Anyone stayed at Trident Bandra yet?
 

I'm booked there in a couple of weeks for a conference. Any reviews? I'll be there for six nights, including a full day Saturday when I'm stuck waiting for a flight to Cairo the next day. I'm a little trepidatious that I will be bored witless, since the hotel is in the wasteland that is Bandra-Kurla Complex. Nothing to do in there and a very long taxi ride to get out.

I haven't stayed there but I visited some friends there on the weekend it opened. They said that the property was fabulous and the staff could not do enough to keep them happy. The restaurant seems to have become very popular as there is literally nothing else decent within miles if you have offices at BKC.

That said, there is absolutely no reason why anyone needs to spend a full Saturday at BKC - a taxi ride to Bandra is only 15 minutes and even town is barely 40 mins away by the sea link nowadays.

OK, now you are on the hook to give me some things to do in Bandra on a Saturday. I like to walk around cities (even downtown Mumbai) but I've never seen anything in Bandra that made me want to get out of the car! I will be traveling solo. And clubs are not my thing, not to mention I have to get up at 6:30 AM on Sunday to fly to CAI.

There aint nothing in Bandra. Nothing stops you from riding a cab for an hour through the sea link into town.

If you want more expanded dining options Chembur / Ghatkopar etc are far closer (as is Powai).

Ain't nothing in Bandra??? Where on earth have you been hanging out!

What is to do in Bandra. Well, food for starters. The widest variety of food offerings in the city can be found in Bandra. Shopping is probably better in Bandra than anywhere else in the city. Everything from cheap junk to designer boutiques to department stores. Head to Hill Road or Linking Road for shopping. If you want to just hang out, head out to Joggers Park or the Carter Road promenade and enjoy the sea air and glamorous denizens. No shortage of coffee shops and cafes ranging from the old-school neighbourhood hangouts like Andorra/Hearsch/Candies to the chain brands. Feeling religious? Head up to Mount Mary Church and offer a few candles with the fisherfolk. Feeling Bollywoody? Buy one of the "Home of the Stars" maps and go do a darshan in front of their various houses (if security doesn't shoot you first!!!).

Heck, my last 2 trips to India I barely even ventured OUT of Bandra!!!

WHAT???? CHEMBUR AND GHATKOPAR??? Ewww.... (says the stuck up Bandra boy).

Go hang out at Olives in Bandra, decent food and quite a crowd late night, if your into that? I also went to Aurus, decent food but a great view. Aurus is in Santacruz area, near the JW Marriott.

The hotel is very nice
 

I stayed there two months ago -- the rooms are very nice and would agree with the comment about the staff going out of the way to help.

One suggestion if you do venture out -- dont use the hotel's travel deskas they are a total ripoff. There are plenty of cabs available outside.

Well, midway through my stay at the hotel I will say that the rooms are quite comfy (I am in a Club room on the 4th floor, very spacious) and service good, although in that super-obsequious kind of way that tends to give me the creeps. One slightly annoying thing is that I am in a Club room, but the elevator won't let me go up to the Club lounge on the 9th floor--:confused:. Since I'm at a conference that has taken over the whole Club lounge anyway, and have been able to "sneak" up to the 9th floor by getting in the elevator with other people who do have access, I'm not too inconvenienced. But if I were paying for a Club room and weren't attending this conference, I'd be pretty peeved that the Club lounge is restricted to conference attendees for the whole three days. Another irritating thing is that turndown service shows up after 9:30 PM, when I am already well turned down myself, and in "do not disturb" mode.

My quandary on what to do with my Saturday has been solved by re-booking my continuing flight to SSH so that I leave on Saturday morning rather than Sunday morning. No offense to the Trident, but the FS SSH is a lot better place to spend a weekend day!