greybeard

I will be in Bombay with Mrs GB late January 2009 and want somewhere special to stay, options seem to be Taj Mahal Palace, the new Four Seasons (not very well located for us), or possibly the Intercontinental.
Pre-paid a Luxury Grande room in the Palace wing at the Taj is about same cost as standard room at Intercontinental.
Or a Palace Wing Club room is about same cost as standard room at the Four Seasons.

Two questions,
1) Which hotel would you chose?
2) If going with the Taj, Luxury Grande or Club (difference is only about $30 per night)?

Thanks for your help,
Greybeard

eyeski

I just booked a club room myself. For the extra $$ you get breakfast/cocktails/airport transfer. Just the airport transfer alone should cover the difference. You're supposed to get early check-in/ late check-out if that helps. I have a very late flight, so I figured we could at least hang out in the "club" area.
I chose the Taj Palace based on location and history. If the four seasons is new, the rooms will probably be nicer.

dogster

I was at the Taj about 6 weeks ago for 6 nights - after moving out of the Oberoi in a huff.. Great hotel, brilliant location right by the Gateway to India, excellent restaurants in Colaba close by.

The Taj has two parts - the Tower [newer] and the original building, the Palace.

If you are booked in the Tower wing you must request a renovated room. Some are, some aren't - no prizes for guessing the best ones. There are some bad reviews in TripAdvisor that have to be about the unreno'd rooms]

If you are in the Palace [I spent half my time there, thanks to a lucky upgrade] then I think ALL the rooms are good. The ones facing the water are noisier [but endlessly fascinating] - mine looked over the courtyard [the original entrance] and the pool.

I never got to see the Club but the airport transfer alone has to be worth it. Travel time from Airport to Hotel was interminable. Two hours.

I didn't eat in the Taj at all. There was so much outside to sample - up and down market. Health Club & spa there is great too. It's a classy joint. Perfect choice.

celeste60

We are scheduled to leave for India in January 2009, we were to stay at the Taj, but... Now the choice is between the four seasons and Oberoi Trident which is to reopen on Dec 21, 2008. I know the FS is located in Worli, but I only place I know in Worli is the MBenz dealership which I have driven by on our way from the airport to south mumbai. I would greatly appreciate some input on the location of the FS.

Cicerone

Yes, Worli is sort of betwixt and between, and not really the best location if the principal purpose of your trip is as a tourist in Mumbai. If you are just there for an overnight to fly out the next day, then it is fine (and even an airport hotel would be better), but if you are going to spend a few days in Mumbai, then perhaps the Trident would be better. My caveats would be that if the pool deck of the Oberoi is closed and the restaurants and shopping arcade are as well you may not get as much use of out staying in the Trident part. (I don’t know the pool area of the Trident at all, but always liked the one at the Oberoi, and their shopping arcade.) My main concern would be that the whole complex may just be more of a reconstruction site than a hotel. I think it is quite boarded up in that area. Due respect to the Oberoi family for going forward quickly, but there could be lots of noise, dust, trucks moving in and out, etc associated with the work at the Oberoi and it could go on during morning and evening hours.

The Four Seasons does have a good location for the Hali Ali mosque and is not a bad trip to the Dhobi Ghat laundry area, and there are some residential areas along the water, but it is mostly an industrial area (now converting to office parks, including the Four Seasons). You may spend more time in the car going to other places than you would want.

Have you considered the Intercontinental which is just down the street along Marine Drive? That is a fine location too. I have not seen the rooms, but have been in the lobby and the rooftop restaurant and bar, and it appears to be quite a nice hotel.

I know you have been to Mumbai several times, but am not sure if you have stayed up in Juhu, you might want to consider it this trip, it gives quite a different feel and there is a decent bit of shopping and restaurants. I am a big fan of the Marriott there on the beach, nice rooms, great pool area, good restaurants, and walking distance to some interesting restaurants and shops. And the chance to see the odd Bollywood star popping in.

celeste60

Thanks a million Cicerone. We will be in Mumbai for two full days, I have some work to do in south mumbai and do not want to drive back and forth from Juhu. I have talked to a few friends who have stores at the oberoi Trident and there was no damage to the shopping arcade, they said the Oberoi trident will open on Dec 21, including the shops and the restaurants. However, you are right about the noise from the Oberoi. What do you think of the president? Is the FS any where close to the MBenz dealership. It appears to be close to the water.

Cicerone

In general I have to say that I am not a fan of Taj hotels and if there is any other choice, I will usually take it. I don’t think they maintain their hotels particularly well, nor operate them particularly well. There are some exceptions (certainly the Taj Mahal and also the Taj View in Agra which is fine if you don't want to pay for the Oberoi), but that is my experience and opinion. They are not the Oberois. Even many ITC hotels and Leela hotels are superior. The location of the President is fine for South Mumbai of course. I don’t know the President at all, and have never been taken there by local Mumbi clients for a meal, which tells you something I think (although I have been taken to the Taj Mahal and the Oberoi on countless occasions). You might also want to read the comments on tripadvisor.com. It appears that the hotel is currently undergoing renovations and you may encounter some noise and dust isssues there too. You would definitely want to get a newly renovated room. I don’t think there is a pool available at the present time.

With regard to the Four Seasons, the hotel is not on the water, it’s probably half a mile or more inland from the water. Rooms do have sea views though. Don’t get me wrong, it is a very very nice hotel, but location may not work for you. Sorry, I don’t know where the MBenz dealership is. If you have business in South Mumbai, like Colaba, then the Four Seasons may not be a good idea, traffic could take hours. I also wonder if they have or will be closing streets around the Taj Mahal and other parts of Colaba during the reconstruction of the Taj and Oberoi or for security reasons (i.e., the Leopold, the train station) and if that will make traffic even worse. It has at times taken me literally hours to get from the Worli area to south Mumbai, even though the distance is only a few miles.

celeste60

Thank you Cicerone. I appreciate your input on the president. I just read on the Times of India web site that the Taj hotel/Tower wing will reopen by Christmas.

My meeting in Mumbai is in the breach candy area, not too far from worli I have decided to stay at the FS and put up with the traffic. Unfortunately, the FS is a pretty new hotel so there is not much on the hotel on trip advisor. I did find a few photos online taken while the FS was under construction, there are a lot of new highrise buildings around the hotel, it it okay. I will report back on the FS.

Cicerone

Oh, OK, I don’t consider Breach Candy to be south Mumbai, so that solves your problem. South Mumbai to me is anything on the finger of the peninsula, but that is probably not correct as geographically Breach Candy is part of the peninsula and is south of Juhu, Bandra and the airport. But Breach Candy is actually not a bad distance from the FS. I think it would be a much longer drive from the Taj Mahal, and certainly from the Taj President in Cuffe Parade.

I have stayed there, and it is a very nice hotel, a bit weird sense of arrival and lobby I thought, but otherwise quite a nice place.

Nice that the papers report that the Taj tower wing is reopening by Christmas, but I believe very little of what I read in the Times of India.

celeste60

Thank you Cicerone, I agree with you about the TOI. I will report back on the FS.

siggy

I know price is not the sole consideration but the Shalimar hotel on Kemps Corner will be appreciably cheaper to the Trident and is a stone's throw from your appointment at Breach Candy. Tel +91 22 66641000.