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Brad A. Johnson

Food & Travel

Brad A Johnson
  • Blog
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    • Food Photography
    • Travel Photography
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Quick Look: Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai

  • April 10, 2019
  • Brad A. Johnson
Gateway of India as seen from the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Mumbai thrives on chaos. Absolute, full-sensory chaos. The noise. The pigeons. The traffic. The incessant honking. The wild dogs barking. The heat. The tongue-wetting aroma of durian on the sidewalk. The wafting incense of marigolds and jasmine. Cows leisurely wandering through rush-hour intersections. Horses clopping. Children laughing… It is maddening. 

All of this is what makes Mumbai one of the most fascinating cities in the world, a place everyone should see at least once in their lifetime.

The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel provides the perfect antidote to all this frenzy. This is one of the world’s true grande dames, a turn-of-the-century palace that overlooks the iconic Gateway of India (built 20 years after the hotel) in the Apollo Bunder neighborhood on the banks of the Arabian Sea in the Bay of Bombay. 

Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)

Long after it debuted in 1903, the Taj was the first hotel in Mumbai to install electricity. It was the first hotel in India to offer air-conditioning. And it is now the flagship of a global chain of luxury hotels bearing the Taj name. The service here is impeccable. 

When I step inside this hotel, the city’s swirling rumpus dissolves. Serenity washes over all of my senses. I’ve been lucky to stay here twice, first in 2004 and again in 2012. Halfway between those two visits, terror struck. 

In 2008, terrorists rampaged Mumbai and bombed the Taj, taking the entire property hostage with hundreds of guests and staff trapped inside for days. Mumbai’s luxurious refuge from chaos became the epicenter of chaos itself. 

Those horrific events are now the subject of a new film out last week called Hotel Mumbai, starring Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, and Anupam Kher. Here’s the official trailer: 

This isn’t the first film based on these events, though. In 2015, writer/director Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla earned praise for his short film Embrace, which was based on the story of two hotel guests, a husband and wife, who were caught in that siege and forced to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to be reunited with their son. The film used actual news footage from the attack, which makes it all the more haunting. Here’s the official promo for that: 

 

When I returned to the Taj after those events, I was apprehensive, but my unease dissolved moments into my arrival. I found a hotel more spectacularly beautiful than I previously remembered, the service even more exquisite than what I experienced before. The Taj Mahal Palace once again reigned as the picture of serenity amid the incessant chaos of Mumbai. Here’s a quick look around this incredible hotel: 

Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Gateway to India, Mumbai (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)

Rates from about $275; suites from about $415; Apollo Bunder, Mumbai, 400 001; +91 22-6665 3333, tajhotels.com

For more travel inspiration and photos, I invite you to follow me and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

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Brad A. Johnson

Brad A. Johnson is a writer and photographer specializing in food and travel. His work has been honored by the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, James Beard Awards, World Food Media Awards, Food Photographer of the Year Awards, Society of Features Journalism Awards and others. Based in Southern California, Brad currently serves as Editorial Director of the new luxury consumer travel magazine of the Global Travel Collection (launching Spring 2023).

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Hey, OC. FYI in case you missed it, @ryegoods has opened a new location on Red Hill in Tustin, just down the street from Flight/Mess Hall. Same incredible breads and pastries as the original on the peninsula. No lines here, plus a huge seating area. #sourdough #pastries #coffee #orangecounty 322 9
One more post from our lovely stay at @fstokyo. Delicious lunch at @maisonmarunouchi, the casual sibling to @sezannetokyo. Excellent all around. And clearly popular with Tokyo's ladies who lunch: the clientele during our visit, almost entirely women. Quite the see-and-be-seen crowd. 57 1
I’m not sure which I liked better about the @fstokyo, the valet greeter and escort from the train station, the view of the trains from our room, or the super comfy pajamas. Excellent service all around. #Tokyo #Japan #hoteljunkie 79 3
I think @sezannetokyo ⁠has a #footfetish, and I’m ok with that. Truly fantastic lunch. Impeccable service. ⁠ 63 1
We had a really fun "Lost in Translation" moment at @meatman_roppongi. Google Translate failed hilariously. Delicious meat/fat overload anyway. Great staff, charming hospitality. Lots of sake. Thank you, @fstokyo for securing the reservation! #Tokyo #Roppongi #sake 76 1
Well, that was interesting.  A toast to 2022. And looking forward to ‘23. Cheers, and safe travels to all. 81 1
Brad A. Johnson
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Writer. Photographer. Traveler. Restaurant Critic.

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