Beacon Hotel: budget hotels in Mumbai

From the outside, it looks incredibly posh for what calls itself an economy business hotel. You’d never guess it was so tiny either—just 27 rooms, one restaurant and a 10-pax meeting room. But Concept Hospitality—whose Fern brand of properties has impressed us before—seems to have got the two most important things down to a touchdown with the Beacon hotel (www.beaconhotels.com) just opened in Mumbai: location and price. It is 10 minutes from the international airport and 20 from the domestic. And the tariff is a pretty sweet Rs 2,499, with wi-fi and breakfast thrown in. Smart and efficient, it is a limited-service offering. Yet, even at this price, they have managed to shoehorn in the room service, LCD flatscreen, minibar and safe, beverage station with free bottled water, full-length wardrobe and an ironing board. What more could anyone ask for? But smarter still is its stay 24 hours, pay 24 hours policy, with a four-hourly Flexi Xtra rate that lets you extend your stay in small increments than the business day most hospitality brands insist on.