The Orchid Retreat

Our stay at this home stay for two nights was great and comfortable. Location of Home stay was superb as it is just 300 mtr from Taj east entry gate. Room was well maintained with all basic amenities. only Bath room shower was not in good working condition. Other wise we enjoyed our stay and we also enjoyed home made food which was very very tasty and reasonable priced and main highlight is Host Vikrant sir , excellent and helping person. He made our stay very comfortable. Highly recommendable property.

Excellent home stay, felt home from home which was made special by the owner Vikrant, who made sure we were looked after so well. We had two rooms booked for two nights. Vikrant contacted us prior to arrival, arranged our pick up from the railway station since it was so late in the night. He made sure we had drinks on arrival. The place was clean, comfortable and walkable distance to the Taj. The shopping and restaurant tips Vikrant gave was excellent. It was sad to leave the place where we felt so homely. Will stay again. Thank you for looking after us.

Vikrant and his family were excellent hosts and went out of their way to ensure we had a safe and smooth trip in Agra from providing tips on how to maximise our time (two days) in the city, to handling local vendors and drivers on our behalf. It was a welcome change from the usual ripping tourists off trade in general and was much appreciated by us mid-India! Thank you Vikrant.

This is an incredible place! Not only were the room and bathroom spotless and everything can easily be reached from the homestay, but the best part of the experience was the owner’s family. They made me feel at home like I’ve never felt before. The grandmother showed me how to preserve the henna on my hands and how she makes Indian breakfast, the owner’s son chatted with me about his schooling, and the owner and his father talked social issues with me. I felt right at home. If you are looking for an authentic experience with warmhearted people in a beautiful environment without the touristy stuff, make sure to stay at the Orchid Retreat.

The best host I have ever seen in my entire life! Calm, informed, amazing English. He was there for us for every step of the way, gave us precious advice regarding what to buy and where to buy from. Rooms were tidy, staff was helpful, toiletries were there! I cannot ask for more from a host!

We recently had a small roundtrip through India. Obviously, Taj Mahal in Agra was a must see. For our stay in Agra, we booked a night at the Orchid Retreat. To our surprise, we were very nicely and heartly welcomed by the owner and the staff. The hotel is family owned and runned. The rooms were very clean, super comfortable, and had a big window facing a relaxing back yard. What made this experience unqiue compared to all other places we stayed in entire India was that the owner was beyond helpful (which was at any time without any feelings of being pressured into something we did not want while helping us with every need). We travelled during our small roundtrip using bus and train transportation. The hotel owner helped us in no time booking the trains and buses even when we no longer staying at his place, without ever asking anything in return. For instance, when we were in Jaisalmer and wanted to go to Udaipur, we contancted Vikrant, and he just helped us booking a bus from Jaisalmer to Udaipur. As a foreigner in India, it is troublesome to book transportation online, so this was a major help to us, and really made our India trip very relaxed and memorable. Throughout our entire trip through india, the orchid retreat impressively stood out all other hotels we stayed at (incl. 5 star hotels like the Radisson Blu Hotels). HUGELY recommend, we are very much looking forward to stay at the orchid retreat again once we will visit India again