions and fountains surround a large pool. But the best way of relaxing after your visit to the Taj Mahal is to give yourself up to an Ayurvedic holistic and herbal treatment in the spa.

Sightseeing: Allow plenty of time to savour the Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world, and try to visit early or late to avoid the crowds.