India, Oct. 15 -- You may not know what Michelin keys are. They are the hotel equivalent of Michelin stars with pretty much the same philosophy: Anonymous inspections by professionals who pay their own way; three keys are the hotel equivalent of three stars for restaurants; and so on.

Until recently the keys were announced in the same way as the stars with local ceremonies. But a week ago, in a break with tradition, Michelin announced ratings for thousands of hotels around the world.

Among them were some Indian hotels. As the idea behind the keys is to recognise excellence at all price points, there were some surprises but there was also widespread agreement over the two hotels that won three keys.

Both are palace hotels run by the Taj...