Renaissance Mumbai Hotel by Robert Such

According to the map in the brochure, the Renaissance Mumbai Hotel and Convention Centre is ideally located, and equipped, for the business traveller. Situated close to both the international and domestic airports north of Mumbai (Bombay), the hotel boasts the largest conference centre in India, being able to cater for 1,750/2,500 people (seated/standing). Designed by the Singaporean architect H. L. Lim, it offers guests a five-star setting for meetings, weddings and corporate gatherings.

Guests awaking to an Indian sunrise in the hotel’s south-facing deluxe rooms and suites will warm to the view – luxuriant shores of a calm Lake Powai and the blue hills beyond. Only slightly does the sight of the Hiranandani Gardens and Office Complex on the far shore tarnish the wide screen picture of natural beauty and space. Guests rising at the same time on the other side of the hotel will have a different experience. What they see through their north-facing windows does not appear in the brochure – the grassy, flat roof of the new Velvet Lounge and Bar, a water pipeline, a parched playing field and a cluster of makeshift dwellings against a hilly backdrop.

Inside the hotel complex, guests can choose to dine at a handful of restaurants and cafes serving Indian, Oriental and continental cuisine. Apart from the Velvet Lounge and Bar, all dining areas are accessed from the first- and ground-floor internal streets that run down the hotel’s curved spine. The Velvet Lounge and Bar, designed by the young Indian designer Rajiv Saini, is a glitzy mix of stylish furniture, natural materials, colourful textiles, light and shade. To work off the pizza, guests can stroll over to the hotel’s fully equipped gym, spa and sauna next to the outdoor pool.