Resorts & Spas: Mumbai, India’s largest city, has an energy hardly contained by its high-rises, car and cow plugged streets and glittering Arabian Sea. On a recent trip to India, I stayed at The Oberoi, Mumbai, an oasis of elegance and relaxation. Here are my favorite aspects of the property:
All in the details
The Oberoi, Mumbai, knows it caters to a savvy set of jet-setters and reflects this with round-the-clock amenities and a fleet of staff at our beckoned call. One of my top resort annoyances is set hours for certain facilities, like the gym or business center. I was very pleased to find that the Oberoi, Mumbai has 24-hour service for its personal butlers, concierges, laundry, fitness center, business center and spa.
More impressively, the hotel is staffed with a copious number of concierges, front managers and butlers; the most I’ve ever seen for a hotel property. I hardly had to have an inquisitive face before a staff member asked what I wanted. How refreshing!
Classic contemporary
Few properties can manage renovations that maintain the elegance and stature of a property’s history while introducing contemporary flourishes. The Oberoi, Mumbai, completed a renovation in the spring of 2010. The $45 million dollars lavished on the hotel improvements give it a gleaming, smart look.
I loved the surprising use of bold, lipstick red, spotted in the lobby, on the baby grand piano, and even on the tails of the fish in the tabletop vases.
Pearly white tiles, hand selected by Mr. Oberoi from the Greek island of Thassos, give the entire lobby a light, but sharp presentation. The hotel’s huge front windows framed the Arabian Sea just across the street. I particularly enjoyed the golden sheers falling like ribbons that graced these massive windows.
Well situated, inside and out
For our first hotel stay in Mumbai, I couldn’t have asked for a better situated property. The Oberoi, Mumbai sits majestically along the Arabian Sea, on the tip of Mumbai’s Marine Drive. The hotel is also the crowning building of Nariman Point, India’s first central business district and Mumbai’s prestigious business hub. In the mornings, I spotted hundreds of locals strolling the waterway, either for exercise or on the way to work, with briefcases in hand.
Inside the hotel, a variety of suites (73 total) and rooms (214 total), sparkle with oak wood floors and luxurious accents, including specially commissioned oil paintings and High Definition Media Interfaces (HDMIs). High marks in my book for a property that shines from the bathroom of our suite to the steps in the backdrop of the lobby.
The Oberoi Mumbai
Nariman Point
Mumbai-400 021
India
+91 22 6632 5757
www.oberoihotels.com
