After spending 5 nights at La Woods Hotel in Chennai, India in February 2016, my buddy and I took a short 2.5 hour afternoon flight to Mumbai, India and arrived early evening. With a later flight out of the city, we had our free breakfast at La Woods before leaving and had to hang around our hotel area a bit before our flight. We even got a free meal during the flight.
our free meal on our flight to Mumbai
The Hotel
From Mumbai Airport (BOM) to Grand Hotel Mumbai, it was just over 35 minutes by taxi. We booked 6 nights at this hotel, so hopefully the accessibility works for me. When we arrived at the hotel, we immediately saw that there were 4 steps to get inside the hotel. Lucky I always travel with my manual wheelchair and bring a strong buddy with me to help me when these issues arise.
4 steps to get inside
With 68 rooms at this hotel, there is an old style elevator for guests to use. The elevator is a bit smaller than usual but it fit myself and my buddy in it comfortably. There wasn’t really any extra room for other guests to share the elevator with us though.
small old style elevator
There is a nice courtyard in the middle of the hotel and we had to pass by a really nice corridor to get to our room. The accessibility was great within the hotel as we didn’t encounter any issues.
corridor to our room
Room
our room
The room we stayed at had 2 twin beds that were a bit hard but had adequate sheets and bedding. It was quite spacious and was easy for my wheelchair to move around. At the one side, there was an extra sofa, chair with a side table. There was the typical tv, dvd player, desk, dresser and fridge.
one step to the bathroom
The bathroom had a step to get inside which was a problem for us. My buddy had to leave my commode in the bathroom, and carry me from the bed to the commode. Since we couldn’t just wheel the commode to the bathroom, it was a hassle to do my shower. The shower stall was also quite small and the showerhead was fixed and not moveable.
small roll in shower
Amenities
Grand Hotel Mumbai does have a gym and conference for guests to use. We didn’t check out these rooms so I can’t really comment about them. There was also a coffee shop & restaurant in the hotel that offered a free daily breakfast. Food items were limited and we could choose from Indian items to a continental breakfast.
free daily breakfast
Location
The only downside to this hotel is that it is not located in Colaba, which is the main tourist area of Mumbai. It is located in a business district called Ballard Estate. At night, it does get really quiet and dark around the hotel. About 10 to 15 minute walk/stroll from the hotel, there are a lot of restaurants and shops along a busy road.
quiet street in front of our hotel
Grand Hotel Mumbai was a bit challenging for me to stay in. There was 4 steps to get inside the hotel and while the room was pretty good, the bathroom required a step to enter. The location was in a quiet area and was a few blocks from the tourist area. The free daily breakfast was average and doesn’t sway me to stay again next time I revisit Mumbai.
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