Hotels in South Mumbai?

ravig

Hi,

I was hoping someone might have a suggestion for hotels in South Mumbai (near the 'city center') for December 21st and 22nd. We would like to be close to bars/clubs/restauratns, if possible. It doesn't have to be fancy -- clean and mid-priced would be ideal. There are 4 of us (all in our mid-20s) travelling, and we could squeeze into one room if necessary. I've heard it will be very expensive and difficult to find a room for those days, so any help would be greatly appreciated! We'd like to book the rooms ASAP.

Thanks!

vinayverma

Whole lot of them around Colaba and then ust behind Taj. There is some digging going on in that area, so some hotels might be cheap.

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ravig

Thanks for the quick reply! Do you happen to have any specific hotel names, or good sites to look at for hotels? I've never been to Mumbai before, and really have no idea about the geography of the city.

How much do you think we should pay (for 4 people)?

Also, do you think it is necessary to reserve a room ahead of time, or would we be ok just showing up and trying to find some accomodations?

Thanks again!

jarman_ah

In Colaba, which was just mentioned (above), we liked the look of Shelley's Hotel (even though, admittedly, we only saw it from the outside)... however, someone on this forum said it closed recently, for renovations (or something). You might like to do a search and see if you can find any very-recent comments about it.

We short-listed Shelley's, but finally settled on the Benazeer, which is in a more central location, not in Colaba but nearer to Victoria Station. For such a bustling area, it's surprisingly quiet, as it looks out on a quaint little square. We were fortunate to score the best room in the house, which is right up the front and has windows the full width of the wall looking out onto that square... for two, this cost 950 rupees, which seemed such good value that we returned there after a circle-tour of India. You couldn't fit four people in that room, but if two of them were willing to sleep in one of the nearby cheaper rooms, and use the room-with-a-view for socialising, then you might all sleep for around 1700 rupees a night, total. I have posted quite a bit here on the Benazeer already, and so have a couple of other posters, so a search under that name might prove useful, also.

Another cheapie which got a couple of enthusiastic reviews on this (or another similar) forum is the Lawrence Hotel; after Lyndy's favourable report (she's usually harder to please than I am), I decided that if I were ever in Mumbai and in need of REALLY cheap accommodation, then the Lawrence would be my first port of call, as it's apparently cheap (I think she paid about 500 rupees)without being nasty. Also, it's location is good... down towards Colaba but not quite as far as Shelley's.

Hope this will at least give you a start... as you read the posts that these three searches turn up, you will see other hotels mentioned also, in the same price brackets.... should make choosing fairly easy. But my voite goes very definitely to the Benazeer, despite its unprepossessing exterior (it's just a stairway leading up, at the side of the Benazeer Restaurant).

jarman_ah

Just an addendum to the above... about booking or just turning up. There are a lot of hotels in Mumbai, so you would always be able to find something... but I reckon I'd book ahead, if I were you, because there is a lot of "dodgy" stuff around, and if you start to look desperate, you may allow some autorickshaw driver to take you to his brother-in-law's rat-hole, for which he will charge you a mark-up of 400%. Start "winging" it after you have spent a couple of days in India and have a bit of experience on what things cost (and how to bargain). You will find Mumbai is probably more exoensive than any other city in India, but since you appear to be willing to squeeze in a bit to save on lodgings, you should certainly not have to pay more than 2000 rupees a night, in total, for a simple but clean place to stay, with your own bath and air-conditioning..

ravig

jarman_ah, thanks so much for the thorough reply. I really appreciate it! Looks like the Residency Fort has no availability for those nights, and I emailed the Benazeer (great suggestion!). Hopefully they will be able to accomodate me and my friends!

If anyone else knows of other specific hotel names, I'd love to hear about them.

Thanks!

ravig

Quick Benazeer question:

I emailed the hotel with a request for rooms, and they emailed back, along with directions to send money through Western Union to reserve the rooms. Has anyone had to do this before with the Benazeer? I am a little hesitant to send money via Western Union given that there is no protection (say if we were to reach the hotel and be told there was no reservation). I would have happily put down my credit card for the reservation, but I take it the Benazeer doesn't accept credit card.

Any advice? The amount they want us to pay is Rs3300 total via Western Union.

Thanks!

SANJAY_DEL

Hotel Manama

221,225, P. D' Mello Road Near V.T. (C.S.T) Station
Mumbai- 400001
Maharastra, India

Rs 1000

jarman_ah

The Benazeer didn't ask us for any money in advance, so I am puzzled as to why the change in policy. Did you speak to the proprietor, Mr C Abreo.... maybe the place has changed hands since I was there, just over two years ago! Certainly, I found Mr Abreo as honest as the day is long... he collected and kept our railway tickets for us, let us check in at an ungodly hour of the morning with ne extra charge, and so on. But I can't really speak for anyone else there. It wouldn't hurt to follow up their request with a question of your own: "how come?" and see what they say.

Just for myself, I don't like the idea of sending money to a hotel in advance -- I can't see any reason for it, and it lays you open to the possibility of a hassle on your first night in a strange country -- and, although I have enthusiastically recommended the Benazeer for the last two years, if this is their new policy, I think I may have to stop, which would be a pity, because it really is a terrific find!

I will be very interested to see how this turns out!

ravig

Just got back from a great trip to India. We ended up not visiting Mumbai (due to a last minute change in our itinerary), but I do appreciate everyone's advice on places to stay in the city.

Interestingly, I found out that the Benazeer now has a website, which can be visited at www.benazeerhotelmumbai.com ... I'm still not sure why they asked for money to be wired ahead of time, but if the website takes credit card reservations, that would negate any need for that.

Hope someone finds that helpful! Thanks again for the help, especially jarman_ah!

aadil

Mr Abreo is still there though I think they have started this just so that it is a safer thing for them to have the money before hand if you chose to cancel the booking at the last minute. It would be the same if you paid by credit card as well like most hotels do if you cancel the booking at the last minute by encashing your credit card for one night's stay.

Cheers,
Aadil.

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