Taj Mahal Hotel

Once synonymous with Mumbai’s beautiful people, and representing the ultimate in the city’s heritage accommodations, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel is clawing back its reputation after being at the center of the terrorist attacks that hit Mumbai in late 2008.

Designed like a palace in the Indo-Saracenic style, the elegant five-star hotel was built in 1903. The building has a central dome, corner turrets, several stories of arches, an arcaded ground floor and an adjacent Tower Wing overlooking the harbor, a modernist creation built in the 1970s.

The luxury hotel has more than 550 rooms, and a swag of bars, restaurants and lounges. If you can’t afford to join the likes of Mick Jagger, Bill Clinton, Joan Collins and the Obamas staying in the hotel’s seriously swanky suites, drop in for coffee in Le Patisserie or dinner at the Zodiac Grill.

Sip Cuban cocktails in the Starboard Bar, with views of the Gateway of India from the hotel’s lobby, or go for the more traditional atmosphere of the Harbour Bar, with its art deco furnishings and bar.

Practical Info

The Taj Mahal hotel is in Colaba, beside the Gateway of India monument in the south of the city.