The Leela Mumbai

This hotel was really very nice, from the speedy check in, the good size and well equipped bedrooms through to the gym and pool area it ticked all the boxes for me. The breakfast buffet was very extensive, the food available out by the pool was also great. I really recommend the pepperoni pizza if you are looking for western food or their paneer saag if you want indian food. The Chinese restaurant in the basement isnt that great however. This hotel is also really close to the airport so makes life very easy if you are flying in and out but for getting to the 'centre' of town it takes about 30 mins in good traffic which is not very usual in Mumbai so give yourself 45 mins if not more.

My fiance and I went to the Leela Mumbai near the International Airport for a late night coffee last. Left my car with the valet (like how one would do at any other hotel / valet service) and spent close to an hour at their all day dining at around 11 in the night. After my fiance paid the bill, the manager at the restaurant came to us with a random question - "Have you left a blue car at the gate?" We said, "No, our car isnt blue in color, and we have left the car with valet services anyway, so it cannot be at the gate." When we got out, we saw our car parked a few metres away from where we had left it with the valet, with the ignition running. No one could give us coherent answers to what was happening, they said "Car got jammed, it got locked from the inside, these things happen with Hyundai cars, why dont you go home and get a duplicate key to open the car". The car had been on ignition all through the hour when we were inside having our coffee, and only after the bill had been paid did the manager at the restaurant even want to check whether it was our car (he of course got the color wrong, so we did not connect the dots). No one could give us an answer as to how this could have happened, they couldnt bring in front of us the driver who had left the car there, with the locks jammed and when I demanded an apology in writing for this, they said they could not give one. When I asked them to call someone in a position of authority to talk to, the lady who interacted with us said she was the authorized person, but she had not been around when this happened, so she could not tell us what exactly happened. So net net while she was the responsible person, her only responsible answer was "I wasnt around when this happened, so I cannot tell you who could have caused this faux pas". By the time I went home got the duplicate key and came back the car had been on ignition on close to two hours, but unfortunately, the hotel did not want anything to do with it, and just wanted us to leave immediately. I have never faced this kind of terrible service at an Oberoi / Trident / Taj before. I think the Leela guys should get some more training on how to handle customer situations rather than giving more priority to getting their coffee bill settled before even letting us know about the situation. I really hope I have no dire situation any more of having to walk in to Leela even for a glass of water. Leela should really re-consider its "five star" status, such irresponsible occurences do not happen even in three star hotels / restaurants.

My second visit to The Leela Mumbai was just as good as my first visit. I was in Mumbai for a speaking engagement and stayed for around 4 days. In summary; - my premium room on the second floor was superb! Nothing less than perfect for a business traveler. - service was great including the service of the reception staff - hotel drivers were exceptionally good - internet was fast and stable - food was half-decent and somewhat of a disappointment - breakfast was as good as ever - the no smoking policy by the pool was a bit of a turn-off for me But all in all, The Leela is a safe and comfortable choice in Mumbai.

Mumbai is a great city, chaotic, mad, but great. Once again, we finished our India trip with a couple of nights R & R at The Leela. For this visit, we opted to stay in one of the Royal Club Suites. The Royal Club is akin to a business class concept and indeed the majority of customers appeared to be business men and women. That said, the communal areas were lavishly decorated with lovely Indian artefacts. Our suite was nice enough if feeling a little tired. The first suite we were given wasn't up to scratch, not looking quite clean enough and hosting a very unpleasant smell. We also noticed another customer complaing about the same room the following day. We were moved quicky and efficiently. As with all rooms we have stayed in here, the bed was superbly comfortable and the shower excellent. The Royal Club serve drinks and snacks throughout the day which is part of the package. Sometimes the sandwiches were a little stale which shouldn't be the case at this level but you could request freshly made if you wished. Unfortunately when opting for this, the bread was still stale. The staff were excellent which is what we have come to expect from The Leela. All communal areas throughout the hotel are a delight. The pool was clean and refreshing (unheated)! We again enjoyed an excellent spa, the overall service and surroundings being superb. All in all, a very nice stay, super staff but some of the finer details need refining to make it truly great which is where we feel The Leela should be aiming.

This is the first time I?ve written a review for Trip advisor, but thought that our recent experience whilst holidaying in India warranted the effort. We have just completed (April 2013) a 2 week tour of India?s expanded Golden Triangle combined with a few nights relaxation in Kerala and a day tour of Mumbai ? staying at: Delhi - The Claridges Hotel Varanasi - Jukasso Ganges Agra - The Trident Jaipur - Dera Mandawa Kerala - Carnoustie Beach Resort Mumbai - The Leela Kempinski The whole tour (including guides and drivers at each location) was built around a personalised itinerary arranged by James Carpenter at Audley Travel - who did an excellent job and warrants a mention here - taking note of all our comments and suggesting venues and activities to suit our particular needs. James made the process of planning the holiday very easy - despite the constant calls from us as we revised our ideas. James kept us informed right through the process and when he had some concerns about one of the hotels we were given the opportunity to change it right up to the morning that we were due to fly. I have completed reviews for each of the hotels above so please see my separate listings for them. Below are my comments on Mumbai ?Leela Kempinski (1 night) The Leela is a large fairly modern hotel near Mumbai?s International airport We were spending one night and the following evening in a Premier room at the Leela, with a city tour of Mumbai during the day. Arriving at the entrance to the hotel we were greeted by the usual security guards, but with the addition of electronic body scans and bag checks that you would normally expect at an airport. Once through the front doors the Leela has a very impressive lobby, which opens up onto the various restaurants and bars as well as a shopping mall at basement level. The receptionist might have had a bad day but it was not the most welcoming experience I have had. (she was much more pleasant the following night). In contrast the lady from guest services who showed us to our room was very welcoming. Unfortunately the first room we were shown smelt musty, but we were immediately taken to an alternative which was better. The room (311) was fairly small and pretty standard with a clever bath / shower arrangement (shower was really good) and a strange sliding mirror which gave a view into the bathroom from the bedroom if you wanted. The view from our room overlooked the garden and pool area. There were a choice of restaurants and we chose the buffet option which had a wide choice of food for a fixed price. Perfectly adequate food but poor in comparison to previous hotels visited. We chose to eat out at local restaurant (Mesash) the second evening. Breakfast (buffet format) was in the same restaurant with the usual range of European and Indian fare, although there was an alternative restaurant available which was fully table service We got the impression that the hotel was more aimed at the corporate traveller than those on vacation, but it was a comfortable place to stay whilst we were touring in Mumbai.