A City Break at Grand Hyatt Mumbai

Written by Savi, No comments

A luxurious hotel, located in the midst of greenery, but close to Mumbai’s domestic and international airports and its bustling city centre, might seem like a far-fetched dream, but Grand Hyatt Mumbai delivers on all counts

Stay

Grand Hyatt Mumbai offers a range of rooms and suites to suit the discerning traveller. There is also a range of apartments for long-term guests. This makes it a hit with business and leisure travellers alike. Rooms are well-equipped with wifi, luxurious toiletries, comfortable beds, and plenty of power sockets. Suites even have private balconies, a rarity in a city like Mumbai. If you cherish your privacy and dislike busy breakfast buffets, then there’s good news – guests who stay at the Grand Club have access to an exclusive Club Lounge, where meals and hors d’oeuvres are served all day. This space is ideal for business travellers.

The fitness area at Grand Hyatt Mumbai includes a well-equipped gym, ideal for early-risers those who want to work up a sweat and earn their breakfast. If you’re keen on spending a leisurely morning, then we’d suggest heading straight to the adjoining pool. You can drop by for a quiet morning swim and even have your breakfast delivered here once you’ve worked up an appetite.

Gorgeous pool at Grand Hyatt Mumbai – perfect for a morning swim 🙂

Club lounge – ideal if you’re after absolute peace and quiet 🙂

Public Spaces and Art

The highlight of a stay at Grand Hyatt Mumbai is its public spaces. The hotel’s walls are bedecked with over 100 specially-commissioned pieces of art. As a student and teacher of visual arts, I found its corridors thoroughly fascinating and couldn’t shake off the feeling of being in a museum. I spent hours poring over the artwork dedicated to Lord Shiva and the installations reflecting various facets of the city of Mumbai, right from its iconic film industry to the dabbawaalas, in the hotel basement. We would strongly recommend checking them out if you have a keen interest in art or sculpture. Make sure you drop by for a meal or a coffee even if you aren’t staying at the hotel.

Loved the artwork in the public spaces of the hotel

Beautiful courtyard at the hotel – all lit for Christmas 🙂

Eat

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that food is the highlight of a stay anywhere in India. Grand Hyatt Mumbai is no exception. The hotel boasts of eight restaurants, most of which have won several accolades for excellence. Fifty Five East offers an expansive multi-cuisine buffet, especially on weekends. It is the ideal place to kickstart your introduction to Indian cuisine. You could also try delicious Indian cuisine at Soma. If you want to pick up a snack and rush to a meeting, Gourmet Store has a variety of freshly-baked breads, sandwiches, and salads.

But if you do have some time at hand we’d recommend sampling the exquisite Chinese food at China House. There is an extensive menu to choose from but you must try their signature Peking Duck (cooked to perfection!) and the steamed prawn dumplings. The expertise of the Chinese chefs at China House reflects in every one of their dishes. The passion with which they introduce the food to the guests might be the reason the restaurant is an icon within Mumbai’s culinary landscape. If you’re a fan of Italian food, drop by Celini for rustic Italian fare. I must admit, I have a soft corner for Celini because the cheerful head chef at Celini is from Genoa, the port city that is home to some of the tastiest food in the world according to me! Naturally his hands weave magic in the kitchen and the proof is in the pudding. Hand-rolled pizzas, flavourful morsels of sea food, and delectable pastas will leave you wanting more.

Spend your evenings at China House Lounge which is extremely popular with Mumbai’s party-goers and gets quite busy as the night progresses. We would highly recommend trying one of their quirky signature cocktails. We loved Navari – gin and guava juice laced with tangy Indian spices comes in a glass wrapped in a miniature Navari sari (the local costume of Maharashtra) and Time To Rise – a whisky cocktail that pays homage to America speakeasies and comes wrapped in a newspaper.

The Saturday brunch at Celini – made even better with live music 🙂

We had such a great afternoon at China House

The Peking Duck at China House – to die for!!

We LOVED the cocktails and ambience at China House Lounge!!!

Experience

This is Mumbai, one of the busiest cities in the world. Naturally there is no dearth of things to do. You can explore the city’s historical landmarks, cultural sites, culinary scene, or its nightclubs. It is easy to spend a few days just ticking its major sites off your list.

If you have just 1-2 days, then we suggest booking an tour of Mumbai, tailored to your preferences, with the hotel itself. We requested for a tour that provides a taste of the local life in Mumbai and ended up exploring the major landmarks such as Haji Ali Dargah and the Gateway of India and exploring Dhobi Ghaat – the largest outdoor laundry in the world which makes for a fascinating excursion. If you enjoy experiential activities, then we would recommend opting for a cooking class with the chefs at Grand Hyatt Mumbai or an Art Tour in the hotel.