Day 293, Mumbai, India
Last night when we flew into Mumbai, our hotel shuttle guy was waiting for us, or at least his sign was. When you exit the terminal, there is a long line of men with signs, as usual. One of the signs had our name on it, but no one was holding it, it was just hanging on the fence. Perhaps that was the foreshadowing of the hotel we were going to. A man did come to claim his sign, and us.
Let me just preface this next part to say that we’ve stayed in many hotels, homes, rental apartments on this trip, and with few disappointments or booking regrets. We are also always booking places where you must trust pictures posted, reviews left by others, pins dropped on google maps, to be somewhat accurate. And mostly they have been. That record was about to change. We decided to depart from our usual Airbnb booking in Mumbai to stay in a hotel closer to the airport and train it into Mumbai. We booked through Hotwire, which we have used since it was created, and have always been happy with the results. For these 4 nights we booked near the airport.
When we got to the hotel it was the most tired place we’d ever seen. There were five men who worked there, standing in the lobby staring at us while Paul checked us in. It was an odd start. Then we walked through a construction zone, paper taped to the floors, dust everywhere. There was no glass in the windows in the stairwell, just a thick bamboo pole nailed across it. The elevator had one of those old gates you had to pull across to make it work, but not in a quaint way.
They showed us to a room that had a king bed, that’s all. We stood there and said, well there are four of us. They said they could throw two mattresses on the floor and that’s what they did. We warned us that construction started at 10am and goes until 7pm. I asked them what kind of construction, he said the normal kind. I asked, so it’s loud? He didn’t respond which was a yes.
When they left we looked around our floor. There was no one else in the building. Most of the rooms were partially done, some just unfinished shells. Ours must have been one of the only rooms complete in the building and there was no one else there.
Madi said, “Do you think they are down there saying, ‘I can’t believe someone actually booked this place while we are under construction, isn’t that hilarious!?'”
By now it was after midnight and we had been up since 3am. We slept. We ate breakfast the next morning on the roof, which we had all to ourselves, seeing as no one else was staying in the building but us.
After breakfast, Paul got on the phone to Hotwire and explained we were staying in a hotel that is actually under construction, that we don’t even have 4 beds. I’m sure they could see that we’ve used them for years, have never complained. To emphasize what was going on, Paul took the phone into the hall where they could hear the heavy construction going on around us. Hotwire was amazing. They said they would book us in another hotel and pay the difference. So, we chose the five-star Grand Hyatt Mumbai, and they said fine. Surprised me a little that they went for it, but went for it, they did.
Hotwire cancelled the remaining nights at our current hotel and Paul went downstairs to get a cab. To the hotel’s credit, they offered to drive us over the the Grand Hyatt, which was very nice. Perhaps they should be a bit more forthcoming that they are under complete and total construction. I didn’t feel bad that we were leaving.
Pulling up to the Grand Hyatt was fun for the girls, especially. Paul and I have been to numerous five-star hotels on business trips. They haven’t. When we pulled up to the gate, five security guys descend on the car. They check in the trunk, all the doors, with a mirror under the car. Felt more like we were entering an embassy. Before you go through the front door you go through security tighter than the TSA. They also scan all your luggage and every belonging. Cool. After all the terrorist acts we’ve come close to on this trip, we love us some tight security.
We upgraded to an Executive floor that has an open lounge all day with breakfast buffet, drinks and snacks all day, and cocktails and buffet at night. Amazing. Our room is bigger than our apartment in Japan or Hong Kong, internet’s fast, snacks a plenty, amenities a plenty. It’s fun on so many levels. 
Here we are checking out the menus of the different restaurant options. There are Italian, Chinese, Indian restaurants, as well as one that serves all the popular items from numerous cultures. That’s where we ended up so that Cali could get a veggie quesadilla, Madi could get bruschetta and a Nutella crepe, and I could try a plate with many yummy and unidentifiable Indian dishes.
My plate.
Cali’s plate.
This is where we will eat breakfast tomorrow.
The girls were actively enjoying some of the hotel’s beautiful art and sculptures.
This was the table of Easter decorations, given it was Easter Sunday.
We were tempted to join the kid’s club since we couldn’t make eggs like we usually do, but didn’t want to alarm anyone.
This is a cricket batting cage, which we didn’t use because we still don’t understand any aspect of the game. It had a prominent location, not tucked away with the gym facilities, but between the front desk and the fancy restaurants.
There’s also all the pool facilities, don’t get me started.
On our floor we have a lounge that is open all the time. You’re not allowed to get your own drinks or goodies, during the day, you request them and they are served to you. 
The girls got room service in the evening. We haven’t been to a hotel where they wheel in the table. He announced, “Here is your margarita pizza, Miss. And here are your potatoes, smiley, Miss.” The plate full of potatoes smiley was pretty much summing up the giddiness of the girls at the Grand Hyatt.
