The Oberoi Cecil, Shimla — Hotel in Himachal Pradesh

I have high expectations of a brand like Oberoi but to say Oberoi Cecil surpassed any expectation I had would be an understatement. I don't exaggerate when I say the service at Oberoi Cecil is literally world-class.

Booking was a breeze. Deepika at the front desk was in touch with us before we arrived and had the perfect room for us ready and waiting and her, along with Maithili, helped us through a very breezy check-in process.

The room itself is perfection. We had a wonderful room overlooking the valley with views of the sunrise as well as the sunset. It doesn't matter how cold it gets outside, the room remains comfortable and warm. The room has every modern amenity you could ask for but its USP is the sheer comfort it provides. It helps when Cecil has roomkeeping staff like Jovian. The room being spotlessly clean is one thing, the roomkeeping staff went out of the way to roll up my charging cables so that it wasn't in the way for me when I returned. This sort of attention to detail is what makes perfect hotels.

The hotel as a whole has been done up so tastefully, we couldn't get enough of it. It's away from the hustle and bustle of modern day Shimla yet only a long-ish but comfortable walk away from everything there is to see. This hotel has been operating since 1884 and honestly, walking into it and staying here, you would think it's brand new. The work done by the people of Oberoi is nothing short of a miracle. The hotel itself and the rooms at the Cecil feel like home if your home is everything you could ever have wished for.

The food and the drinks at the Cecil are the best in Shimla. I don't say 'some of the best' because there's no reason for caution here. Even amidst a pandemic, the staff at the hotel manages to procure the freshest of ingredients and conjure up magic on a plate. Over a near week-long stay, I don't think I repeated a single dish and every dish I received was delicious. Each dish has its own distinctive flavour. The Indonesian Grilled Chicken doesn't shy away from spice and has a distinctly Indonesian flavour to it. In the Regional set-menu, each item tastes exactly as it's supposed to. The vegetables retain their texture and the meat is cooked to perfection. The ingredients are respected and it shows in the food.

While I can wax poetic about the hotel, the room, the view, the food, and everything else, it's the staff of the hotel that is the heart of the place. Shivam and Kartik cared for every detail so well over the course of the week, we almost felt like the only people there. Shivam in particular is an exceptional bartender who crafted wonderful cocktails for us. He's one of very few people I've met that I can ask to make me anything he feels like making and I'd be sure it'd be perfect. Watch out for his Absolut Rumble! Kartik has an eye for detail like no other. From remembering basically every preference my wife and I had and suggesting and delivering everything to our liking, he also set up a wonderful dinner table for us for our last night at the hotel. Kartik also noticed I checked if a particular dish was available two nights in a row and it wasn't. Immediately, he informed the Executive Chef– Mr. Gunjit– who somehow managed to procure it (Again, in the middle of a pandemic) and had it perfectly cooked and ready for dinner the next day. All this with no expectation or request from my end. Speaking of Mr. Gunjit, him and the rest of the kitchen staff clearly take pride in their work and it shows in the food served at the Cecil. I cannot recommend it enough.

All in all, after a very tough year shared collectively with the rest of the world, the Oberoi Cecil provided my wife and I with what can only be described as a perfect trip. There's no hotel in Shimla I could recommend more and the hotel is a destination itself. Even if you have no interest in visiting Shimla, a stay at the Oberoi Cecil and a rendezvous with its wonderful staff is...

A fine winter evening I and my family reached The Oberoi Cecil . Travelling for five hours we were dying with hunger. A BIG THANKS TO CHEF RAJ KUMAR BHATIA , Sous chef @ The Oberoi Cecil. He has been serving the Oberoi Guests from last 28 years . He surely has magic in his hands . Amazing chef he is . He helped us by suggesting different types of multi cuisine appetisers , main dish and desserts . I hereby describe some of the appetisers and desserts what we had . Himachali Siddu - This is the favourite delight of the pahari(hilly region) people.Siddus are generally made made in winters. The posth and the ghee provide fat and maintain the body temperature during cold . It is a small ball of wheat flour filled with chana dal, onion ,green chilly ,poppy seeds and jaggery It's served with green onion and garlic chutney . A small delight to the taste buds . Modern Dahi Bhalla - The very famous dahi bhalla (small balls made off urad dal) is served with tamarind and mint chutney . The twist is it's served with a nice Baked Yogurt . It's also garnished with pomegranate. Broccoli Polpette- A vegetarian main course dish served with homemade onion sauce which has three main elements . A:- A paste of onion and tomato topped with A Fried Ball filled with cheese and brocolli .B:- Grilled Pumpkin . C:-Baked onion filled with cooked aubergine served on top of onion & tomato .

DESSERTS :- Molten Lava - A very soft and goey Molten chocolate lava cake served with vanilla ice cream . A dessert loved by all . Masala Chai Kulfi - One of a kind dessert consisting of three elements . A masala tea flavoured Kulfi served with Freshly made Pan Icecream and a baked dark chocolate dessert served with little crumble . All the three elements were different and tasty in their own way .

White Chocolate Tortino- An Italian dessert as told by Chef Raj Kumar consisted of a pound cake filled with white chocolate cream served with orange sauce , orange marmalade , crumble and frozen vanilla ice cream on the side . Each element was great

Overall I would rate the hotel as Food -10/10. Ambience - 10/10 Service -10/10 Presentation of dish - 10/10

I would recommend each one of you reading this to go to shimla and have a meal at The Oberoi Cecil and ask for Chef Raj Kumar Bhatia . He truly is an asset to the Oberoi Group Of Hotels and has great culinary skills and knowledge of flavours .

Chef Raj Kumar Bhatia also taught us few Himachali dishes which were great . It was like a icing on the cake . I personally thank chef for the wonderful experience I and my family had . It was indeed one of a kind of experience...

A cold Mesmerizing Trip!!!

A well planned trip to Shimla , India for our summer vacation here in Canada but it was the monsoon season in Shimla.

My husband booked our vacation to Shimla on August 2022, and from a friends recommendation he booked us to stay at the The Oberoi Cecil Shimla.

We drove from Delhi to Shimla and it was a dangerous drive due to landslides as went went during the monsoon season and as it’s a hillside location most of the roads were blocked or traffic was very slow.

The best part was when we reached our Hotel The Oberoi Cecil, we we’re dead tired and late but the staff were so welcoming and friendly and impressed us immediately with a warm welcome drink and made us comfortable before our check in process.

Speaking about the hotel Architecture was the most beautiful thing it looked like a palace and had that heritage looks also the atmosphere was so beautiful what can I say the wooden stairway, The high beams and the interior and exterior was just jaw dropping.

Now what took us to surprise was the rooms it was very clean, spacious and comfortable the bathroom had all the amazing amenities and everything was just perfect it gave you the royal vibes.

We just loved the breakfast spread and the chef personally came to us and made sure my children enjoyed their breakfast and got us everything we wanted and again I go about praising royalty it made us feel royal.

The staff are always smiling and happy to help they talk with you every day to make sure you are happy and comfortable.Even our taxi tour ride was excellent the chauffeur was very friendly and helpful showed us all the beautiful sightseeing places as this was our first trip to Shimla.

The hotel exterior is also breathtaking and beautiful you have the feeling your in the clouds.

The Oberoi Hotel also had another property called Wildflower Oberoi and we were allowed to visit and enjoy the restaurant cuisine at Wildflower Oberoi too.

So, if you want to feel like a King and Queen this is your place to visit if you plan a vacation in India and want a hillside feel do plan to book your hotel at The Oberoi Cecil, Shimla your will be surprised and it’s worth every penny you spend.

A big shout out to all the staff at the front office, the guest relations, the house keeping and the restaurant staff especially the executive chef.

If we plan another trip we will surely stay at either of...