The ITC Sheraton is a great place to stay

South Mumbai (Bandra) is the place to stay as a Tourist - right neat the Taj, the Gateway to India and the ferries to the rather average caves.

There are a few nice economical international chains near the airport, but I would second the Taj if you can get a good deal there, though INHO it was nothing special.

BOM is way overriced for what is offered; pay just enough to get out of squalour and don't expect a top ten hotel experience, once the cost is taken into account.

I stayed at http://www.ghhotel.com/ the boutique Gordon House Hotel - three styles of rooms to choose from - its is like a fridage when you walk in, the room are nice or nicer than the ones depicted on the website, service was impeccable and it is modern and stylish - restaurant superb and a stones throw from the Taj for afternoon Tea. Highly recommended to me by a local I was visiting and it did not disappoint in any way.

Thanks for the recommendation Apudme, can you give an idea of room rates please. We'll be visiting Mumbai in early Nov and ideally would like a botique hotel - something a bit different from the international chains. US$150/night would be the limit.

I definately recommend the one and only Taj Mahal Hotel in south Bombay .. if you can afford that the place you would be staying ^ ^ ^ ^

Thanks GRR_Flier, would like to have stayed at the Taj but couldn't get any decent deals for the dates I'm there - >US$200 at either the palace or the president. Went for the Gordon House Hotel instead, US$125/nt, and am hoping it's not as noisy as the Reviews on Tripadvisor make out. Was able to book through travelocity.

I am planning a trip to Mumbai in the middle of October. I plan to stay at Hilton Towers in Nariman point. My question is, how do I get an A/C Taxi at the airport and how much do they cost. The hotel says they can send a limo for $40, which seems to be high for India. If any of you have first hand knowledge, a quick reply would be appreciated. I am leaving for Singapore on 10/5 and will be in Delhi from 10/9 to 10/16.

There is a pre-paid taxi service operating from the airport;

Thanks for the info from Frommers. But I think those taxis are non A/C.

Yes, $40 is on the high side (by about $12-$15). You should have worked it into the hotel rate when you booked your room.

My advice is: bite the bullet and take the hotel car. It cuts through all the hassle and the price to pay is (relatively) small. Remember, your flight will most likely be getting into Mumbai at an ungoldly hour in the night.

Take a good look at the Intercontinental Marine Drive (http://www.ichotels.com). You should be able to find something under $200. And it is a far better hotel than Gordon House.

Bandra is not really considered South Bombay - The Taj you are refering to is Land's End in BandStand which is now managed by Taj Group. The Taj near Gateway of India is the Original TajMahal Hotel in Colaba.

There is not much around Land's End in Bandra.

Over the past 2 years I've stayed at the Taj (Taj Mahal), the Oberoi (Oberoi and Towers), and ITC Sheraton Maratha. At the Taj, I had a renovated room in the historic wing. Really liked it. Alot.

Oberoi was nice, but was very business - a bit cold.

The ITC, near the airport, was also very very nice. You can't really go wrong with any of these...depends where you're staying.

Hi,
I notice some of you have stayed here recently. I am staying for a few days late December and am booked into the tower sea facing room. Have the tower rooms been recently renovated?? I am getting mixed reports.
Thanks
Russella

I'm surprised that only one person pointed out that the traffic in Mumbai is always so bad that, unless you have a very large amount of schedule flexibility (or "free" time), you really need to stay near where you need to be in Mumbai (and Delhi; Bangalore is a little more tractable, as is Pune).

My business takes me twice every year to three north central Indian cities, and in Mumbai and Delhi (Gurgaon) I always stay near my work sites to save time stuck in traffic.

In Mumbai, my work is in the suburb of Powai, so I stay at the Renaissance Mumbai Hotel & Convention Centre (http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/BOMBR). The hotel is reliable, clean, and has good service. For example, they once sent out a car to pick up a refill card for my India based mobile phone for me so that it would be waiting for me on my arrival. The food is good but not spectacular, including the breakfast buffet which is usually included in the room price. The location on the lake is nice, and importantly it's quiet. The hotel has a full featured gym (a dozen or so treadmills, bicycles &etc, a full set of weight machines, an aerobics / stretching floor, and more) which is open 24 hours a day and is included in the room price. The hotel has always given me at least a one way pick up from the airport in whatever room rate I picked, and sometimes has thrown in the return to the airport as well. My room rate at the Renaissance last month was US$169/night including airport transfers both ways, and breakfast each morning.

What I haven't been offered at any major Indian hotel yet is free Internet access. They get me for $10 to $20 per day for that, but it's critical for me to have it so I (my employer) pay(s). Ouch.


By the way, I second the recommendation of using the hotel car service for airport pickup if you haven't been to India before. Flights to India almost all land between 11:00pm and 1:00am so that they can leave and return to points elsewhere in the world at more convenient times for those other places. (The exception is a very small number of evening departures from London which land at nice comfortable morning hours in India, but if you aren't originating in London, those mean a long wait or a hotel stay between flight legs). As the other poster said, work the hotel car airport pickup in to the room rate.

Once you get comfortable with the late hour and somewhat chaotic situation of an airport arrival in Mumbai or Delhi, I believe that the airport prepaid taxis are available in air conditioned versions. Just ask to be sure.


The other hotel I've stayed at in the past in Mumbai was the ITC Sheraton which was quite excellent, if that's the part of the city you need to be in. I've never stayed downtown where, as others have said, most of the tourist stuff is located.


Finally, though the hotel cars are good for getting to the hotel from the airport, I recommend against renting your car (& driver) from the hotel for your daily needs - instead, call for a "cool cab" (air conditioned taxi). The hotels add 30% to 70% on top of the actual rates for cars, and while the hotel cars will be newer and nicer, almost any cool cab will be adequate to the task of getting you around the city, and the hotel car drivers do not necessarily speak better English than the cool cab services' drivers. Bring your intended destination address(es) written on paper in any case.

Enjoy India! Yes, it can be crowded and chaotic, and at times its weather is horrific. It is also full of really nice people, a stunning mix of cultures and colors, really good food, and is largely very affordable if your home economy is in US/Canada/Europe/Japan/&etc.

Cheers!
-Jay in Atlanta

bandra is south mumbai, near the Gateway to Indie and the boats to the caves, and where the best hotel of old, the Taj, is siutated.

I would recommend the well priced www.ghhotel.com Gordon House is a boutique, contemporary styled and affordably priced alternative to the Taj.