Great service, pool & location!
by TripAdvisor Member PairofDiceLost
I had a case of Delhi Belly and had to call the hotel doctor in the middle of the night - the doctor phoned me back right away and was the nicest man. He prescribed a couple of medicines and someone from the hotel walked to a 24 hour pharmacy at 4:00 am to get them from me. I was very impressed by this! When I got the bill I was surprised to see that the only thing they charged me for was the medicine - about a dollar.
Really wonderful service when I needed it most!
Great location in heart of city - near most sites which is nice because traffic is horrendous. The pool was a beckoning oasis with great poolside service. Our room was palatial (room 128).
Easy walking distance to shops - didn't get hassled on streets at all.
Speaking of shops . . . if you like shopping try to visit one of the new malls in town. An Indian friend took us to two a/c malls (can't remember the names) and we found high quality clothes at great prices and the best part (for me anyways!) was no haggling! My young son even enjoyed our trip the mall and bought a traditional Indian outfit. I bought a couple of really nice kurtas for about $40 each. Near one of the malls is a Pizza Hut and we had a great lunch there (kids loved it!).
The perfect Indian five star experience - right in the middle of town
by TripAdvisor Member Member403604
Spent the Republic Day weekend here in January 2007. Wanted to go to one of those famous 'Palace' hotels in Rajasthan, ended up in Kolkata instead and then realised we'd found exactly what we were looking for.
I can only agree with all the other reviews. This hotel offers all that's best about the Indian five star hotel experience. Super rooms, efficient and discreet staff, a great ambience and a great pool in the courtyard in the middle of the hotel.
Best thing is that it's right in the middle of town.
I'd recommend a room on the inside of the hotel rather than the outside - as you would expect, there's a bit of traffic noise outside, though it's not bad and didn't really disturb me.
And have the Kathi rolls from the poolside menu - they're excellent.
Amazingly calming, great service, spa, food and more
by TripAdvisor Member dhkjhgjaih
The hotel is simply amazing. I've stayed at other hotels in Kolkata, but none were as nice as this, in my opinion.
The food was simply decadent, and there was a great selection and very reasonable prices...I'm sure it's expensive for India...gotta love that exchange rate. I don't usually go for buffets because I prefer my food to be freshly made to order, but the buffet food was very fresh and exquisitely made. From basic Bengali dishes to passion fruit creme brulee. And if you ask nicely (read: hit on the operator), room service will make you most anything at 2am after you've been drinking the whole night and worked up an appetite.
Staff was extraordinarily helpful. They helped me plan excursions based on my limited schedule. They always give you a little bow of the head when they pass by, always open the doors for you when they are around, always asking if I need anything at all. They're all very pleasant.
The spa was also amazing. I went for their self-named Oberoi massage and it was the best massage I've ever had. Olive was the name of the Thai masseuse.
Considering the location (one of the loudest areas of the city) there was relatively little noise within the hotel. Even outside at the courtyard of the pool you could only make out some city noise if you really concentrated on it.
The rooms were immaculate and well decorated, with a comfortable, but grand old feeling to them.
The only gripes I had were that there was a bit of construction being performed on the pool when I was there, you could hear the city noise in the spa room (I would imagine they would sound proof a room dedicated to relaxation), and that international phone calls cost too much. Oh right, and James Brown died when I was there. That kind of sucks too.
I would also suggest the Taj Bengal. It is about the same price, and also has amazing food. I didn't feel the service was quite as good because it's a larger hotel and you get less of a homely feeling from it -- but it was still great. Again, because it is so large and grand, it has a cold feeling to it relative to the Oberoi. I didn't think the spa treatment was as good either. But again, I would still highly recommend it.
Stay away from the ITC Sheraton Sonar Bangla hotel. It is awful. Horrible customer service, poor food, poor spa, unclean rooms, broken temperature control, etc.
Highly recommended
by TripAdvisor Member Scottish8traveller
Lovely hotel. Not as spectacular as Taj Towers in Mumbai but a good solid reliable luxury and above average for India. Service better than many others (especially Taj Towers in Mumbai).
Lovely internal courtyard and large rooms and bathrooms (although very sobering to look out of rooms onto street).
Breakfast was best I have had in any hotel in India!
Market behind hotel good but beware single female travellers, I am not faint hearted but was very harassed.
Probably the best in Calcutta
by TripAdvisor Member newyorkanya
This is probably the best place to stay in Calcutta. The location is great, it’s a fabulous Victorian building and the food is generally thought to be better than at the Taj. The service is enthusiastic though sometimes a little too much, with people constantly coming into the room. And the spa (run by the Banyan tree) is not worth the money. The facial I had there cost as much as New York but was not as thorough.
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