Epicure is a loyalty program from the IHCL group of hotels that offers different perks depending on the membership type. It’s great for frequent travelers, especially HNIs and corporate guests, who enjoy staying at Taj, Vivanta, and SeleQtions hotels.
TAJ Epicure Variants
Epicure membership comes in 3 variants, as below:
| Variant | Complimentary Nights | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Privileged | 2 Nights | 50K INR + GST |
| Preferred | 1 Night | 25K INR + GST |
| Plus | – | – |
While the Taj Epicure Preferred and Privileged memberships are usually sold directly, the Plus variant is offered as a benefit through select credit cards.
Note: At times, Privileged/Preferred membership is offered with 10-20% discount via Neu/TAJ app or TAJ Offline
Features & Benefits
Epicure Privileged
- 2 Complimentary Stay Nights, at select TAJ/Vivanta/SeleQtions properties
- 4 Complimentary Lunch/Dinner Vouchers for 2, at select TAJ Restaurants
- 4 Complimentary 1 Level Room Upgrade Voucher for 1 Night
- 3 Times Complimentary 60 minutes Spa for 1 person
- 4 Times Exclusive TAJ Club lounge access for 2 persons
- Complimentary Cake during Member’s Birthday month
- Multiple Room upgrade/discount Vouchers
- 20% Off on F&B & Spa
- IHCL Gold status
Epicure Preferred
- 1 Complimentary Stay Night, at select TAJ/Vivanta/SeleQtions properties
- 2 Complimentary Lunch/Dinner Vouchers for 2, at select TAJ Restaurants
- 2 Complimentary 1 Level Room Upgrade Voucher for 1 Night
- 1 Times Complimentary 60 minutes Spa for 1 person
- Complimentary Cake during Member’s Birthday month
- Multiple Room upgrade/discount Vouchers
- 20% Off on F&B & Spa
- IHCL Silver status
Epicure Plus
- Multiple Room upgrade/discount Vouchers
- 20% Off on F&B & Spa
- Complimentary Cake during Member’s Birthday month
Membership via Credit Cards
- One Time Epicure Preferred membership with 1 Complimentary Stay Night via
- ICICI Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card (Joining/Renewal Fee: 12.5K+GST)
- Indus Solitaire Credit Card (Joining Fee: 30K+GST, Renewal Fee: 10K+GST)
- HDFC Speciale Platinum (Bank account) (AQB: 3L+)
- AU Ivy (Bank account) (AMB: 25L+) etc.
- Epicure Plus Customized variants, issued with Super Premium CCs
Most Epicure Plus memberships include dining, room, or other discount vouchers but usually don’t offer complimentary stay nights, making them less appealing to many. However, they are a great option for saving on F&B, and spa.
Things to know
- I stayed at Vivanta Dal View, Srinagar using Complimentary Stay Nights. Availability isn’t an issue as per my experience.
- Only Base category rooms can be booked with Complimentary Stay Nights
- Even with Complimentary Stay Nights, 18% Taxes will still have to be paid
- You can use Cards or Neu coins or TAJ GVs to pay for the outstanding.
- 2 Adults+2 Kids upto 12 years are allowed per Night. May vary with Property
- Breakfast is Complimentary for 2 (Kids were allowed though)
- TAJ Palaces/Safaris & few other TAJ Properties can’t be booked via this route
- Vivanta Dal View Srinagar & TAJ Chia Kutir Darjeeling are some of the top 5 Star properties, that give very good value for Complimentary Stay Nights redemption
Bottomline
IHCL & Epicure treats their customers very well (as per my experience). Had a small issue with Epicure & I raised a complaint which was taken care promptly.
TAJ Epicure membership helps in reducing the TAJ Hotels stay & associated costs quite a bit, if you like TAJ group hospitality & want to experience their whole Bouquet of services. Redemption benefits at few properties like Vivanta Dal View Srinagar can be as much as 1.5X-2X the price paid towards membership.
Having said that if you are not a frequent traveler, paid Epicure membership isn’t worth for most. As it limits the scope of your stay to IHCL group of Hotels only.