oberoi rajvillas

what pricked my conscience even more in india was the stark contrast between where we stayed and what was beyond the compound walls. when i was in stockholm on exchange, my swedish law professor was quite candid about how she only went on holiday to first world countries with high standards of living like switzerland and france. at that time, i found it quite narrow-minded. just because you don't see poverty, doesn't mean it's not there. but when we visited india, i saw things from her perspective. knowing that there were children starving just 200m from where we were surrounded by opulence was hard to stomach. made me wonder if it'd be worth donating the money we spent on accommodation to a local charity we could trust, and staying at a guest house for a mere fraction of the hotel rate. after all, it's all about efficient allocation of resources, and the opportunity cost of staying at a fancy place, isn't it. couldn't help but wonder just how far my £30 (average cost of a meal inside the hotel) would go if i gave the money away and had crackers for dinner instead. 

what also surprised me was how quickly i was desensitised to the poverty. on the second day, i found it easier to ignore beggars, and felt less guilty about being relatively better off. that said, it's incredibly hard to be an entitled brat when you learn the value of money. it's hard to justify a lavish lifestyle on the basis of, 'i work hard, i deserve a break' because compared to the locals, no, i don't work hard. the going rate for a porter at the rail station was 50p per suitcase. i mean, like, dude, my suitcase is almost 30kg. and this old man is going to carry it (and more bags!) over 500m from the taxi to the baggage rail for less than cost of a candy bar. unreal. and then i end up giving the porter something ridiculous like 300% the agreed rate, and my packed lunch, just because i'm way too soft.

but i digress, and this post is really about the oberoi rajvillas. i don't often mention hotels by name because 1) name dropping isn't cool 2) the mister paid for the room, why advertise for free but occasionally we stay some where that leaves us really impressed. the service was impeccable and the absolute best we've ever experienced. i'm also partial to tents (not) and the mister made it look like glamping. for the first time, i slept in a "tent" with zero trepidation. the food was amazeballs - i'd thought i'd good indian food before but nothing came close to what the in-house restaurants served up. cheese and garlic naans on tap? yes please! the rooms (well, our tent) was super comfortable and the grounds so luxe it was unreal. i mean, the lawn was hand-manicured and while it did feel a bit like job creation, there was an army of gardeners pruning bushes by hand. the personable GM was warm and welcoming, and every member of staff we met had initiative in spades. it was almost like they could read our mind and conjure up whatever we wanted before we even asked for it. the mister and i are quite particular about food sources and the waiter picked up on that and smoothly reassured us that the fish was local and line-caught. they also had the best recommendations and seem to have mastered the knack of sharing their culture and customs with us without being patronising. 

we did make a pitstop at the oberoi in agra and while good, the oberoi rajvillas set the bar so high that oberoi agra paled in comparison. if you're ever in jaipur and have the chance to stay at the oberoi rajvillas, do go. it's hands down one of the best hotels we've ever stayed in and somewhere i'm keen to re-visit.