Right across the street from the Gateway to India stands India’s most famous hotel and one of the grandest in all the world, The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower. It is a heritage, five-star, luxury hotel which is historically known as the Taj Mahal Hotel or simply “the Taj”.
As you enter the Hotel, you’ll notice a high level of security. This is because the hotel was one of the main targets of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. There are high security bomb walls, and private security and metal detectors, but the way that they are disguised or woven into the fabric of the hotel you almost don’t notice them.
Once you enter the hotel though you are overwhelmed by the level of luxury and sophistication of the lobby areas, adjoining hallways and restaurants and gift shops. This five-star hotel serves as a playground for the international rich and the rising young affluent Indian upper class. While outside the bustling streets are loud with the sounds of traffic and the crowds at the adjoining Gateway, inside you don’t hear a sound. The air is fragranced with a scent that seems to be a combination of Mandarin oil and the open sea. Everywhere is opulence. Huge crystal chandeliers, giant vases of bright colorful flowers and a sense of luxury which is combination of the British Raj and modern opulence. The people that populate this space seem to be as almost from another planet. Money seems to be no issue for them and there’s a sense that they live on an elevated plane far above most normal humans.
Yet for such a world-famous, five-star hotel and its sense of wealth and opulence, the price of a small room there is actually not that far out of reach. With a current exchange rate of 71.5 Indian rupees to one US dollar, the price for their simplest room comes in at around 302 US.
Opened in 1903, the hotel has a deep and amazing history. Established and built by Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the Tata Group, one of India’s largest conglomerates, the hotel has played host to a wealth of royalty, political figures, and world-famous entertainers. King George V of Great Britain stayed there during his visit to India, the first British Monarch to ever visit India in 1911. American US presidents such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have stayed there. And rumor has it that in the hotel’s Ravi Shankar Suite is where the famous Indian musician taught George Harrison of the English group The Beatles how to play the sitar in 1966.
When it first opened, the hotel was the first in India to have: electricity, American fans, German elevators, Turkish baths and English butlers. Later it also had the city’s first licensed bar and India’s first all-day restaurant. Initially in 1903, it charged Rs 13 for rooms with fans and attached bathrooms, and Rs 20 with full board. During World War I, the hotel was converted into a military hospital with 600 beds.
On November 26th, 2008, the hotel became famous for another much darker reason. The hotel was attacked by a terror group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, which also targeted many sites in the Mumbai area resulting in the capture and death of many hostages. The final death toll of the attacks was 167 people. The casualties were mostly Indian citizens, although westerners carrying foreign passports were specifically targeted. During the three-day siege of the Taj Mahal hotel itself, the results were the destruction of the hotel’s roof and many of the public areas of the hotel. The siege was over when Indian commandos finally killed the terrorists barricaded in the hotel. At least 31 people died at the Taj. The attack on the hotel served as the subject of the 2018 movie, Hotel Mumbai starring Rav Patal and Arnie Hammer.
So if you find yourself at the Gateway of India, please cross the street and enter the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower. Wander around and treat yourself to a sense of luxury that you will not find in many places in the world. Even if you can’t afford to stay at the hotel, treat yourself to High Tea in the Sea Lounge. It will be a memorable experience.
Some facts come from Wikipedia and the Taj Mahal Palace website.
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