Destination Guide
Mumbai
Stay
We only feature hotels that we can vouch for first-hand. With Indagare Plus,members receive special amenities.
Taj Mahal Palace & Tower
With gorgeous rooms and suites, excellent restaurants and a stunning pool, this is the place to stay in Mumbai. The story of the Taj begins with industrialist Jamsetji Tata, who was refused entry into a European hotel in the late 1800s. His answer: Build the grandest and most exquisite hotel to rival any other in the world. The heritage building, with its domes and black basalt exterior, completed in 1903, in fact, predates even the Gateway of India, which is essentially just across the street along the harbor. In 1972, a 22-story tower was added, bringing the number of rooms and suites to 560. Still, the heritage wing rooms have a charm all their own. One suite, in particular, honors Indian musician Ravi Shankar with memorabilia, photographs and instruments featured in the room. Even George Harrison of the Beatles checked into the hotel to take lessons from Shankar. Over the decades, dignitaries, celebrities and CEOs from across the world have stayed at the Taj. The property also boasts incredible restaurants from the European-inflected Zodiac Grill to Wasabi by Morimoto and Masala Kraft. Spend an afternoon at the pool, truly an oasis in the heart of frenetic Mumbai or enjoy treatments at the on-site spa.
The Oberoi
Opened in 1986 with over 300 rooms, the Oberoi hotel sits in the heart of Mumbai’s business district and offers superb views of the Arabian Sea and along the “Queen’s Necklace,” a term for the lights that form a kind of string of pearls along the water. Among the A-list guests who have checked in, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Richard Gere, Jack Welch and Rupert Murdoch have all stayed in the Kohinoor Suite, which is an oasis of calm. Even standard rooms are exceptionally spacious with floor-to-ceiling windows. What the Oberoi might lack in history, it more than makes up for in its attention to detail and service.