A lipstick red, baby grand piano reclines in the vast white marbled reception area. Look up, and above you are 20 glamorous floors of luxury, each with a seemingly endless array of unobtrusive staff, making sure that everything is just so.
This is the fabulous Oberoi Mumbai, in the heart of the up-scale business and shopping district and one of three hotels attacked by terrorists in November 2008. In April 2010, the Oberoi re-opened after a $40 million makeover, and boy, does it show.
Many rooms were damaged by smoke, fire and water during the attack, in which 35 people were killed. But unlike the two other hotels besieged by gunmen, the Taj and Trident, the Oberoi has no permanent tribute to those who died. There is, however, a subtle clue in the naming of its all-day dining restaurant, one of four, which offers Indian and Western menus: it has been renamed the Fenix.
Guestrooms offer all the tasteful must-haves expected of a five-star hotel, with the added bonus of a 24-hour butler service, should you suddenly forget something at 4am. Each room has wi-fi access, and flatscreen TVs in every conceivable area to ensure you don't miss something as you move from bed to bathroom.
