Accommodation in Mumbai

therachface

Hi,
Can anyone recommend somewhere to stay in Mumbai where I am likely to meet other travellers? A hostel or similar.
Thanks,
Rach

aadil

Well, there is the Salvation Army's Red Shield Hostel at Mereweather Road at Colaba for a dormitory style accomodation at Rs150 per person including breakfast and one of the cheapest places to stay in Mumbai!!! You will normally find a lot of foreigners here so good to share experiences and travel tips. Besides this there is the YMCA and YWCA in the same area where the prices are much higher at around Rs800 for a dormitory style accomodation or double rooms at Rs1750. The YWCA International Center is a lovely place if you can afford it. It is also possible to stay at one of the many hotels in the Colaba area but please check them out personally before booking them. Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Aadil.

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therachface

Thanks! I've heard it's pretty difficult to get a bed in the Salvation Army...I'll give it a try anyway.

machadinha

Dunno if they take reservations, but you'll find them at Red Shield Guest House, Mumbai, Maharashtra .

Over a decade ago I had to wait for a day or two for there to be room yes. Arriving early in the day helps, anywhere in Mumbai for that matter. Once you're in town you can just leave note you want the next free bed of course (and checking early on that every day won't hurt).

(So where did I stay in the meantime? Oh after checking out a couple of full places in a totally shoddy yet adequate yet way overpriced place with irritatingly prying and begging personnel and a copy-cat name of a more popular one in Colaba. Hey, I was backpacking it and even in the higher classes I hear Mumbai's not easy nor cheap on its accommodation, even the Salvation dorm's prices are ridiculous compared to dorm prices elsewhere. That's just the way it is though, it's not at all a bad place.)

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Passion fruit

In colaba, i stayed in some cheap hostels with very basic rooms divided in a modular ways . I recall the cost being somewhere like 200-250 Rs per night. But one could get a bigger room with a view subject to higher price.....i once shared that room with another girl..

That hostel was in Colaba which is a good location, on Arthur Bunder Rd. It was called "India Guest House" and in the same building there was another hostel. Anyway, if you go along Arthur Bunder Rd, or the small streets around there, you will find many budget hotels with travellers from all around.

aadil

It is best to be there when the day starts for the hostel booking at around 8am - 9am so that you get the first beds available. After that it becomes pretty full up.

Cheers,
Aadil.

staceypants86

Hi guys!

I'm going to be staying in Mumbai for around 3 1/2 months from December 2008 to mid-March 2009. I have read good reviews about Hotel Lawrence and have heard it's very cheap. How would I go about finding more information / booking accommodation there, as they don't seem to have their own website? Any reviews would be appreciated as well. If not there, is there anything in the similar quality / price range that someone would recommend for this duration of visit. I'm also looking to be based in South Mumbai. Thanks in advance!

staceypants86

*deleted*

staceypants86

The Red Shield Guest House is the most promising lead I've had yet for my stay in Mumbai... but my questions are:

* Is it possible to book ahead (room not dorm)?
* On the Red Shield's website, there is a room listed as "A/C" and is the most expensive - would this be a double or single room?
* What is the maximum time you can stay there? I'm looking for accommodation for around 3 months, and read on the Lonely Planet review page that the maximum stay was one week?!

Any other information about this hostel would be greatly appreciated.

Moderator Note:
Moved your subsequent posts here rather than leaving them in
new threds

machadinha

Searching the web for them, you'll find plenty of other sites that list them, including contact info I think. Try a search using Bombay as a keyword as well, not just Mumbai.

Ditto. Try also this site's Hotel Listings. I believe (but can't promise you) it has a decent reputation yes.

No idea. I left a link to them above; if that info is still correct, you could contact them there to ask them about it. If an email goes unanswered, try calling them. It's been said here their rooms can be booked, their dorms can't.

I'd expect that AC room to be a double or larger, but can't be sure. [Edit: I see now that site's had an overhaul -- which would suggest it would be up-to-date -- and they claim to have both single and double AC rooms.]

staceypants86

Thought it might be useful to let everyone know that I received an email from Red Shield (so they do reply to email contact) saying that guests can stay for a maximum of 6 nights.