The Oberoi group

Has anyone ever stayed in the premium five star luxury brand 'the Oberoi group of hotels'. I have never stayed in them, but when I studied hotel management ,
I went there as a student. Oberoi group is well known for its service...their school of management OSM (Oberoi school of management) too has a good reputation...I would love to know others' experience about this chain of hotels.

They are good, but way too expensive even by american standards.

Rahul
They used to be a good chain in the 80's I stayed with them on quite a few occasions over the past 8 years and was disappointed with the service and quality of food. The OFS (Oberoi Flight Services) is still pretty good.

The wost experience I had was at the Oberoi Towers in Mumbai where on one trip 2 years ago they kept turning off the air conditioning at night and claimed that there was a power shortage in Mumbai. I was told that this was not true and that they were trying to cut costs.

Bill

some are better than others. I have stayed in some that were incredible, others that were the pits. We prefer Taj, though they vary quite a bit too.

I agree with Susan. The Taj is a better run chain. The Oberoi in Mumbai does have the friendliest female front desk staff. I always hook up with them on weekends as they know all the best parties & local hotspots.


Bill

How is the Udaivillas (oberoi) in Udaipur?

Member Sayswho gave a short description of Udaivillas in this Thread

stayed in 2 casino group hotels this trip. was very very impressed

please advise about how to get the best prices at both TAJ and OBEROI hotel chains.

Thanks

Hi there. The OBEROI GROUP of Hotels in INDIA, and with iTS presence worldwide is by far one of the most luxruious, beautiful, lush and extravagant in India! dELUXE PLUSH! IT is definately making inroads as some of the best hotels in India, and a global reputation that is steadily growing and expanDing. Now, *i am not referring to their smaller four/five star hotel chain that they used to manage in a few places in India, including Agra,udaipur, and JAIPUR and a few more destinations. These were called the Oberoi Tridents,(avergage 4-5 star), and not their super deluxe proerties. Actually, that chain had recently been taken over by the HILTONS (yup!), they are now the Trident HIltons, all over INDIA..
However, the SUPER luxurious, well-run, highy regarded OBEROI chain of Hotels, Resorts, villas, has a huge and growing pressence in India, (and the world)with some of the most beautiful, spectacular and of course, expensive proerties in the country. In India, these include a few city five star deluxe hotels, such as the OBEROI in Delhi, Bombay, KOlkata and Bangalore!
*** , HOWEVER, the creme de la creme, is the incredibly beautiful and unique line of proPerties, the OBEROI VILLAS. .these are in a world of their own, for luxury, beauty, service, DESIGN to fit in with local environment and history, oh, and price!..However, it is still much less expnensive then a deluxe proerty in France or ITALy. These properties are gorgeous, fit in with the flavor of the region in a unique way, and for sure, you will be pampered and watered and massaged, and live like a king and Queen...these are the OBEROI vILLA properties, that i know of, and have seen! all also have very nice luuxurious in-house spas, offering all the treatments, Aruvedya, etc.!
The OBEROI HOTELS!
1.RAJVILAS. (outside of JAIPUR, Rajasthan). Expect to feel like a MAHARAJA on this lush garden paradise of 30 somewhat acres of land. truly beautiful, romantic and regal!
2.AMARVILAS. (AGRA.) iF you can afford it, this is the place to stay in AGRa, beautiful property, all rooms views of the Taj, place filled with fountnains, streams, living large the MUGHAL life.. IF you stay here, you will love AGRA!
3. UDAIVILAS(UDAIPUR) yes, this another truly spectacular property, rivaling the age-old lake palace as the PLACE TO STAY! it is on lake picchola, views of the lake place, city place, etc. IT is buillt to fit in with the design of the region. this place is romantic, superb service and a huge splurge!
4.VANYAVILAS. (RATHAMBORE) This is the place to stay at Rathambore for the ultimate royal JUNGLE treatment and splurge!, Located on about 20 acres turned into a royal hunting palace, with all the touches, and bordering the willdlife reserve. lakes, fountains, tents, superb service, and very expensive .
5. well, i do not believe there are any others in India yet, but surely more to come.
6. oh, i have just re-read over some of the posts in this thread, and i see some questions also regarding the Taj HOTEL properties. I will write another little thread-follow-up, at another time... In the meantime, feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions about the hotels listed, or the Oberoi or Taj Hotels in general, as i have either stayed in, or seen almost all of them in INDIA!. take care happy travels, namaste. bonita

I stayed at a few Oberoi hotels, in Bangalore and Mumbai..The bangalore stay was recent. It was alright, the rooms were a bit small. It is expensive, but you get the comforts you may require without makign sacrifices that you may not be used to.

Taj Hotels really vary by area. and by price. For example the Taj Banjara in Hyd is around 110 bucks a night (rack rate) while the Taj Krishna is around 160 dollars per night. They are about 1 mile from each other but vary alot. I think the second is more of a super deluxe 5 star. The Taj Corommandel in Madras is very tired looking..it still has name but with the advent of The Park and the Le Meridien...I would not stay at the Taj now..

Hope this helps..

Madhuri

HI again.. Both the OBEROI and the Taj have very fine Hotel properties throughout India, and in other regions. As mentioned in my earlier post, the Oberoi Villa proerties are truly spectacular and out of this world! They are located in RATHAMBORE, JAIPUR, UDAIPUR AND AGRA!. They are unique, luxurious, beautiful and are becomming a destination in itiself!. The OBEROI line also has some very fine and expensive city Hotels with the propertY in Delhi being very elegant and exclusive, a happening OBEROI in bombay with a suberb location on marine drive (rooms overlooking the sea), the OBEROI Grand in kolkata is definately top notch and probably the top hotel in the city!, and the property in Bangalore which is probably the most average for a OBEROI proerty. However, in the cities you have so many good and less expensive options than the Oberois in this category. I would save your ruppee if ya can for a lux-deluxe plush splurge, go for one of the villa properties!. oh, u can look at theirwebsite at oberoihotels.com
*NOW, the Taj HOTEL CHAIN, has a much bigger pressence in India, and there properties vary alot in quality..Some are truly superb, historic, and are pure elegance and sophistication, whereas some have definately seen a better day and epoch! Some are new and ultra-luxurious, some are heritage and characteristic of the region and some are kind-of faded and just hanging in, like the one in Agra.....it all depends...The Taj Hotels in some of the major cities like Delhi, Bombay, BangaloRE, are excellent top choices over the Oberois, and personally, i just love the Taj Intercontinetal in Bombay, overlooking the gateway of India. iN Delhi there are many taj proPerties as well, some are supperb, Taj MAHAL/Taj PALACE, ETC..Some very famous Taj managed hotels include the LAKE PALACE in udaipur and even the lovely Rambagh Palace in Jaipur. There are some fantasitc Taj PRoperties scattered all over India, and some verey avergae places...there are also some lovely Taj beach resort properties down south, in KERALA, like in cochi, Varkala, KUMAKARON, ETC..just to give you and idea of the network, i will jot down a few...
AGRA -TAJ VIEW HOTEL
AHMEDABAD -TAJ RESIDENCY UMMED,
BANGALORE -TAJ RESIDENCY and THE TAJ WEST END
CALICUT -TAJ RESIDENCY
CHENNAI -FISHERMANS COVE and TAJ CONNEMARA andTAJ COROMANDEL
COCHIN -TAJ MALABAR
COONOOR -TAJ GARDEN RETREAT
ERNAKULAM -TAJ RESIDENCY
GOA -FORT AGUADA BEACH RESORT and TAJ EXOTICA and TAJ HOLIDAY VILLAGE
GWALIOR -USHA KIRAN PALACE
HYDERABAD - TAJ BANJARA and TAJ KRISHNA
JAIPUR -JAI MAHAL PALACE and RAMBAGH PALACE
JODHPUR -TAJ HARI MAHAL
KHAJURAHO -HOTEL CHANDELA
KOLKATA -TAJ BENGAL
KUMARAKOM -TAJ GARDEN RETREAT
LUCKNOW -TAJ RESIDENCY
MADURAI -TAJ GARDEN RETREAT
MANGALORE - MANJARUN HOTEL
MUMBAI - TAJ LANDS END and TAJ PRESIDENT HOTEL and THE TAJ MAHAL PALACE & TOWER
NASHIK -TAJ RESIDENCY
NEW DELHI -TAJ PALACE HOTEL andTHE AMBASSADOR HOTEL and THE TAJ MAHAL HOTEL
PUNE -TAJ BLUE DIAMOND -
SAWAI MADHOPUR -THE SAWAI MADHOPUR LODGE
THEKKADY -TAJ GARDEN RETREAT
UDAIPUR -TAJ LAKE PALACE
VADODARA -TAJ RESIDENCY
VARANASI - TAJ GANGES
VARKALA - TAJ GARDEN RETREAT
****THIS list is by no means exasustive, but just to give an idea of how many Taj Properties are out there...u can also look into their website at Tajhotels.com **Once again, if ya have some specific questions about some of the properties i can try to answer, as i have again stayed, seen or sent clients to many of the Taj Properties all throughout INDIA. dreamingofindia@aol.com
***** HOW TO book these hotels as per the question of someone. Well, i will mention a few differnt ways.
1. U can book directly with the HOTEL, or go into their website, etc, etc..
2. U CAN search for discounts on various hotel-websites.
3. And of course, u can book them through a local Operator in India who has big pressence and volume, thus enjoys sizable discounts. i would be happy to help anyone in this regard, so just drop me a line. happy travels, bonita..

Please let me know if there is a way to book cheap at the Oberoi hotels.
I woudl like a couple of nights at Amarvilas, Rajvilas and Udaivilas.
Thanks,

Pepe
Spain

We stayed at the Oberoi Cecil in Shimla and it was one of the best experiences we have had in any hotel anywhere in the world. The rooms were extremely comfortable, the staff couldn't do enough for us, but were not obsequious and the food was outstanding. The chef was happy to prepare things at our request that weren't on the menu!

Actually, funny, we just got back from the Oberoi Cecil in Shimla 2 weeks ago and I didn't think the service or food was that great. Rooms were fine; not super-luxe or anything. All in all, we didn't think it was worth the price nor that great for an Oberoi. Lots of little annoyances, PM me if you're considering staying there and want more info.