The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur

Great location by the lake. The hotel is very beautiful and the rooms are well equipped, good size with a patio and a terrace with views over the manicured garden or direct access to pool. The restaurants offer generous and fine dishes. The staff are so helpful, kind and attentive. It has bin a pleasure to stay at this hotel.

We had the most amazing stay at the Udaivilas. All the 3 generations in our group loved our stay for the three nights we were here. They upgraded us to the rooms that had an outdoor pool, which was a treat. The staff at the front desk was polite and very professional. The manager at the restaurant during dinners offered something out of the menu for the kids, which was a great token. The morning yoga sessions were a delight and the kids also were busy doing activities on site. They did a very special (totally unexpected!) celebration for a landmark event for a member in our group. We are already planning another stay soon!

I stayed at Five Oberois during my stay in India - Oberoi Jaipur, Oberoi Agra, Oberoi Udaipur and Oberoi Mumbai. This was easily my favourite. Udaipur was probably my favourite city but this property was absolutely stunning. Situated in a private location on the banks of Lake Pichola, I enjoyed walking through the property so much. Just tranquil, peaceful and safe. I loved walking out to see the City Palace, Taj Palace and Lake Pichola views at sunset and at night. Got some stunning photos from the property. I stayed here for 4 nights. I arrived in a very bad way - I was suffering from the first day of food poisoning and I had travelled all day long through bus, then a plane, then another bus with my tour group from Jaipur. I was wasted by the time I got to the hotel and this hotel was the place where I recovered and rested. When I got to the hotel unfortunately I threw up everything and had some very bad effects from food poisoning which I will not go into. I had to change my bedsheets and the staff were so lovely and caring - they came and changed my sheets quickly, and then some staff came to check on me and offered me hot tea with freshly squeezed lemon juice and English honey and I was surprised I was not charged at all for this. They also offered me an on-site doctor if I needed it but luckily I did not. On the 2nd and 3rd nights I could eat a little more and the chef (Chef Radhika) and an assistant personally came to my room to take my food order. I want to especially mention PRADEEP FROM FRONT DESK RECEPTION. This lovely gentleman helped me get the white bread rolls baked from scratch that I was wanting so badly due to food poisoning and after being shut down by other staff (basically saying it was not available and they did not even offer to bake it or find it), Pradeep looked after me with great care.. read on - further detail below. The room I had was palatial and I loved it - probably my favourite room out of all the hotels I stayed at in India. I had stomach pains for three nights and on the first night I was in bed for a good 12 hours and this was the perfect peaceful retreat to recover. By the end of my stay, I was fully recovered and well and ready to move on to my next stop in India. I NEEDED THIS HOTEL! The security staff at the front (I think their names were Vijay and Prahba) were so very nice to me. Thank you. I also took a car service to Monsoon Palace and I did not get the driver's name but he was very helpful and brought me to the palace and back safe and sound and helped me navigate a very busy area where they were selling tickets to allay any confusion. I had to remove 1 star because there were a few things that I was not too thrilled about and offering a 5-star review means that everything was flawless, OR that most things were flawless bar a few minor things. However there were quite a number of things that I would have liked to see improvements on which caused me frustration, inconvenience and an unpleasant experience: 1. At the Oberoi Jaipur, I have to say the in-room dining team and chef looked after me much better. Whatever I wanted to eat, they baked it from scratch. They baked two fresh apple crumbles and white bread rolls (2 types). So, I expected the Oberoi Udaipur to provide the same consistent level of high-quality and accommodating service. Now bread rolls are not complicated. I bake them at home from scratch all the time. It is not hard. I found many hotels in India do not offer typical Western bread rolls. When I was sick, all I could eat was bananas and bread rolls and they did not have any and sent me greasy ones instead and did not offer to bake any for me. I am staying at the Oberoi. Not a 4-star or a standard 5-star hotel therefore I paid a lot to get the service I need when I need it. Only when someone at the front desk intervened and helped me and looked at what the hotel staff in the kitchen packed me for breakfast (dry pieces of inedible bread), did the chef offer to bake me the bread rolls I wanted. I was told by the staff member after he looked at what they packed me - "you can't eat this" and yes what I was given by whoever packed the breakfast box was deplorable - dry and stale. This is why I have to thank PRADEEP from the front reception desk. He helped get the white bread rolls I wanted after he heard my story. He was the most honest, pleasant young fellow. When I offered him a tip, he declined and said that it is against the hotel policy and he needs to place it in the group tipping kitty - how honest is that? I understand the Oberoi brand to be - give the customer whatever they ask for. Not here. Whoever was on the Whatsapp chat simply said "the bread rolls are currently unavailable".. with no solution or alternative. I do not regard this as good service. This is again the Oberoi. You give the customer what they want or find an alternative palatable solution - don't just turn them down and say no especially when I could not eat anything but bananas and bread. It should not be that I have to find another person who is willing to go above and beyond, like Pradeep to get what I need. All your staff should offer the same level of service. I knew it could be done - it just depended on who you were dealing with. I have to thank Chef Radhika for coming to my room the next evening and then making sure I got the bread I wanted - she ended up baking it for me along with preparing some other foods I wanted. Chef Vijit was on duty the following evening, and gave me a call to take my order, and he was exceptional too and baked me the bread I wanted, and when the bread came so hard that I could not eat it, he offered to re-bake it at midnight. Thanks Chef Vijit. 2. Doodh Toolah Boat Jetty problem - so, the hotel has a special boat service to take you to town and back. All you have to do is WhatsApp them 10 to 15 mins beforehand. However if you do not know where the private jetty is in town, which is INCREDIBLY HARD to find, you will be in a bit of trouble like me. I had done all my enquiries before I even left home. I knew the name of the boat jetty and the rough location - I even printed a map but you see, private jetties are not really published on Google maps and everything is an an 'approximate location'. The hotel could not offer me a map or any clear directions. When I got to the Doodh Toolah Boat Jetty, there were so many people there and the public boat jetty was also situated there. There are zero signs leading you to the The Oberoi private boat jetty. I could not find it. I am a very independent and experienced traveller who has gone around the world on my own to 50 countries in the last 2 decades - if I cannot find it, others have no chance. I messaged and called the hotel. I walked around in circles. Harshpreet from Concierge sent me instructions via Google Maps and it was wrong. She led me to the wrong place. I told her and then she did not know what to do and went away somewhere to find the correct instructions which I never got. Then I had to call the hotel again and they kept telling me to wait - no one could give me clear instructions on how to get to the jetty. It was incredibly time consuming and frustrating. Like a guessing game. I sent a photo of a jetty and all they did was reply via Whatsapp saying "this is not our jetty. Should you require directions or information about our jetty, please do not hesitate to ask". Well it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out I do not know - why are you not being proactive and GIVE ME THE INSTRUCTIONS. Clearly I do not know - don't just say this is not our jetty and then tell me to contact you if I don't know. which I clearly do not. What makes you think I will know if I got the wrong jetty in the photo - offer the instructions?! In the end the hotel were of ZERO help and I used my brain and a map to find the jetty located way off the main jetty area. Anyone else would not be able to find it. 3. Gym - I asked for the gym to be open longer until 1am on one final evening and the team on WhatsApp said they will make sure it will be. So I get there at 11pm and everything was shut, lights out. Not good. On top of that, the person responding to me called me SIR. So what makes you think every guest is a man? Such a backwards and antiquated mentality, not to mention disrespectful - not something expect at an Oberoi. They opened the gym after I complained. So overall yes a few problems during my 4-night stay but overall it was very pleasant and I would return.

lovely hotel, beautiful ambience and welcoming staff. Was very helpful with all the services. Was so delighted to be here

The Oberoi Udaivilas had been on bucket list of hotel properties for many years, especially since seeing pictures of the property in Condé Nast and so many other magazines where it has been rated one of the worlds best. We arrived after a very stressful day of travel from Agra, and arrived directly from the Oberoi Amarvilas in Agra where we had a magical stay. Needless to say our expectations were very high after an amazing stay at the Oberoi sister property. Upon arrival, we entered the gates to a beautiful property. Elegantly lit at night, resembling a Rajashani palace. The check in process was fairly easy, but the welcome was no where near as elaborate or warm as Amarvilas, even though the team at Udaivilas were already pre-notified of our stay at Oberoi Agra, and our travel ordeal. We again booked through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts, but no upgrade was offered since the hotel was sold out. December is peak India travel season. The duty manager gave us conflicting information about dinner seating, and we ended up sitting outside at the restaurant on a very chilly night. Some heating carts provided, but not adequate, and the dinner service was not smooth with several missteps. We had a few simple housekeeping requests of extra towels and toothbrushes to be delivered to our room, but this was not done, until multiple calls. Needless to say, I was quite upset. We only stayed for one night, but the one night cost was very high given peak season, and we happily paid it through Amex, but the service as not up to par. The next morning, the management team did quickly approach us at breakfast and later before our city tour to discuss the issues. I do very much appreciate the proactive communication from the staff knowing about the service mishaps. In particular, I would like to acknowledge, thank and recognize Mr. Malhotra the GM of Oberoi Udaivilas, for personally meeting us without us ever asking to meet with him, and his genuine apologies and wish to help us have a better experience for the remainder of the day since we were flying o Jaipur that evening. He was candid, kind, professional and I could tell he wanted us to have a great experience for the rest of whatever time we had on property. We took the hotel boat to the opposite side of Lake Pichola where we caught a rickshaw to the City Palace for our tour and sightseeing visit. Honestly, we are glad we did not do a full boat tour of the lake, because the Oberoi boat was lovely and the ride over to their jetty was like being on a lake tour anyway. When we got back from our tour, we met the very special Simran. A very special thanks to Simran who truly exemplifies Oberoi service and luxury. Even though we only met her towards the last two hours of our stay, her care for helping my wife and children have a great time was so appreciated. She helped my children make it to the kids club for pottery class, and took care of them likely family. A special thanks to Sara at the lakeside restaurant where my wife and I had high tea while the kids were at the kids club. It was an hour of peace and tranquility before we all had to leave Udaivilas for the airport that evening. Sara was so professional, and so sincere at her duty. If you stay at Udaivilas, the high tea, and sitting on the lake is a must do! In summary, yes we had some service issues the first night, but Mr Malhotra, Simran and Sara helped exude that Oberoi charm and allowed us to leave on a happy note. The rooms are elegant, the linens crisp, the food at breakfast is lovely, especially the Rajasthani delights, and the best part are the grounds of the hotel and the architecture. I do think this is best property in Udaipur, and because of the service recovery, we would not hesitate to come back.