ITC Maratha, Mumbai, India [Master Thread]
 

Pictures: http://travel.webshots.com/album/558120468ZWgYtn


Via the hotel I arranged a transfer from the airport in Mumbai. I was amazed how short the drive was,
max. 5 minutes! Sure, this ride was over-prized.
In front of the ITC Sheraton hotel are two hotels: The Le Meridien and the Intercontinental.

Check-in in was not smoothly at all. They could not find my reservations, and I was lucky to have the printed reservation in my pocket.
There was a lot of talking considering an upgrade…. and to have my late checkout.

When I entered the room on the “ high floor”, as I requested, I knew I was not upgraded. The room was a standard room, only with a view on the swimming pool. It was so close to the pool, I could almost step in the pool from my room…
I referred to any privacy in this room, and no noise. The man who escorted me to my room told me, this room was one of the best, great view, isolated, no noise at all, I should try this beautiful room, etc. Since I was tired of travelling and it was in the middle of the night, I decided to try it….

This first night I could not sleep at all, loud music boomed in my room until the early hours. I regretted to have accepted this room. In general I know my feelings are right when I step into a hotel room.
Next morning I went to the reception and requested a better room. The reception told me this time, many weddings celebrations were going on in the hotel!
Mr. Kula (?) was very helpful. Making a long story short: he arranged an upgrade to Towers for me. Tower rooms are much, much nicer. Oversized, with a sitting area and a luxurious bathroom. I immediately felt at home in this comfortable room. ( see my pictures: )
Tower lounge is comfortable, as usual in the evenings free drinks and snacks. But watch out, some of those hot snack can be very Spicy! Service is friendly but rather Formal.
Breakfast in the lounge is served in a separate room. From the room there is a nice view of the area. Buffet is very different from other hotels. No bread selection at all, f.i. Service is very personalised, so you have to order your bread and several delicious Indian dishes, like the dosa’s. Service is friendly, but also rather Formal.
Breakfast in the main restaurant, is a feast. A large buffet is displayed, with different sections: Indian, continental, etc. Quality was very good. Service friendly and professional.

The Indian restaurant, Peshawri, is quite famous. When I had dinner here, the placed was fully booked. Service was friendly, and the food was so good! One of the best in India I believe.

The hotel offers a SPA were you can have different treatments, such as the Ayurvedic massages. In the SPA is a small very unattractive fitness, a nice steam room and sauna.
Outside is a small but beautiful swimming pool, with sun area.

Checking out was fast and convenient. I ordered a taxi with ac, and found myself in a very smallish car. According to the hotel, this car was the only ac taxi which was on duty for the hotel. Since this car was much more economic than the hotel car, I decided to give it a try…

My 2e stay.
When checking in, I told the man of the reception I had noticed a posting on my bill of my first stay. He contacted his manager for this. Told me the posting was indeed not correct and he would arrange that this money was put back on my account.
Furthermore I told him if it was possible to upgrade me to a better room than I had on my first stay, told him I liked the Towers. Since this was an award night, I proposed I would pay with money or with points for the upgrade.
He told me he did not know how to do this. He would find out and contact his manager. He insisted I had a very good room this time. He, and a colleague of him told me I would be very pleased with the room. I still asked him to inform me how much money or points I should pay for the upgrade. He told me he would call me in my room.
Entering the room, I noticed it was quite the same room as I had before, except it was not near the pool area. The room was ok, nothing special.
I asked the man again to inform me how much an upgrade would cost. He told me again he would call me and I had to wait in my room.

I waited for one half hour, called the reception. He told me again he would call me back. Well he did not.
I decided to visit the Le Meridien, opposite of the Sheraton. It was a beautiful hotel, only the interior of the rooms were too darkish for me.
When I returned in the hotel, I went to the assistant manager. She was kind and immediately noticed my point of view. She told me I would have my upgrade without money of points and asked the name of her colleague.
After waiting for some long time, she visited me, and excused for the delay. She escorted me to the tower room and I was happy with it.
After my dinner in another Indian restaurant of the hotel, I returned in my room. I noticed a good bottle of wine and a large box of chocolates were placed on the table, with a small note.
I truly appreciated this gesture.

Checking out went smoothly. The same assistant manager checked if everything was ok. I discovered that the man who checked me in, did not post the money back on my account. She immediately took care of it and offered me a free transfer to the airport. Very service minded.

Will I return to this hotel. Yep, because it turned out the service finally appeared to be the standard I am use to in Starwood hotels. Furthermore the Tower rooms are very spacious and comfortable.
I think it would be a good service to the guest to have a moneymachine / ATM available in the hotel.

Pictures: http://travel.webshots.com/album/558120468ZWgYtn

Maratha Mumbai
 

Stayed at the Maratha Mumbai - a recently upgraded to Starwood Luxury Collection -- Upon arriving was escorted to the 15th floor checkin desk -- the room was HUGE -- flat screen TV, closet, big bathroom separate tub+shower. Great bed etc
Friendly staff, nice restaurants, 5 min from International airport.

The gym was okay -- small with Cybex machines.

Can I pay for the Day Pass with my Free Night Weekend Certificate?
 

I am planning to stay in Mumbai at the Airport for one day. Arriving at 9.00 a.m and leaving at 4.00 p.m
The hotel is offering a Day Pass which includes Round Trip Transfer and Buffet Breakfast for almost 1/2 the price of a Regular Priced Room. The Day Pass is not published on the Internet and has to be directly booked at the hotel.

Will I be able to pay for this Day Pass using my Free Night Certificate from the last Promo?

Has someone tried this before?

Anybody?

Doubtful. What did the property say when you asked them what the possibilities were?

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

It seems that the property is not offering the day pass rate you are describing.

If you like me to follow up again on your enquiry, feel free to write to me.

[email protected]

Thyetus Lee | Online Forum Coordinator(AP)
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd

were you able to use the free night certificate here????

One of the best
 

This hotel treats SPG Plats like no other. I must have stayed there at least 10 times over the last 5 years and was upgraded to Suites every time. The lounge is fantastic, where they bring out tons of apetizers and drinks. The only drawback - i think the lounge starts off with happy hour pretty early. So around 5:30PM or so. In Mumbai, no one gets back to the hotel so early, so its a bit lame.

The breakfast spread is fantastic and the service is awesome too. Lately this hotel does not have much availability for cash and points. I used to stay there a lot with this.

Anyway, great hotel. Love the location being close to the airport and the late check in comes really hand here.

Best,
UALFLYER1

Thyetus,

Sorry for the late reply.
This hotel does offer the day pass, but they don't publish it on the Internet. It seems that I have to call the hotel to book the same. I will forward you the email that they sent me. I had sent another email asking for clarifications, but they never responded. I had the same experience with the Le Meridien. They also did not bother to respond to my follow up email. All I was asking them to do was substitute the 1 Night Stay for the Day Pass. The Day Pass is available at almost 40% Discount over the Daily Rate and I am not sure why they were showing so much resistance.

Regards,

Swapnil

I will be staying at this hotel in about two weeks (first time to India, let alone this hotel). I notice that there is a Culinary Plus membership which can reduce the cost of meals.

Yet, it seems that membership is vetted - and no price given. However, there is a way you can be recommended which benefits the existing member.

If anyone can convince me that this will be worth my time for a one week stay with 3 colleagues, I may be able to help you achieve a bonus for confirmed new members.

Going next week.

What is the difference b/w a Tower Room and an Exec Club room? Does Tower mean what it means at the H.K. Sheraton (i.e. nicer hotel within the main hotel)?

its been about 4 years since i stayed here last....have a couple of stays booked here, the first one next week & the second one in mid april....any recent experiences????

I'll bump/ask also - any recent experiences/things to look out for? I'll be there next week.

From the in-room guide:

Exec Club - spread across 11-14 floor, elegant combination of luxurious accommodation and executive workspace. Privileges - complimentary access to gym and swimming pool, and fruits of the season on request. This appears to be the base/standard room

The Towers - "Hotel within a Hotel" - the ultimate hospitality, privacy, and comfort. Privileges - personalized check-in/out at Towers Reception, 24 hour butler service, complimentary buffet breakfast, use of Upper Crust Lounge

ITC One (where I am currently staying) - most premier of the hotel's rooms, the ultimate in luxury, comfort, and space, catering to those who want the best. Privileges - in-room check-in/out, 24 hour butler service, buffet breakfast, use of Upper Crust Lounge.

Looking at the website, ITC One rooms are more expensive than Towers rooms, so I guess they are more "ultimate". :)

Everything here is very nice, though there is nothing nearby when you're stuck here for the day. High-end facilities, restaurants, amenities, etc., etc. Not quite as over the top as the Taj Palace that I visited yesterday, but no complaints about the facilities.

stayed here about a month ago....very short stay, got in around 7pm & left the next morning at 7am....upgraded to an itc one suite on a c&p stay....was taken straight to my room & all check-in formalities were completed there....had dinner at dakshin & the food was very good....its been a while since i stayed here last but i would definitely stay here again if i have an early morning flight from the international terminal....