7 Best Hotels in Mumbai, India

The Astoria, with its slightly severe 1930-ish Art Deco exterior, is a decent and reliable midrange hotel. The brightly lit glass and marble lobby provides a cheerful welcome, and the rooms, with wood floors and nondescript furnishings, are neat, comfortable, and clean but a tad institutional—opt for a room on a high floor with a view of the cricket maidans across the street. The Astoria is well located, with Nariman Point, Marine Drive, and Regal Cinema all five minutes away, and it's also away from the bustle because it's set in from the road.

One of the cheapest decent hotels on the Juhu strip, and right on the beach, the Citizen is a deal in a city where you seemingly pay for every square inch. The hotel isn't going to win awards for style, either inside or out, but the rooms are quite comfortable, and there are beach views from the windows. Bathrooms are tiny, with just showers (no tubs). The open-air seaside restaurant, Bay View, is pleasant, and ideal for a beer and lazing around.

Like most Ginger hotels around the country, this hotel is functional and oriented to the business traveler, with clean rooms.

A great location at a decent price is the main selling point of this nine-story, low-frills hotel, but room standards (and views) vary, so opt for one of the 10 deluxe rooms, with central air-conditioning and in-room amenities like coffeemakers. Their bathrooms are passable, but could be cleaner. Eighth-floor rooms have a nice view of the Taj Mahal hotel and the Gateway of India, but the rest are not much to write home about. The rooftop restaurant, Cloud 9, serves Indian and Mumbai-style Chinese food—the Indian is better. Rooms in the sister hotel, the Garden, next door aren't quite as nice.

It's a unique stay at the well-located Gordon House, where the quirkily themed rooms, ranging from sunshine-yellow Mediterranean to minimalist Scandinavian, are a total departure from other, more somber, rooms offered by most hotels in the city. Downstairs on the ground floor, you'll find All Stir Fry, its signature restaurant, and Havana Cafe and bar, a South American–theme watering hole. Should you find those wanting, step outside the hotel and you'll find that you're surrounded by some of Colaba's nicest restaurants.

This attractive contemporary hotel is a decent choice, with the trappings of a luxury property, but offering reasonable prices. Rooms are cheerful and sleek, without being too resort-y, and every room is designed around a central garden and has a pool view and either a patio or a balcony. Ground-floor rooms are the best, as they open directly onto the garden, so you can walk out of your room and dive into the pool---and what a pool: huge, with a waterfall and a food pavilion.

For those looking to save money but still get a glimpse of the shimmering waters off Marine Drive, consider this classic hotel, whose main virtue is that it's a remarkable bargain relative to its location, halfway between heavyweights like the Oberoi and the InterContinental. Narrow hallways lead to surprisingly large rooms—plenty of space for extra beds (Rs. 300)—with window air conditioners and clean but basic furnishings; all but one have a small balcony and a few enjoy splendid views of Mumbai's famous sea promenade. Bathrooms have only open showers, no tubs. Room service offers beverages and simple breakfasts only. Don't mistake this hotel for its next-door twin, the Sea Green South, where rooms are slightly less hospitable.