Taj Mahal Palace And Tower, Mumbai

While traveling in India for business and pleasure, I stayed in the new tower of the hotel overlooking the Gate of India. Service was excellent in tidying up and the bowl of fruit was replenished without being requested. The hotel restaurants were adequate but pricey, especially the modern Chinese one. The pool was pleasant but drinks were steep, especially for India (a gin and tonic was $10). Highly recommend eating and drinking well off the premises except having high tea on the outside veranda near the pool - you will think you are back in Colonial India. The shops were your typical high-end resort fashion, although I'm kicking myself for not buying a $500 hand-embroidered sherwani (men's wedding jacket) that fit perfectly and entranced a number of female Spanish tourists in the store. The bookshop is excellent and recommend mailing cards and letters from there (postage was less than 20 cents for a postcard back to the States). The streetside nautical bar had excellent Cuban cigars ranging in price from $3-$20 each. Overall, the hotel ranks up there with Raffles in Singapore or the Hyatt in Hong Kong.