For years it was right up there on the ‘Wishful Thinking’ list alongside “Take a selfie with the Abominable Snowman.”
After all, the prospect of seeking a comfortable but affordable hotel in South Mumbai was one that daunted the savviest travellers. And like the Abominable Snowman, nobody was entirely sure if it even existed.
For the longest time, tourists who wanted to be within toodling distance of the Gateway of India and Colaba Causeway, Café Leopold and Kala Ghoda, were confronted with unappealing choices. They could choose a chandeliered five-star and watch their wallets empty out. Or they could book into a shabby fleabag and shudder every time they touched a wall or window. “Why can’t there be something in between?” visitors to Mumbai often wailed. “A hotel that is not luxurious, but is clean and attractive?”
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Abode is exactly that—a charming boutique hotel tucked away in the bylanes of Colaba on the first floor of a 100-year-old building. And what it lacks in terms of gleaming lobbies and swimming pools, it makes up with its quirky style and happy-to-help-in-any-way service.
Admittedly, the approach to Abode can be unnerving. The chaotic lane full of yapping tempos and scruffy touts is hardly the most salubrious corner of Colaba. Lansdowne House looks forbidding and is draped with scaffolding, so it takes a couple of minutes to find the entrance to the broad stairwell. But once you spot the colourful cluster of deities on the landing, you know you are in boutique hoteldom.
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The stairs lead into a bright, white room with gloriously high ceilings and a funky feel. The walls are rough brick with a layer of whitewash and the floor is done in black and white. There’s a tiled breakfast bar, a book nook and a round table in the corner that serves as the reception. Small packs of Parle-G biscuits sit on a shelf near a door, with a sign that states, “Please take”. And everywhere are the sort of knick-knacks and clutter that you last saw in your granny’s house—enamel kettles, tiffin dabbas, biscuit tins adorned with resplendent Lakshmis and cheeky Krishnas.
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This playfulness continues into the rooms. My Superior Luxury Room is done in old-fashioned yellow and white tiles and dazzlingly white walls. There are three armchairs clustered around an antique chest, a writing desk teamed up with one of those government office metal chairs and evocative photographs of “only in Mumbai” moments.
I’m not sure that I really want a bathtub at the foot of my bed. But I love the little bathroom door made out of different patterned glass, the squiggle of neon that serves as a bathroom light and the dizzyingly high ceiling above the plump, white bed. In fact there are windows at two levels—so it’s a real pity that they only look onto an uninspiring grey building and more scaffolding. But a little persistence pays off and I finally glimpse a jangling horse carriage adorned with tinsel and roses. A genuine Mumbai tourist moment!
But then Abode is in the bustling heart of Mumbai’s tourist strip—with its made-last-month antiques, rasta shops, Bademiya’s spicy baida roti, Theobroma’s orange juice cake, grand museums and elegant boutiques. This makes the nights noisy (and explains the presence of earplugs on the bedside table). But it makes the days super-convenient for tourists who want to sample the Best of Mumbai in 36 hours.
“Most tourists are in Mumbai for a day or two on their way to Goa or Rajasthan or somewhere,” says Jumana Lokhandwala, part of the brother-sister team that runs this unique Mumbai experiment. “They want to be close to the best shops, restaurants and sights. So our location really works.”
In any case, the location of Abode was a given. “Our father ran a small, very basic hotel called Regency Inn in this space,” says Lokhandwala. “It catered mostly to local businessmen.”
After two decades, Regency Inn urgently needed refurbishment. Around the same time Lokhandwala’s brother returned to India with a degree in Hotel Management and looked at the drab family business with new eyes. “It was obvious that there was a gap in the market,” says Abedin Sham. “At one end were the super-luxury hotels and at the other were the very okay places. I felt that we could work in the affordable luxury segment and give people what they really want—a clean room, great bed and great sheets.”
Then Sham met an Australian architect at a party in Alibag and started chatting about simplicity and design. Ideas clicked and soon swathes of linoleum and plaster were being stripped, knickknacks and antique furniture sourced and a dream taking shape. “We tried to restore this space to its original,” says Sham. “We wanted it to be a reminder of old Bombay, a celebration of our city.”
It makes sense then, that what Abode does best is to plug its guests into Mumbai. Lokhandwala sits with her visitors over enamel mugs of masala chai and charts out shopping trips or eating adventures. Her father takes healthnik visitors for a run on Marine Drive with his running group. The hotel cheerfully organises yoga classes, boot camps, cricket match tickets, temporary gym memberships and even evening tea at the Cricket Club of India.
Abode has a small spa run by an NGO for the blind and uses a safe taxi service run by Mumbai housewives. And it also helps guests who want to donate old clothes or cash to local NGOs.
“We are more like a homestay than a commercial hotel,” says Lokhandwala. “I know about restaurants, nightlife and fashion. My father knows about antiques. So everything we recommend is tried and tested, not like the concierge of a big hotel giving second-hand suggestions. Our aim is to connect our guests with the city.”
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This is evident during breakfast the next morning. As guests tuck into upma, akuri and excellent brown bread toasts, the manager patiently charts out a walk for a couple of visitors who have two hours before they leave for the airport.
He then gives detailed directions to another guest who wants to go to a local temple. “Ah that is easy,” the woman exclaims and then marches out with the Abode map, a packet of Parle-G and a sense that she has connected with this intimidating city.
The information
Where: Abode, First Floor, Lansdowne House, MB Marg, near Regal Cinema, Colaba. About 75 minutes from the airport and 15 minutes from VT Station.
Accommodation: 20 rooms, some without attached toilets.
Tariff: Rs 3,500–9,500 (May–Sept, taxes extra) depending on room size and whether there’s an attached toilet, and includes brekkie, wi-fi and use of a local mobile phone.
Contact: +91-8080234066, www.abodeboutiquehotels.com