The Oberoi, Mumbai

The moment you step into this hotel, your breath is taken away. This was a Christmas winter wonderland with blue butterfly sari clad Goddesses flitting around to ease you into your stay. There is a hint retro about this hotel, during which our family had a very eventful stay. More later. The Oberoi is connected to The Trident Hotel with facilities shared. As you walk between the two, there is a simple yet respectful memorial to what happened in 2008. I have attached a picture of the view from this area. Breathtaking. The Trident Pool is full on sun. The pool attendants spoiled us with their attention to detail. 'Prab' who took and supplied food is an intelligent philospopher who reads books daily. He is smart and meticulous and will surely go far. His iced coffee hit the spot and I did not need sugar - you were correct Prab. The Oberoi pool is smaller and shady. The team there came into their own. More later. To get from the Oberoi Pool to the Trident Pool, there are five steps on an angle. The first three steps are of even depth, but the top two steps are very steep. It is impossible to traverse these by holding onto a handrail as it kind of dissipates as you ascend. There is also no guard rail to the small waterfall to the right. More later. The breakfast menu was extensive with a full regional variety of Indian food as well as western dishes. BUT - service was very sporadic and the morning we left, it took 30 minutes to deliver poached eggs on toast twice, and each of us had a cold poached egg. The frustrating thing was that waiting staff were engaging with certain guests and taking them through the range of condiments giving an extensive description and even one waiter was cutting slices of a French bread, as a guest was guiding the thickness of each disc of bread and chatting away. The gymnasium was excellent, if a little light on running machines. There is a time limit of 30 minutes on CV equipment. One morning, whilst working my legs, a guest was getting quite impatient and stomping around behind my daughter's machine. When she exited, he insisted the gym attendant wipe down every square inch of the machine, under his tutelage. This actually took longer than the amount of time he spent on it. I did not get this gym attendant's name, but he came into his own the next day. More later. On our first evening, we attended the Bull's cocktail bar and wanted to go outside. There was an event on, so we couldn't. We ordered cocktails with 20 minutes or so before attending the Italian restaurant. They never appeared. I expressed my consternation. It was clear the event had all the waiting staff's attention. The cocktials did arrive gratis in the Italian, which was nice, but the Italian meal was mediocre to say the least. I am not sure the Aubergine Parmigiana was cooked properly. Nor did the lovely local guests sitting next to us, who were celebrating their wedding anniversary. The next morning the Parmigiana sought revenge and my wife and daughter went to take photos from the memorial. However my wife tripped up the adjoining steps, earlier described and sustained a head injury necessitating 4 stitches at Bombay District Hospital - dazed, confused and a little embarrassed, but not litigious. The Oberoi came into its own. They provided a chaperone. a blue butterfly sari clad Gueri or.....Goddess, we were chaffeur driven, in and out and Goddess collected our medication and covered all immediate administration with the hospital. Thank you. That evening we had a fantastic meal in the hotel's Indian restaurant - do go there, but I suggest, don't go to the Italian. My wife rested and recovered quickly - she is a Whispering Angel really! The next day I sought out the team of gym attendants that assisted my wife, whilst I was otherwise temporarliy disposed. Remy, you were truly shocked and very emotional when we met - as was I. As for the other guy who had been made to wipe every square centimetre of the running machine for the pernickety guest, I do hope your family matter was addressed and thank you for your care. There was a nurse that checked my wife too at the Oberoi whose name I did not get. We came to the same conclusions. Thank you. We did get in the Bull Bar and thanks to the team, led by a team leader who works long and late. My daughter will berate me for not remembering your name - enjoy your break in Goa in February with your buddies. You deserve it. The morning after my wife's tumble, I was humble and reflective. From the gym, I saw a fun runner dressed as Mother Christmas. Photo attached. I sought her out and donated to her charity for her run on 19th Jan 2025. I have attached details. the cheeky little girl is my cat in the UK - (Lucky) Clover - Go Christine Saldhanha! Finally, thank you Oberoi for covering all medical expenses and for an interesting and colourful stay - and a chance to reflect on what Mumbai suffered in 2008. Read less

We were fortunate to have a room near the uppermost floor as the views from that vantage are excellent. And watching the kites soar at window-level around you is really something to behold. The rooms are on the small side, without much space to store suitcases or other items you’ve brought with you. The room layout is extremely efficient, with nary an extra spot of unused space to get around. It’s certainly not a space I’d want to spend many days in but the bed was very comfortable, the towels and toiletries were good quality. The decoration/finish of the room was very bland. The staff - helpful and friendly. One hotel aspect I really liked was the gym. Lots of equipment options with the aerobics machines looking out the windows. Plenty of well-maintained, clean machines, and I was the only person to visit the gym during the entire 75 minute periods I used it. Complimentary bottled water and fruit are stocked for guests. Read less