India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (56 page)

Marine Dr., Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021.
022/6632-4343.
Fax
022/6632-5000.
www.tridenthotels.com
. 540 units. Rs 10,250 superior double; Rs 11,750 deluxe sea view double; Rs 13,250 premiere double; Rs 14,750 premiere sea view double; Rs 16,750 Trident Club double; Rs 18,000–Rs 74,000 suite. Club and suite rates include breakfast and airport transfers; all rates exclude 10% tax. AE, DC, MC, V.
Amenities:
2 restaurants; including India Jones (see review); lounge, bar; airport transfers (Rs 2,647); babysitting; butler service (Club floors and suites); Club floors with executive privileges; concierge; health club and spa; large outdoor ocean-facing pool; room service. In room: A/C, TV/DVD, hair dryer, minibar, Wi-Fi (Rs 800/day).

Inexpensive

If your budget can’t stretch to pay for the suggestions above, check out
Sea Green Hotel
(
022/6633-6525
or 022/2282-2294;
www.seagreenhotel.com
) at 145 Marine Dr. Together with the adjoining
Sea Green South Hotel
(
www.seagreensouth.com
), this is the best (if not the only) budget option on Marine Drive, where relatively large guest rooms with French doors (and flaking paint) open onto balconies overlooking Back Bay. It has a slightly seedy air, and furnishings are way out of date (some would say awful), but the attached shower-toilets are large and clean, and each room comes with TV, metal wardrobe, vinyl-covered desk and table, and a small fridge; and there’s Wi-Fi, too (Rs 100/hr.; Rs 700/day). Aside from a small lounge in the lobby, there are no other facilities, making this a bare-basics, functional budget hotel, where you’ll be investing as little as Rs 3,600 (inclusive of taxes and a 10% service charge, but no breakfast) for an air-conditioned double.
Tip:
Try to book room 504, one of the few rooms with a glassed-in shower; it even has a sideways sea view from the balcony.

COLABA

Generally considered the city’s tourist hub, this enclave at the far southern end of the city enjoys the city’s densest concentration of sights, hotels, and restaurants (of which the best are reviewed below); Colaba and Fort are ideal if you like to step out of your hotel and walk around as opposed to jumping into a chauffeur-driven vehicle and being whisked off to your next port of call. While some of the city’s premiere hotels—such as the Taj Mahal Palace and the excellent-value Ascot—are here, this area is also known for having a large number of budget dives and while this is more or less true, it’s clear that most of these places have put effort into smartening up in recent years, so it’s increasingly possible to find a relatively good deal (at least by Mumbai standards) without roughing it too much.

Very Expensive

The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower
George Bernard Shaw declared that after staying here, he no longer needed to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. As the crowning glory of the city’s hotel scene, The Taj Mahal Palace may well double as the nerve center for moneyed mischief, but it remains a great blend of old-world charm and modern conveniences. Nothing can compare to the sublime historic ambience of the rooms and suites in the Palace, all of which are being extensively overhauled (smartened up with more modern amenities and slicker finishes, but retaining their substantially old-world ambience, carefully chosen antiques and vintage artworks, and indisputable authenticity) following damage done to the property during the tragedy that befell the city in 2008. The Taj has long been in the process of reinventing itself to keep its crown as
the
most celebrated address in Mumbai, and despite many a la mode additions (the plush
Jiva
spa, modern world-class restaurants, jazzy infusions of color against a regal architectural background, and souped-up airtight security), the hotel still recalls an era of superb elegance. While we highly recommend the sea-facing rooms and exceptional suites in the historic Palace wing (all of which are scheduled to be relaunched by 2010), we still feel that accommodations in the hotel’s looming business-oriented Tower Wing are a bit of a letdown (with small, bland bathrooms).

Apollo Bunder, Mumbai 400 001.
022/6665-3366.
Fax 022/6665-0300.
www.tajhotels.com
. At press time only the Tower Wing, comprising 268 of 565 units, are operational; the Palace is scheduled to reopen by 2010. Tower Wing: Rs 19,750 superior city-view double, Rs 21,250 superior sea-view double, Rs 22,750 deluxe city-view double, Rs 24,250 deluxe sea-view double, Rs 28,750 Taj Club city-view double, Rs 30,750 Taj Club sea-view double, Rs 75,000 executive suite, Rs 95,000 luxury suite. Palace Wing rates unavailable at press time. Rates exclude 10% tax. Rates for Taj Club rooms and suites include airport transfers, butler service, breakfast, high tea, and cocktails. AE, DC, MC, V.
Amenities:
6 restaurants, including Wasabi (see review), Souk (see review), and Masala Kraft (see review); legendary pastry shop; 2 lounges; including Sea Lounge (see box); 2 bars, including Harbour Bar, the oldest bar in the city ; airport transfers (Rs 3,140); babysitting; concierge; health club and spa; large outdoor pool; room service; yacht. In room: A/C, TV/DVD, fax (on request; free), hair dryer, minibar, Wi-Fi (Rs 150/1⁄2hr.; Rs 650/day).

Expensive

The Gordon House Hotel
Set among a rash of rather ordinary old-fashioned hotels, Colaba’s most exuberantly styled hotel is perfect for those raring to have a good time. Unfortunately, it’s no longer the good deal it was when it opened, and a stay here means you’d better be prepared to put up with a lot of noise until very late at night. On the other hand, the themed guest rooms can be kind of fun: Best are the no-nonsense Scandinavian rooms (smart, contemporary units with parquet floors and sleek Ikea-style furniture, timber blinds, and black-and-white photographs). Mediterranean rooms are less severe (with bright blues and yellows, tiled floors, cane chairs, and cool aqua-toned bathrooms). But the feminine Country Floor is strictly for fans of pastels, floral, and patchwork designs. Be warned, too, that accommodations are small (if well proportioned), and bathrooms tiny. Trouble is, the nonstop thumping from the in-house nightclub tends to prevent you from getting a proper night’s sleep.

5 Battery St., Apollo Bunder, Colaba, Mumbai 400 039.
022/2289-4400.
Fax 022/2289-4444.
www.ghhotel.com
. 29 units. $325 double; $525 Versailles Suite; $50 extra bed. Rates include breakfast. AE, DC, MC, V.
Amenities:
Restaurant; bar; nightclub; airport transfers (Rs 2,000); free CD and DVD library; concierge; health club privileges; room service. In room: A/C, TV/DVD, CD, hair dryer, minibar, Wi-Fi (Rs 140/hr.; Rs 600/day).

Taj President
A far-reaching overhaul of just about the entire hotel has rendered many of the rooms at this fine business hotel among the smartest in the city. Coupled with a range of features designed to make your stay that much more comfortable and ergonomic (from the lobby’s island-style check-in desk, to the sleek room layout), it may have been built for corporate types, but the great dining venues, superb Wink bar (see “Mumbai After Dark”), and an especially beautiful spa, mean that you can also have fun, relax and really kick back here. Besides which, the redesign of the deluxe premium rooms has rendered them among the most inspired-looking spaces in the city—fabulously cosseting rooms with beautiful parquet floors, textured wallpaper, raw silk blinds, rough granite bathrooms, and clever detailing, complemented by all-modern features, including a fab surround sound system; step into these rooms and you feel like you’re in a space that was created especially for you.