View from the stretch connecting the Oberoi and the Trident

Bandra to Bombay

“What can we get you from Bombay,” I asked our friend and neighbour Gia, before K and I set off on a short vacation a few weeks back.

‘Bombay? Don’t you live there?’ you ask?

Technically no. We live in Bandra. A part of the suburbs. Greater Mumbai you could say.

Old timers will tell you that Bombay starts where the autorickshaws stop. Which is at Bandra. I still remember the day I had moved into my PG digs in Bandra in 1997. The day my journey to becoming a Mumbaikar officially began. I unpacked in my (half of the) room and had many questions to ask Sridhar, the affable admin person of IMRB, the market research agency which had brought me to Mumbai after I finished my B School in Calcutta.

“Where are the theatres that show English movies?” I asked Shridhar. Those were the days when there were just three or four single screen theatres in each Indian metro that showed English movies. Those theatres would be located in what was then the city hub. New Market in Kolkata, CP at Delhi and in the area around Colaba and VT in Mumbai.

“For that you need to go to Bombay,” said Shridhar with a deadpan expression.

“Bombay????!!!! Where are we now!!!!!????” I was flummoxed.

With time I learnt that it was the southern tip of Mumbai…tony Colaba, grand old Fort and Ballard Estate, the perenially busy Churchgate, the crumbling areas around Crawford Market at the most, Girgaon and the Queen’s Necklace (Marine Drive)…that was referred to as ‘Bombay’. Possibly not even the central areas of Dadar and Parel.

Till ‘Mumbai’ happened and it all changed. Forget Bandra, now even far flung Virar and Ghatkopar are counted as a part of Mumbai with flyovers connecting them coming up every day.

Technically, therefore one could live in Bandra and go on a vacation to Bombay. Which, in these Covid times, seemed rather prudent to do even though we had got both our vaxes.

Hello parenthood

“I would not feel comfortable leaving the boys and going out town,” said K. “What if something happens and we have to come back?”

She was talking about our cats Baby Loaf and little Nimki. Mom in law came to look after them and was joined by her sister Farida masi. Both ladies had fallen for the two cats hook, line and sinker, after being apprehensive about them at the start. Gia offered to sleep over to help and her mom Erika visited them regularly as K and I set off on our three night vacation.

They always know and both Loaf and Nimki hung by our bags the night before we left and looked at us with a ‘how can you even think of leaving us’ look.

Staycations are here to stay

Imagine finding Loaf and Nimki’s pics in the welcome amenities at the hotel.
Made us smile & squeal with joy as we were really missing them.

In-city hotel staycations are quite the thing right now with travel being difficult and fraught with risk and considered best avoided unless necessary.

Many are checking into hotels in the city to take a mini break. An escape from the constantly ringing bell at home (I just had to go to the door to attend to the laundryman while subbing this), a break from the anxiety about whether the house help would come to work (think #bunkinbanu) or even for a change of scene or privacy for those who live in large families. Some of the hotels that we checked that weekend, such as the ITC Maratha and the Taj Mahal Hotel (towers), were booked and this seems to be scene across the countries showing some relief to a sector that has suffered a lot due to the pandemic.

Luckily we got a room of our choice at the Oberoi, Mumbai (we were very keen on a sea view) and managed an upgrade to an executive suite. Things could not have been more perfect as an Oberoi Mumbai staycation had been on our wishlist for years.

The Queen’s Necklace from the room. So called because of the lights on
the Marine Drive as I had learnt thanks to the commentary of a cricket match
when I lived in Calcutta

Most hotels are offering very good deals at the moment. Staycations are a big source of business with business and leisure travel being close to non-existent for now. The rates that we got at the Oberoi were lower than what we had seen in the past and remember that it is one of Mumbai’s flagship hotels right from its ‘Bombay’ days. We got a deal with a breakfast and a main meal thrown in per day.

Since buffets are being avoided because of Covid, we got to choose from a list of dishes at the Fenix and the menu was fairly varied to ensure that you would not get bored in three days. Which was good as both K and I prefer a la carte over buffets any-day. Even if the choice is restricted.

K and I are no strangers to in-city staycations. We have been going on them since 2011 or so (the first was at the ITC Maratha). We save on travel time and money and add that to our budget to get good rooms and we both love luxury stays and pampering to be honest. That’s our major indulgence. We have stayed at the ITC Maratha in Mumbai a few times and it almost feels like home, at the JW Marriott Juhu (thrice) and the Trident Nariman Point (twice), JW Sahar, the Hyatt Regency and the Taj Lands End. We wanted to stay at the Oberoi this time and like I said, everything worked out beautifully.

Here are a few things to keep in mind while planning an in-city staycation:

Rates have never been as good and might never be again. Use the opportunity to live your dreams and stay in the marquee hotels of your city.
Shop for rates and often the hotel websites will have the best deals.
Weekdays are very busy, so see if you can manage weekends. We rarely can. Might help you get better rates or at least upgrades.
The biggest expense on a staycation is food. At times could be more than what you pay for the room. Look for packages where there is some component of meals included or hotel credit on offer.
There are a few pet friendly hotels but from what I gather, that works better for dogs than cats.
Consider taking your laptop as most hotels are yet to offer smart TV options and who watches terrestrial TV anymore?
Check while bookings if renovations are on and about what facilities are available
You are going to be in your room a fair bit so do consider investing a bit more to get larger rooms/ suites or a getting a good view. Remember you are not spending on travel.

Some of my favourite hotel room city views across Indian metros are: The Oberoi, Trident Mumbai for Marine Drive and the Queen’s Necklace, The Taj Mahal Mumbai for the Gateway of India, JW Marriott for Juhu Beach, the Oberoi Grand Kolkata for the inner views and the pool and the whole Downton Abbey feel, ITC Sonar Kolkata for the lotus pond (not a city views but K and I have a special bond with this), Park Delhi for the view of the Jantar Mantar. Incidentally the Oberoi suite had a smart TV and we watched Borgen on Netflix every night and occasionally the Week that Wasn’t. I know that it’s director, Kunal Vijayakar, is a patron of the Oberoi and the Trident.

Mumbai at its most glorious

The ultimate Mumbai dream for someone like me. A view of the sea. At south Mumbai.

If I was to think back to our stay at the Oberoi, Nariman point, then the most memorable part for me would be the uninterrupted view of the Arabian Sea and of the Queen’s Necklace (Marine Drive) that we got thanks to the two wall to wall windows of the executive suite as well as from the bathtub too (!) thanks to the glass wall. And the ham sandwiches that I had on last day which seemed as if they were prepared by Anatole himself (Plum fans) will get this. How perfect was it? There was more of course.

K and I had first met at FCB Ulka Advertising, which was then based at the Nirmal Building next to the Oberoi and Trident. That was about 21 years back.

That’s Nirmal behind us. I think. On our way back from the Trident spa for
our lunch at Zia at the Oberoi.

Which is why the stretch around the Oberoi has a special significance to us and is packed with memories which would come alive each time I looked out of windows.

It was raining during our stay which added to the sense of romance and languor and I must confess that we did not step out of the hotel property at all. Not even to neighbouring Nariman Point and Marine Drive. We were there during the weekend and with partial lockdown restrictions on then, going out to restaurants and cafes were not an option. In the past we have based ourselves at the Trident and explored restaurants in south Mumbai which we do not get to frequent too often now thanks to the distance.

As of now, I think weekend lockdown has been relaxed in Mumbai with restaurants allowed to stay open up to 4 pm.

4 meals down by then, Fenix had begun to seem like a club to us and the
lovely service played a big role this.

We called in for dinner from Ling’s Pavilion (the pork mince balls was a new discovery) on the first night and sugar free dark chocolate ice creams from Brooklyn Cremery. Both through Swiggy who delivered despite the heavy rains. The Oberoi staff was helpful and delivered the packages upto the room. The rest of our meals were at the hotel and each was a wondrous experience barring the Marathi breakfast which needs a bit of work.

It is fair to say that the entire staff under the stewardship of their GM Ms Udita Panshikar (possibly the first woman hotel GM I have come across in India) was very courteous and made the stay very pleasant for us. We were surrounded by a sea of warm smiles from the staff wherever we went and they did their best to make sure we were comfortable and got to have the relaxed break that we so needed.

With Ms Udita Panshikar and chef Satbir Bakshi

When I looked at my pictures taken on the day we checked in and then the days that followed, I could see that my face was looking more relaxed with each passing day and no, with no facials involved. We did get ourselves a nice massage at the Trident spa (we chose that as the Oberoi spa did not have a couple room). The massage room was a bit spartan compared to what one sees in newer luxury properties but the therapists were brilliant and took good care of my lower back spasm and shoulder tendinitis. It was our first spa massage session since the first lockdown. I went back for a haircut the next day at the salon and it again had a very understated Sobo (south Bombay) feel versus the more plush and trendy salons of today.

For our meals, we put ourselves into the able hands of executive chef Satbir Bakshi and his team and had some pretty nice food during our stay. It was a mix of what was a part of our deal and served at the Fenix and food from Eau Bar, Zia, the Champagne Lounge and the Vetro (which is shut but some of whose dishes are available through the chefs).

Some of the highlights were the ham sandwich, fish and chips, sada dosa with podi, chhole bhature, sushi, khow suey (which chef Satbir had specially made), the souffles at the Fenix and the Vetro hand-pulled spaghetti cacio e pepe, the goat sausages and the Marine Drive cocktail at Eau bar, the beetroot tikki, the kofta and malai prawns at Zia and the chocolate samosa of course and the salmon sandwich from the champagne lounge.

I am leaving you behind with some Instagram grabs of what we ate and I won’t be surprised if we head to the Oberoi for another staycation soon. Keep watching this space for more.