Mumbai Early Morning - Hotel
Replies: 21 - Last Post: Feb 13, 2013 3:05 AM Last Post By: old_india_hand
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Mumbai Early Morning - Hotel
Hello Everyone! I leave for India one week from today and I couldn't be more excited!The only issue is I arrive in Mumbai at 1:25 AM in the morning. I figure by the time I'm out of customs it will be closer to 3:00 AM. I'm not really sure what I should do here. Should I head straight to Colobra or find something close to the airport? Should I stay in the airport and just tough it out until the next day?
Anyone who came in on a similar situation, I could really use your perspective!
Best,
Jason
1
If you went immediately to Colaba at that time of morning you'd meet dark empty streets. Colaba won't be opening up until 7am or so, reception desks at lower end hotels might not be open yet, or won't know their vacancies until later in the morning.I'd also wait at the airport until later in the morning .. you could also check at the airport hotel reservation desk (if it's still there) and see what they might be able to arrange.
2
I arrived into Bangalore at 1am, and went straight to a hotel and clean soft bed. I cant imagine arriving into any country and simply hanging about the airport for 6 or 7 hours after a tiring flight.Are you nuts? Why the devil wouldnt you prebook on the internet a hotel???
Aside from the obvious need to sleep and to awake refreshed for your short stay, the traffic ex the airport is almost always horrendous, but is going to be best at "close to 3am" so getting to your prebooked hotel will be at the optimum time.
A further suggestion. go with a ticketed or metred taxi - and dont listen to the driver who might try to pursuade you to go to a diferent hotel
3
I am leaving for Mumbai in a few days, with my flight arriving at midnight, and have done just that - booked a hotel via Agoda website and e-mailed them to confirm that they would keep the room for me. There are several hotels in the 1000 - 2000 Rs range on Agoda, just pick something according to location and reviews.5
No way would i stay at the Airport , just try and reserve a room online , obviously tell them your flight arrival time , then add another hour or so to clear immigration and grab your luggage then add another hour to get into town ...Taxi pre paid taxi is the way to go , you just go up to the booth tell them your destination , you pay there and then , they give you a receipt which you only give to the driver on arrival at your Hotel of your choice , not his ... If he don't get this receipt he will not get paid ...
But what ever you do , don't consider staying there till daybreak , that's madness ..
8
In fact Mumbai's airport is not as "safe" and "clean" as compared to Delhi, if you really chose to stay in the airport for another 3 hours until 5/6am, make sure you be extra careful with your belongings.putting down your stuff in the hotel first is a good idea, but I doubt its safe to walk around the city in 3/4am in the morning..
9
We arrived in Mumbai at 1 a.m. and headed for the Hotel Lawrence in Churchgate. It is in a very old building near the Prince of Wales Museum. A great little place to stay. I hope they are still open. We hopped over bodies asleep in the stairwells! It was a far better option to get into town and not waste time at the Airport, in our opinion.10
Hey it seems everyone has their own opinion based on their experiences..... but my suggestion would be Either you book a hotel room in Advance of your arrival OR if you cant book a room in advance then..... Wait at the airport untill 5am and then take a cab towards colaba.... arriving during daytime would be lot better than arriving at Midnite ..... I stay in colaba and you wont find anyone on the streets except few untill Morning..... Hope you enjoy your stay & let me know if you are looking to go some off beat places in Colaba or Mumbai which are not mentioned in LP Guidebook.11
Would you guys stay close to the airport or head straight dtown?
it depends on where you plan to spend teh next days. If you are planning on going downtown, just go straight there. Hotels are quite used to late arrivals, given the flight schedules. Book a hotel that offers pick service and yes, at 3am the journey will be as short as physically possible. gets ome sleep, wake up at 10am and you're good to go for the rest of the day!
12
Unless you have a reputable hotel pickup, stay at the Airport. The Mumbai taxi mafia are ruthless, you will be dropped off (maybe) somewhere close to Colobra in a dark and empty back street and charged double what you agreed on at the Airport, and you wont be able to retrieve your luggage from the boot (trunk) unless you pay up. If you choose to argue, the Sikh driver will have a big, ugly friend close by to the drop off point to help argue his case.(By the way, the driver will have a printed fare chart to 'prove' you owe him what he's demanding, and unless you speak Hindi, are a mathematician or just bigger than these two goons put together, forget about winning the fare argument)
13
(By the way, the driver will have a printed fare chart to 'prove' you owe him what he's demanding, and unless you speak Hindi, are a mathematician or just bigger than these two goons put together, forget about winning the fare argument)
The airport has a prepaid taxi service. I've never heard happen what you just described.
Most hotels will provide pick-up service, It;s a chance for them to make extra money. and i've never heard of hotel pick-up services that drop you off somewhere else...
