What I Liked

• Wonderful location
• Excellent price
• Lots of restaurants on site
• Large arcade of luxury shops
• Nice lobby
  

What could be Improved

• Disappointing elite benefits
  
• Room decor was functional
  
• No in-room coffee machine
  
• The internet was slow
  

The Booking

I stayed for 3 nights at the Taj Mahal Tower and bagged an excellent price. I paid $65/night. This rate included breakfast. India is one of the cheapest places to stay at luxury hotels. But even then, this price was exceptional. The rate is a lot cheaper than the Taj Mahal Palace next door.

The Taj brand is famous all over India. Most Indians would prefer to stay at a Taj hotel, than a Marriott or a Hilton.

During my stay, the Taj Mumbai Hotel was packed with honeymooners and Indians on staycations. This resulted in one disappointing feature of my visit – the lack of elite benefits as a Taj Gold. The check-in staff didn’t acknowledge my gold status. I had to ask what benefits I would get. I wasn’t given a room upgrade either. One stated benefit is an upgrade to a club room, but I was told there was no availability.

Elite benefits can be hit and miss in Asia. Some hotels have few elite guests and treat you like a king. At the Conrad Maldives, I got an amazing upgrade because of my Hilton Gold Status. Other hotels don’t understand the concept of elite status. At the Intercontinental Danang, the staff basically provided nothing.

In Asian hotels, guests are more likely to be wealthy businessmen and politicians. I find that hotels will prioritise these guests, rather than guests with elite status. This is different to Europe and the US, where you have more elite guests with large expense accounts. Hotels go out of their way to reward loyalty from these people.

The Location

The Taj Mahal Tower is next to the Taj Mahal Palace. Which is its sister hotel. The location of the Taj Mahal Tower is spectacular. It’s directly opposite the Gateway of India, and overlooking the sea. The Gateway of India is the most popular tourist destination in Mumbai, and one of the most famous in India.

When I arrived at the Taj Mumbai Hotel, I walked across the road to the Gateway of India. I hung around there for an hour, and got some great shots of the hotel. I suggest that you do the same when you visit.

I would recommend the hotel, based on the location alone. It’s a quiet area, away from the madness of Mumbai.

The Taj Mumbai Hotel is on the southern tip of Mumbai. South Mumbai is the most expensive and international part of the city. It’s where most tourists will spend their time. The best way to get round is with Uber, which is pretty cheap. You’re unlikely to spend more than $10 for a taxi ride. Most fares will be closer to $3.

The hotel is quite far away from the airport. It’s 20km away. The taxi journey could take 45 minutes if there’s no traffic. It could take 3 hours during rush hour! If you need to be near the airport, you should consider the Hilton Mumbai. Review here. It’s a charming 5* hotel, right next to the airport.

The Hotel

The Taj Mahal Tower is next to the Taj Mahal Palace. The image of these two hotels, is one of the most iconic images of Mumbai. The hotel is rated 5*, with the following features

• Outdoor pool
  
• Fitness centre
  
• Arcade of luxury shops
  
• Classy lobby
  
• Spectacular Location
  
• Colonial architecture
  

The hotel was built by the British in 1903, during the colonial era. You can feel the history as you walk round the hotel. The architecture is stunning. The Hotel is managed by Taj Hotels. This is the flagship hotel of the group.

The Taj Mumbai Hotel has a really nice lobby. It’s not massive, but it has some lovely features. There are luxurious fabric seats. Also, to one side is a grand piano. Unfortunately, the hotel was very busy during my stay. This meant that the lobby was always full of people.

The lobby area has a large number of luxury shopping outlets (including Louis Vuitton). There’s also a coffee and cake shop there. So it’s a nice spot to sit and relax.

The service was a little disappointing. At check-in, my Taj Gold Status wasn’t acknowledged at all. In addition, I used my card for pre-authorisation of charges. As you would at any hotel. The agent incorrectly took a payment, rather than a hold on my card. Because of this, I had to execute a refund at check-out. This refund never arrived, and I had to send a couple of emails to get the money back. The check-in agent should have known better.

The service isn’t as bad as the Holiday Inn Maldives. They made my family wait at check-in for 1 hour. They said that the price listed on their system, was more than the amount on my confirmation. They insisted that my confirmation was wrong!

I have a small comment about the internet, at the Taj Mumbai hotel. I normally don’t talk about wi-fi in reviews, unless there’s an issue. I found the internet to be a slow on multiple occasions. It briefly cut out at one point too. It wasn’t a disaster, but I do expect better.

The Room

The room at the Taj Mumbai Hotel was a disappointment. It was small and not what I expect from a 5* hotel. It had the following features:

• Partial sea view
  
• Large double bed
  
• Small desk that had seen better days
  
• Small balcony with a wire mesh over it
  
• Tea bags, kettle and a French press
  

The décor of the room was spartan and functional. Very little effort had been made on the design. It looked like a modern hotel room from any international brand. However, for such an iconic hotel, I had hoped for better.

There was a small desk, overlooking the window. The desk had definitely seen better days. It had so many chips on it!

The balcony was weird. There was a wire mesh covering it. As such, the view from the balcony was restricted. I don’t know why they had the wire mesh. It may have been to keep out mosquitos.

Another disappointment was with the in-room coffee machine – there wasn’t one! There was a French press, rather than a Nespresso machine. A French Press is definitely better than instant coffee. However, I think 5* hotels should have in room coffee machines.

The Bathroom

The in-room bathroom was disappointing too. It was tiny! There was a shower rather than a bathtub. This is uncommon at 5* hotels. Most 5* hotels have a bath and a separate shower.

The toiletries were provided by Forest Essentials. Which is a local brand.

The Breakfast

I had breakfast each day at Shamiana on the ground floor. There was a wide selection of cook to order dishes. Both Indian and western. There was also a small buffet. I’ve uploaded the menu to the above slideshow. Just click the above photo, to open the slideshow.

During my 3 days at the hotel, I sampled the following dishes

• Bircher Muesli
  
• Pancakes
  
• Poached eggs
  
• Paratha
  
• Kichdi
  
• Mushrooms
  
• Hash browns
  
• Fruit bowl
  
• Orange juice
  
• Tea
  
• Coffee
  

The cook to order food was fresh and well made. I enjoyed my breakfast each morning. The service was quick too, given that the hotel was fully booked.

I was disappointed with the fresh fruit and juice options. The only fruit available was a small bowl of fruit salad. I tried it on one day, and couldn’t finish it. The juice wasn’t squeezed freshly on site. It was bottled externally and taken to the hotel each day.

The tea and coffee was self-service from a machine. For some reason, they didn’t put the tea bags next to the machine! So I had to ask the staff for a tea bag each time. They served Twinings tea. My wife had the machine coffee and said she liked it a lot.

Conclusion