Oberoi, Oh Boy
It's the little things that count and the big things too
15.03.2019 - 15.03.2019 75 °F
Flowers are a seemingly omnipresent part of Indian hospitality. Flower bushes line pathways. Heads of flowers float in pots of water. Garlands are placed around necks; rose petals are showered from above on the heads of new arrivals, for B4 a floral head crown was given--and smartly worn if I may say. Bouquets are placed. Messages of joyful welcome and sad goodbye are spelled out in flowers. The result is one of great warmth and peace.
Other delights occur. B4 was astounded at one in particular. Having python squeezed the very last morsel of toothpaste from her Sensodyne tube, she was prepared to share my lowly Crest. Then, this appeared:
The staff has been most warm and friendly and anxious to both please and impress. Our game drive crew of Bunty, Zeeshan and BL Meena not only took pleasure in getting us the tiger sightings for which we came but at the delight they saw in us as a result.
Front Office Manager Saikat Misra was our primary host (general manager Ratna Malhotra and food & beverage manager Himanshu Dhingra were away early during our stay for conferences but made up for it on our last day with warmth and service). Saikat went out of his way to accommodate early requests I made via email and telephone call and made us feel more like family when we arrived. Smiles outnumbered flower petals.
From dinner music
To experiences (look at B4's face as the video of her interaction with Lakshmi ends)
Doesn't that expression (B4's, not Lakshmi's) make you smile?
Oberoi Vanyavilas receives from us kudos.
After breakfast, Bunty collected us and our luggage for the three-hour return to Jaipur. He both drove and entertained and earned his accolades by bobbing and weaving his way through vehicles and creatures to get us safely to Rajvilas for our next night.
B4 is particularly intrigued by Bunty's explanation regarding the many cows on the street. Cows are worshipped in India and feeding them is an act of holiness. One source I saw wrote: "Cows are considered to be greater than the actual mother who gave us birth." These are ownerless animals, many "freed" by their former owners, partially as a consequence of automation. Tractors replaced them yielding liberation rather than retraining. If only there was a similar fate available for all those made redundant by automation both in the past and those yet to come.
There are many hazards to negotiate between Oberoi Vanyavilas and Oberoi Rajvilas.
Pedestrians line up at the local convenience store.
Trains race and crawl by.
After three hours or so of travel, we arrive safe and sounded (there were many sounds to endure on our journey) at the Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur. We were greeted as VIPs beyond our station by general manager Abhishek Sharma and his staff. Garlands and bindis and "namaste" galore were presented along with a cool towel and a cold drink. I was astounded when "Abi" mentioned how much importance he placed on training and then commented that we would have that belief in common due to my association with ej4. He had done his homework to the point of having an ej4 edible chocolate morsel waiting for us at our upgraded accommodation--similar to our Vanyavilas tent. Concierge Milan (accent on the MI instead of the way we pronounce the Italian city) escorts us to tent 224 and we ask him to keep an eye on our Air India flight for tomorrow. That, in his opinion, not being enough for him to do, he asks if he might arrange airport transportation for us as well. But of course.
We decided that the afternoon would be best spent relaxing by the pool. For me that means this; I write and upload video and photographs so that you can be with here with us and I can selfishly take more stock of what I am experiencing. I take travel less for granted when I write about it and so enhance the experience. For B4, that means ten minutes of reading her Kindle and then setting it aside in favor of her laptop. She does not lack for work nor the drive to do it.
As I write this almost final blog entry from this trek, B4 is next to me and has her Surface Laptop balanced on her knees answering and creating emails and polishing the employee reviews over which she ardently toils aiming for both honesty and insights. Fortunately we are at the pool on shaded lounges enjoying camomile tea (spontaneously presented without request) and--I needed a western break--french fries specifically asked for by yours truly. They don't offer cheeseburgers but they excel in the accoutrements.
A staff member rushes by, momentarily frightening the peacock who has been calmly grazing behind my lounge chair but which soon returned to circle around for a game of Ring Around the RussRaffs.
Another staff member came by a while ago and, calling me by name, inquired if I would care to make a dining reservation for this evening and, if so, which restaurant I preferred. We opt for 7:00pm at the multi-cuisine--rather than the Indian--restaurant. We quickly see that the Oberoi service level moves with us from Vanyavilas to Rajvilas. Milan drops by to confirm the ground transportation arrangement he has made and to assure me that our AI flight is--at present at least--operating normally. That is good to hear because that will not be the case for tomorrow's travel (more on that tomorrow). Today is not about the future after all.
You should stay at an Oberoi Hotel, named--they trumpet--the "Best Hotel Group" by readers of The Telegraph, UK. It won't be easy however. Here is a list of Oberoi Hotels:
The Oberoi, New Delhi
The Oberoi, Mumbai
The Oberoi, Bengaluru
The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata
The Oberoi, Gurgaon
The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra
The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur
The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur
The Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthambhore
Wildflower Hall, Shimla in the Himalayas
The Oberoi Cecil, Shimla
The Oberoi Motor Vessel Vrinda, Kerala
The Oberoi Sukhvilas Resort & Spa, Chandigarh
The Oberoi, Dubai
The Oberoi, Sahl Hasheesh
The Oberoi Zahra, Egypt
The Oberoi Philae, Egypt
The Oberoi, Bali
The Oberoi, Lombok
The Oberoi, Mauritius
The Oberoi, Madina
They have a lot in common but one thing that will prevent them from ever doing business in New York or Chicago or Dallas is that they can only deliver their signature experience in markets where labor costs are extraordinarily low. Look at the list for confirmation. When I sign in to make a reservation with Marriott Hotels I am reminded that I have--and this is unbelievable even to me--slept 2,168 nights in their properties. With Oberoi I have six I think. Three in Ranthambhore, one in Jaipur and two years ago in Mauritius. I am loyal to both in completely different ways.
The experience at Rajvilas includes the results of their guest information research memorialized in chocolates, gifts such as turbans and bracelets (which I think may be the result of the fact that we were the only western guests to wear Indian attire), "Good Night" wishes and excellent paella.
We will leave you and this chapter of our journey record with a glimpse of the dinnertime entertainment offered to us at our ringside table. The flame festooned dancer exhibited posture not unique among Indian women as I am reminded as I watch her of the many poor women who navigate the roadside not with flames but with sticks to build a cooking fire or bags of food to cook on it. Everyone here cannot be as happy as they appear to be but, for us, the theatre of the evening sends us back to our tent warm and happy in this Oberoi cocoon. B4's boss, Mr. Buffett, is often quoted as saying that those who are born in the United States have won the birthright lottery. The U.S. is the land of opportunity. This, Rambagh and Oberoi imagery aside, is a place where millions have no indoor plumbing, indoor running water, or electricity or prospects for any. Join us in being thankful for what we have and what we have been given merely by being as the accident of birth Americans.
