I have been away from the blog for a while now, too much happening at work and on the personal front. Both Hubby and I celebrated our respective 30th birthdays over the last few days. We have made a rule for ourselves that we don’t go to work on birthdays and our anniversary and we did the same this year. Both of us obviously make the effort to make the other one’s day special but this time hubby beat me hands down by planning a spectacular day for me.
I was quite excited about turning BIG 30 this year and we had made plans to head to the new Hilton property a little ahead of Lonavala. Unfortunately those plans went for a toss when my doctor announced that I should not be travelling for at least another couple of weeks. So there went my plans for a big grand birthday & then it was Hubby to the rescue. He planned something which I recommend everyone does at least once.
He booked a stay at the Taj Palace Hotel in Colaba.
Now one would think that what is so special about staying at a hotel in Mumbai?
Well, this place just transports you back in time. Be prepared to be charmed right from the minute you step foot into the property. You are warmly welcomed by the staff with a garland and requested to wait in the palace lounge while they do the necessary paper work and get your room keys ready for you.
The hotel pampers and spoils you silly. At the palace lounge you are welcomed with a refreshing drink and a cold towel to beat the heat.
It didn’t take them long to get the room keys ready and as soon as we were done with our welcome drink someone promptly escorted us to our room.
Now you may have seen the gateway of India many times but the pleasure of seeing the gateway of India and the Arabian Sea from the window of your hotel room at Taj Palace is something else. My hubby had informed the hotel that we were celebrating my birthday so the staff was kind enough to decorate the room with balloons, flowers, a cute little swan arrangement (made using towels) and a happy birthday cushion. This was just one of the many surprises in store for me, when we stepped out for lunch at the sea lounge (You shall hear about this later in my post) the staff left a yummy mango cake for me in the room. Wow! I was really floored by how the Taj staff went out of their way to make the day special for me.
When talking about the Taj I must talk about Sea lounge which often gets overshadowed by the other iconic restaurants like Souk & Golden dragon. This is a beautiful lounge with a stunning view of the ocean and Mumbai, to me it was like finding a hidden gem. The lovely blue décor and beautiful piano playing in background and the attentive staff who aren’t too overbearing (as can be the case with some properties) makes the whole experience truly wonderful. They serve high tea from 3 PM to 6.30 PM (you may want to check on this again) which is highly recommended. You also have the option of going in for the al- carte menu if you don’t wish to take the buffet but I would highly recommend the buffet. They serve some lovely local delicacies like pav bhaji, parsi meat burger in the buffet and a brilliant selection of desserts which you can’t afford to miss. And of course you could wash this down with a hot cup of masala chai or coffee.
Taj also conducts a tour of the property for its resident’s at 5.00 PM every day. This is another lovely experience which I would highly recommend as it takes you back in time with the story of how Taj came into existence and how it was built , the prominent guests that have stayed at the Taj and a host of other interesting stories. For instance did you know that Taj Palace Hotel has one of the largest collections of paintings in the country & the reason for this being that in the early days they would allow artists to host exhibitions and the artists would pay them in kind by gifting them a painting instead of cash. Its experiences like these that set the Taj Palace hotel apart from any other hotel in the country. In the evening, we dined at the golden dragon restaurant which needs no introduction as it is one of the most well-known Chinese restaurants in Mumbai.
Next day we enjoyed a swim in the pool followed by a filling breakfast at Sea lounge (I fell in love with this place). All I can say is a stay at the Taj Palace hotel is something that I would highly recommend, the property is an experience in itself and leaves you feeling fresh and rejuvenated.
I was quite excited about turning BIG 30 this year and we had made plans to head to the new Hilton property a little ahead of Lonavala. Unfortunately those plans went for a toss when my doctor announced that I should not be travelling for at least another couple of weeks. So there went my plans for a big grand birthday & then it was Hubby to the rescue. He planned something which I recommend everyone does at least once.
He booked a stay at the Taj Palace Hotel in Colaba.
Now one would think that what is so special about staying at a hotel in Mumbai?
Well, this place just transports you back in time. Be prepared to be charmed right from the minute you step foot into the property. You are warmly welcomed by the staff with a garland and requested to wait in the palace lounge while they do the necessary paper work and get your room keys ready for you.
The hotel pampers and spoils you silly. At the palace lounge you are welcomed with a refreshing drink and a cold towel to beat the heat.
It didn’t take them long to get the room keys ready and as soon as we were done with our welcome drink someone promptly escorted us to our room.
Now you may have seen the gateway of India many times but the pleasure of seeing the gateway of India and the Arabian Sea from the window of your hotel room at Taj Palace is something else. My hubby had informed the hotel that we were celebrating my birthday so the staff was kind enough to decorate the room with balloons, flowers, a cute little swan arrangement (made using towels) and a happy birthday cushion. This was just one of the many surprises in store for me, when we stepped out for lunch at the sea lounge (You shall hear about this later in my post) the staff left a yummy mango cake for me in the room. Wow! I was really floored by how the Taj staff went out of their way to make the day special for me.
When talking about the Taj I must talk about Sea lounge which often gets overshadowed by the other iconic restaurants like Souk & Golden dragon. This is a beautiful lounge with a stunning view of the ocean and Mumbai, to me it was like finding a hidden gem. The lovely blue décor and beautiful piano playing in background and the attentive staff who aren’t too overbearing (as can be the case with some properties) makes the whole experience truly wonderful. They serve high tea from 3 PM to 6.30 PM (you may want to check on this again) which is highly recommended. You also have the option of going in for the al- carte menu if you don’t wish to take the buffet but I would highly recommend the buffet. They serve some lovely local delicacies like pav bhaji, parsi meat burger in the buffet and a brilliant selection of desserts which you can’t afford to miss. And of course you could wash this down with a hot cup of masala chai or coffee.
Taj also conducts a tour of the property for its resident’s at 5.00 PM every day. This is another lovely experience which I would highly recommend as it takes you back in time with the story of how Taj came into existence and how it was built , the prominent guests that have stayed at the Taj and a host of other interesting stories. For instance did you know that Taj Palace Hotel has one of the largest collections of paintings in the country & the reason for this being that in the early days they would allow artists to host exhibitions and the artists would pay them in kind by gifting them a painting instead of cash. Its experiences like these that set the Taj Palace hotel apart from any other hotel in the country. In the evening, we dined at the golden dragon restaurant which needs no introduction as it is one of the most well-known Chinese restaurants in Mumbai.
Next day we enjoyed a swim in the pool followed by a filling breakfast at Sea lounge (I fell in love with this place). All I can say is a stay at the Taj Palace hotel is something that I would highly recommend, the property is an experience in itself and leaves you feeling fresh and rejuvenated.
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| The beautifully decorated room (dont miss the Happy Birthday cushion) ;) |
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| Stunning views and the old world charm of the hotel takes you back in time |
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