Mumbai (Bombay) and Maharashtra Hotels

In Mumbai, unlike elsewhere in India, even mid-range hotels can be shockingly overpriced and a hotel shortage means that good deals are few. Even hotels with the highest of prices can be full because of year-round demand; you are well advised to make your booking a few months in advance.

Chains like the Taj, Oberoi, Hyatt, Marriott, Intercontinental, Hilton, and Sheraton run several massive lodgings, most of them deluxe; these cater to leisure and business travelers, and movie stars with money to burn. Whether you reserve with a hotel directly or through a travel agent, always ask for a discount. Tariffs quoted in this book and at hotels do not include 12% tax. Room rates at the luxury hotels fluctuate depending on occupancy, and they offer the rate of the day; the earlier you book the better rate you will get. If you are paying cash, convert your currency beforehand—most hotels give poor exchange rates. Most of Mumbai's hotels are collected around three locations: First in north Mumbai right near the airport; second, near Juhu Beach; and finally a majority of them are in south Mumbai, primarily in Colaba.

Mumbai's cheaper hotels, usually in south Mumbai, can be decent but are also overpriced. During the monsoon season (mid-June through late September), these hotels are overrun by large groups of vacationers from various Arab nations who come to Mumbai to enjoy the rain, during which time noise levels can be very high. Solo women travelers should probably stay elsewhere during this time.

Unless otherwise indicated, hotels have air-conditioning, room service, doctors on call, and currency exchange, and rooms have private bathrooms and cable television.

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