Oberoi Nariman Point to open doors today

The Kolkata-based East India Hotels (EIH) Limited, which owns the Oberoi chain of luxury and premium hotels, will open the doors of Oberoi, Nariman Point, after17 months of closure.

The property was severely damaged in the 48-hour gun-battle between security forces and two Pakistani terrorists that left 32 dead on November 26, 2008. Oberoi, Nariman Point, is all geared up to welcome its guests once again from Wednesday. The hotel has already started booking requests for April 21, with the rack rate for a deluxe room at Rs 25,000 to the Kohinoor Presidential Suite at Rs 3,00,000, which offers an uninterrupted view of the Arabian Sea.

Company officials said that though guests were free to book rooms as well as tables for dining from Wednesday itself, the official opening would be on April 24.

The group has retained the hotel’s cream-white facade dotted with multiple wooden window frames bearing clear glass, while the interiors have given way to an entirely new design to the largely square-shaped building.

The interiors, including the lobby, restaurants and guestrooms have been completely changed to a new architectural design and enhanced colour schemes. This exercise, which was also followed by Taj Hotels at its Colaba property, is primarily keeping in mind the sensitivity of the terrorist attack.

The 11-storied Oberoi hotel will now sport contemporary interiors, plush with new facilities and new technologies, along with new dining options such as Ziya, serving Indian cuisine, Fenix, an all-day dining restaurant and The Eau Bar.

The management has also substantially reduced the number of guestrooms, but the number of suites has increased manifold. The building will now have 287 rooms, including 73 suites (executive, deluxe and presidential), instead of 327 rooms, including 22 suites, it had earlier. It has also given new names to its once-popular restaurants such as Tiffin (Indian and Japanese cuisine), Kandahar (North Indian affair) and Bayview Bar. Some of these places suffered heavy structural damage during the attack and required considerable redevelopment.

EIH opened The Trident, a multi-storied business hotel adjacent to the Oberoi, Nariman Point, in less than a month after it was attacked.