Should one risk a vacation in the middle of pandemic? I thought long and hard about it before deciding that there was no point debating the issue.
Quite apart from the people who have been infected by the Coronavirus, millions of others are suffering damaging consequences to their mental health. Case of depression, a sense of being trapped and a general air of sadness are all too common. Every human being needs a break if he or she is to remain sane.
My big opportunity came when my wife Seema was about to celebrate her birthday. We had been home for so long that we both felt that this was the perfect occasion to take a short break. One option was to fly abroad - India now has air bubbles allowing us to fly to such cities as Dubai, Paris and London. Another was to fly to an Indian resort. Flights to most places have resumed and many are flying full.
In the event, we funked it. We would travel, we said, but we would only do it by car. So we would go to somewhere within drivable distance from Delhi.
Once we had made that decision, the choice of location was obvious.
It had to be The Oberoi Rajvials, Jaipur.
There were several reasons for this. The first is that we were a hundred percent certain about the Oberoi group’s commitment to sanitization and cleanliness. Oberoi hotels are among the safest in India.
The second was that we like Rajasthan and we love Jaipur, truly one of the world’s great destinations. And it was just over four hours away from our home in South Delhi. The road was good and the ride was extremely pleasant.
And finally, there was the significance of The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur in our lives. Twenty three years ago, we had made our first trip to Rajvilas, soon after the resort opened. Within minutes of arriving there, we realized that this was a huge breakthrough for Indian hotels. I told Seema that hotels in India would never be the same again.
I was only partly right: hotels all over the world (not just in India) were never the same again. The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur has appeared on nearly every list of the world’s greatest hotels and the Vilas properties that followed – The Oberoi Udaivilas, The Oberoi Vanyavilas and Wildflower Hall, Shimla and The Oberoi Sukhvilas - have raised the bar for resort hotels everywhere.
So, to go back to The Oberoi Rajvilas was very special for us.
What we did not know was that a) the hotel had taken sanitization precautions to a new height. The driver who came to collect us from our home in Delhi drove a vehicle that had just been sanitized. He wore a face shield and a mask and kept offering generous helpings of sanitizer throughout the ride even when we thought we had been disinfected enough.
He drove us right into the resort (if we had flown or taken a train, we would have come into contact with scores of other people: this way, it was just the one sanitization-obsessed driver!) where the General Manager, also masked and shielded, greeted us. We had our temperatures checked, were urged to sanitize our hands (yes again!) and filled out a form in case there was a need for possible contact tracing afterwards. And then we were driven to our room in a freshly sanitized buggy.
Because The Oberoi Rajvilas is so spread out and most of it is in the open, you already feel safer than you would at a tower block hotel. Our little part of the complex had just three rooms. And our own room had a wonderful sit out and a garden area where we sat most of the time, enjoying the greenery and making full use of the swimming pool while admiring the dozens of peacocks who came and went from our garden at will.
Naturally, I checked about the room and discovered that it was not only completely sanitized before our arrival but that when the housekeepers came each day, they would sanitize it again. All of the staff were masked or face-shielded (or both) and at the dining room, strict social distancing was enforced so that we were never any less than three metres away from other guests. Even when we wandered around the extensive grounds, we were pleased to note that guests kept their masks on.
By now, I know The Oberoi Rajvilas reasonably well so I was not surprised by the extraordinary levels of luxury. I had got used to the little classy touches like the housekeepers who found you new fabric shoe bags and stitched your name on them. And the laundry people who, when they noticed a tiny rip in your pyjamas, fixed it so perfectly that you later wondered where the original tear had been.
The food at The Oberoi Rajvilas has always been excellent and a succession of top class chefs have passed through the resort but the food cooked by the current chef, Jaydeep Patil, marks some kind of high, even by Rajvilas standards. The chef remembered that I avoided gluten but loved chaat so when he surprised us with golgappas, he made the puris from (gluten-free) Urad dal. His meals took us from rustic Rajasthan (bajra khichri) to the dizzying heights of luxury (crisp beignets filled with a warm egg custard and topped with caviar).
All this was wonderful but - at the risk of sounding a little blasé—the sort of thing we had come to expect from The Oberoi Rajvilas.
What blew us away were the special experiences that the hotel had organized for Seema’s birthday.
On her birthday eve they organized an aarti at the Rajvilas temple. This temple has a history of its own. It has been in existence for three centuries and when the Oberoi group bought the land for Rajvilas, they realized that it included a temple.
Rather than shift the temple as many other hoteliers would have done, PRS (Biki) Oberoi, the group’s chairman, decided he would build the resort around the temple. The family of priests who have looked after the temple for generations still do pooja there every day and the idols – the family of Lord Shiva: a very powerful lingam, the goddess Parvati and their two sons Kartikeya and Ganesh – are as they were hundreds of years ago.
When we did the aarti to begin Seema’s birthday celebrations, the air of spirituality (and yes, spiritual power: I am a believer) gave us a sense of a new beginning, something all of us so badly long for in these sad times.
After the aarti, we moved to a little fairyland created by the hotel on the steps of a raised platform that led to the huge pool. Hundreds of candles and diyas had been lit and some sent shimmering reflections on to the water. A full moon lit up the night sky.
Chef Jaydeep served an extraordinary meal, course by course as we sipped our Krug Grande Cuvee. Rajasthani musicians sang traditional songs while a folk dancer twirled among the hundreds of tiny points of light.
Just when we thought it could not get any more magical, the fireworks display began. The hotel had chosen fireworks that rocketed up into the sky before unwrapping into thousands of little multi-coloured stars so we craned our necks and watched, jaws dropping, as the moon was flanked by hundreds of colours from the fireworks.
It should have been hard to top this spectacular experience but The Oberoi Rajvilas managed it. The following evening, they drove us to Naila Fort, around half an hour away. It is a fort that is at least a couple of centuries old but it is fair to say that nobody would ever have heard of it except for a matter of chance.
In 1982, when the fort was a bit of a ruin, PRS Oberoi bought it. He spent a decade restoring it to its original glory though this often proved hard to do it. He became so passionately involved in the project that he often abandoned his day job in Delhi (and elsewhere in the world; the Oberois are an international group) to spend days in Jaipur overseeing the restoration of Nayla.
This had one unforeseen consequence. He was forced to stay in what was then regarded as Jaipur’s best hotel on his visits and he hated it. The experience was so bad, he joked later, that he took his own bed sheets, his towel and even his own toilet paper.
But the discomfort led him to one conclusion: Jaipur needed a good hotel. And because he had spent a decade restoring Nayla, he had the idea of building a hotel that was inspired by the architecture and ambience of Nayla.
It took him a few years to get the vision right (old forts do not necessarily lend themselves to the design of luxury hotels) but when he opened Raj Vilas in 1997, it was the sort of hotel that nobody had ever built before. And it led not just to the other Vilas properties but to a style of hotel design that has been copied all over the world.
For Seema’s birthday we went to Naila, sat by the ramparts of the fort, against the stone walls that had been built centuries ago and watched the same view that warriors must have gazed at for decades: the sight of the golden sun setting behind the Aravalis, which are among the world’s oldest mountain ranges. This was all organized The Oberoi Rajvilas , of course, so there was a suitably celebratory picnic to go with it with oscietra and lots of bubbly.
To say that Seema had a spectacular birthday is like saying that The Oberoi Rajvilas is a hotel. Both statements are true enough but they don’t even begin to hint at how special and wonderful both The Oberoi Rajvilas and the birthday were.
We had come to Jaipur to escape the worst restrictions of the pandemic. And though there were always things to remind us that these were different times – the masks, the shields, the distancing, the sanitizers and the daily temperature check --- The Oberoi Rajvilas created an experience that was unique.
It wasn’t just luxury. It was comfort with security.
You could have the time of your life. And yet you knew that every health concern had been taken care of.
Now, that is true luxury!
Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre brings to the city a vibrant space for the world of music, dance, ...
I sometimes feel as though the legacy of Lord Kitchener has pursued me all of my life. I studied his ...
In 1992, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and heir to the British Throne visited India along with ...
The Mona Lisa traces back herself to her artist Leonardo da Vinci’s life at Château du Clos Lucé in ...
The Oberoi Beach Resort, Lombok has undergone rejuvenation and evolved into a destination of unrival ...
A vivid tour through the hottest Bree Street’s central reaches that we call home to the ethical food ...
The Oberoi Beach Resort, Sahl Hasheesh, offers a royal experience amidst the colourful sea life at E ...
Located at the junction of Aravali and Vindhya ranges, Ranthambhore National Park was once a private ...
William Shakespeare lived through one of the most turbulent yet thrilling era’s of English history ...
While central Melbourne has its own allure, the city’s charm lies in its diverse suburbs, each of wh ...
Adrian Rohnfelder, a photographer with a keen interest in volcanoes and adventure, shares his extrao ...
Witness the journey of a wooden instrument that broke all the records to become the backbone of Arab ...
To leap beyond imposed restrictive limits of existence is precisely what Dimpy Menon’s artworks spea ...
More than just a circus, Phare performers use theater, music, dance and modern circus arts to tell u ...
Peru is one of the peak experiences in travel. Nowhere on earth is there such an incredibly wide ran ...
The Oberoi Sukhvilas Spa Resort, New Chandigarh helps you get in touch with yourself so that you liv ...
The establishment of the British Empire greatly influenced the architecture and culture of India an ...
Complete with red sandstone fort, torch lit ramparts and ‘Haveli’ mansions, The Oberoi Rajvilās, Jai ...
Come aboard The Oberoi Zahra, Luxury Nile Cruiser for a delightful mix of luxury and history ...
The incredible Turtle Sanctuary at The Oberoi Beach Resort, Bali, is a must-visit for nature lovers ...
As part of the Beatles, arguably the most iconic rock band of all time, John Lennon and Paul McCartn ...
Oberoi Hotels & Resorts have won the hearts of many with its exquisite charm and glorious stays ...
When I work with a subject, whether it is landscape or nudes, I’m in a relationship with whatever’s ...
Portugal’s capital city of blues from the ubiquitous blue tiling adorning buildings to fado, the sou ...
My conceptual concerts initiate dialogue using various art forms. I wanted to produce works that are ...
From sticky toffee pudding and gastro pubs, to farmers markets, heritage farm meat and stalls housin ...
German art historian Sebastian Schütze, a creative master and precise in technique, captures the hum ...
The Italian art witnessed drastic movements in the period between 1850 to 1950, giving a platform fo ...
All associated with Mughal emperors, maharajas and their courts, the Al Thani Collection is a marvel ...
In the age of art as speculative and subjective, beauty can seem very much beside the point. But sta ...
Complex narratives are the peak of excitement for me. Narratives like double portraits provide stimu ...
At the helm of his eponymous brand, Fendi and Chanel, the late Karl Lagerfeld became as iconic as th ...
Essentially an attempt to replicate a beautiful representation on the canvas, I hope to convey the c ...
The Oberoi, New Delhi’s makeover is an inspiration of the contemporary interpretation of Sir Edward ...
An institution rather than a hotel, the glorious Oberoi Grand, Kolkata is the place tradition calls ...
Ginarte is a journey into beauty, a harmonic synthesis, an expression of strength and delicacy, a hy ...
Oberoi Hotels & Resorts has been ranked the world’s Best Hotel Group at the Telegraph Travel Awards ...
With more than 400 displays, Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948–1980, is the ...
Life of the royals in medieval England, especially the queens, was full of intrigue and scandal but ...
The Asian art scene, though young, is booming and art fairs continue to play a significant role in t ...
From ebonised Georgian bracket to 19th-century French brass carriage and the 21st-century Jaeger Le- ...
The East India Company was one of the most powerful commercial endeavours the world has ever seen, d ...
With more than 400 displays, Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia, 1948–1980, is the ...
The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur offers an exemplary experience of luxury that transports you to the gold ...
Winner of “Middle East’s Leading Luxury City Hotel” for five consecutive years by the coveted World ...
With elegantly designed villas that offer the best of interiors to its patrons, The Oberoi Beach Res ...
On the north-west coast of Africa lies Casablanca, an ancient exotic land embraced in the sweeping s ...
The new uniforms adorning the staff at The Oberoi, New Delhi are a reflection of The Oberoi Group’s ...
Swan Lake, the iconic ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in the late 19th century, continue ...
The Buddha, in his many iterations across South Asia, is most exquisitely represented in gilt-bronze ...
At luxury watch brand Carl F Bucherer, design is about bringing together form and function to create ...
Queen, temptress, politician, murderer: Cleopatra remains an object of fascination for writers, arti ...
Go pedal-to-metal with the best track-ready cars unveiled at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show ...
With an enchanting combination of natural splendour, medieval heritage and modern luxury, The Oberoi ...
The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur, brings together the finest in nature, luxury and impeccable service t ...
The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, has been voted the Top India Resort Hotel at the Travel + Leisure, USA W ...
Swiss Photographer Christian Tagliavini captures 15th and 16th-century courtly culture in a series o ...
As innovations in air travel bring the UK and Australia closer, the Kangaroo Route – once stretched ...
The Oberoi, Gurgaon offers a traveller more than just the opulence of a five-star hotel: it is a san ...
In the year 1936, legendary artist Henri Matisse executed with the utmost elegance a charcoal portra ...
The elegant suites at The Oberoi, Mumbai, provide an unrivalled experience of The Oberoi Group’s sig ...
The art collection of David and Peggy Rockefeller has garnered the highest total for any private col ...
The Oberoi Philae, Luxury Nile Cruiser takes you through the highlights of the Egyptian river on a s ...
Complementing its signature old-world charm with the finest of contemporary facilities, this Oberoi ...
Truly great experiences in life, are integral to a design sensibility that seeks to create a visual ...
Modern Indian cuisine is coming into its own, with pioneering Indian chefs like Vineet Bhatia, Gagga ...
Sailing along the River Nile aboard The Oberoi Zahra, Nile Cruiser, explore Egypt’s mystical tombs a ...
Late entertainer David Bowie’s art collection, recently auctioned by Sotheby’s, is an eclectic mix o ...
Majestic lions, magnificent wild elephants and an untouched, untainted landscape weaving together na ...
From Jean Paul Gaultier and Christian Dior to Emilio Pucci and Christian Louboutin, international fa ...
world are among the most highly coveted collectible antiques today ...
Home to the perfect confluence of nature and concrete, Al Zorah gives to luxury travellers the getaw ...
An institution rather than a hotel, the glorious Oberoi Grand, Kolkata is the place tradition calls ...
Combine the exhilaration of a jungle adventure with the relaxation of a luxurious retreat at this sp ...
From exotic varieties to beautiful native species, trees can transform your estate into your own sli ...
The East and the West might speak distinct design languages, but bring them together and a spectacul ...
In the land of the midnight sun, a quintessential family vacation is punctuated by a breathtaking ex ...
The misty Wuyi mountains in Fujian, China are home to Da Hong Pao tea, which can sell for more than ...
Award-winning architect Francis Kéré talks about his design journey and giving back to his homeland ...
In Milan, designer Arthur Arbesser and his associates work and play together, perhaps setting a temp ...
Magnates of the luxury world have been taking charitable steps into the world of European applied ar ...
The culinary offerings at The Oberoi Beach Resort, Al Zorah, reflect its vibe of simple sophisticati ...
The works of 18th-century chaser-gilder Pierre Gouthiere stand testimony to the aesthetic opulence o ...
The inner health of an organisation is as important as the external forces that influence its ascent ...
The artistic traditions of mounted porcelain and enamelling lend a whimsical air to some of the most ...
The finest works of literature can sometimes make for the finest works of cinema, and the list of fi ...
The iconic Victorian writer and social critic, seen through the eyes of his great-great-great grandd ...
Be a part of the legacy of turtle conservation on the island of Bali at this luxurious beachside hav ...
With impeccable culinary offerings, Mauritian archaeological heritage and the best location on the i ...
As The Oberoi, New Delhi revels in its newly reopened avatar, take a trip down memory lane and follo ...
Passion, craftsmanship and innovation are the defining aspects of Automobili Lamborghini’s design ae ...
As the universe of food undergoes a rapid transformation across the world, The Oberoi, New Delhi’s a ...
Fashion photography is about more than garments and labels - it is about penetrating the physical fo ...
With an artistic masterpiece by Sir Winston Churchill, The Goldfish Pool at Chartwell, recently goin ...
Balancing modernity with its centuries-old heritage, Amsterdam is a study in splendour and historica ...
Dance does not exist in a box and no rules must necessarily govern it. It is a thing of beauty, myst ...
Nestled within an impregnable valley, the “lost city” of Petra is a spectacular expression of cultur ...
Oberoi Hotels & Resorts has been ranked the world’s Best Hotel Group at the Telegraph Travel Awards ...
Ayurveda, natural healing and mindfulness together create a space of rejuvenation like no other at ...
Beginning in the national capital, make your way through these travel hotspots across India that ref ...
Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi claimed a place in auction history recently, setting a new record ...
As the beacon of Western classical music continues to shine bright, a younger generation of musician ...
One fine April morning, 16 actors and technicians set out to take Shakespeare’s Hamlet around the wo ...
From gold snuff boxes inset with diamonds, amethysts and sapphires to ornately enamelled perfume fla ...
The written word, in conjunction with innovations, lies at the very heart of history, shaping cultu ...
August 1947: It had been more than a week since freedom had arrived and the country partitioned. But ...
The Biennale des Antiquaires culminated this year in stunning glory, only to cast its spell afresh n ...
Over the years, I must have observed and recorded the behaviour of at least 125 tigers in Ranthambho ...
The ancient science of Ayurveda tells you how best to enhance your beauty and nourish not only your ...
The gleaming, fluorescent-green topsides of the superyacht Inouï may scream luxury at the Maxi Yacht ...
The world is changing and it is not changing to the benefit of the manufacturers and retailers of so ...
This season, drive in style with these uber-luxurious four-wheeled debutantes ...
The phrase, ‘home is where the heart is’ acquired a new meaning for the children at SOS Children’s V ...
India’s finest private collections of classical Indian art mindfully preserve its creative heritage ...
Make memories last forever by taking your most cherished photographs beyond the frame and photo albu ...
With breathtaking views, luxurious rooms, rejuvenating spa therapies and a state-of-the-art golf cou ...
Seamlessly weaving together traditional elements of Indian architecture, aesthetically landscaped ga ...
Exquisite collectibles going under the hammer are letting connoisseurs acquire a little bit of histo ...
Coming to India in 1865 as the principal of an art school, John Lockwood Kipling made an invaluable ...
When travelling along the path of kings and queens, The Oberoi Hotels & Resorts offer a palatial pla ...
For luxury travellers, the sky is the limit, quite literally, as a gourmet open-air meal at the base ...
From 18th-century ormolu clocks framed by candelabra to enamelled 19th-century timepieces, mantel cl ...
The Emirate of Ajman is home to The Oberoi Beach Resort, Al Zorah, a modern architectural masterpiec ...
The last queen of France was a great commissioner of beautiful things, and several of the shops she ...
From exclusive garments manufactured in Italy to style inspirations drawn from art, this is what the ...
A new facet of Pablo Picasso’s artistic repertoire is taking over the international art market his c ...
Every bottle of vintage wine has a story to tell. We give you the narratives behind five of the fine ...
In the universe of Modern art, rivalry is a complex dynamic that enables one artist to be influenced ...
A story is conditional – it is a matter of perception and might not always be, subliminally or even ...
From unique water and land activities to certified diving courses, desert tours and more, this all-s ...
Enrich your stay in Ranthambhore at this opulent jungle resort, in close proximity to nature, yet ne ...
With performative nuances and provocative appeal, Western classical music has evolved into a complex ...