Namita SawantWaterstones Hotel in Mumbai is one of the premium hotels for a luxurious stay amidst the city. In pandemic times, when traveling seems to be a bigger concern, and many countries have strict traveling rules in place, the staycation trend has picked up big time among regular travelers.
For me, it was my first time, staying at a boutique hotel in Mumbai and, I must say our staycation weekend was fun. Since the hotel is within city limits, it meant no stress of taking long flights or train journeys to reach the destination. However, the stay was short so it comes with its cons too.
How to reach Waterstones Hotel in Mumbai Maharashtra?
Strategically located, just five minutes away from the Mumbai International Airport, in Marol, Andheri East, the hotel is easy to access from any part of Mumbai. For Mumbaikars, you can take an auto-rickshaw, book a car rental, or drive by your own car, as there is ample space for car parking on the site.
What time is check-in & checkout?
Let us start from the start, the check-ins at Waterstones Hotel Mumbai starts from 3 pm, which according to me is not ideal, as we have lost half the day. However, if you are lucky and the hotel is accommodating, you may request for early check-in and the staff usually obliges, at least they did with us.
While doing the check-in formality, do not forget to sip on the welcome drinks, freely available at the reception counter. As for the rest of the hotel interiors, the reception offers a luxurious feel too. Just lounge on the sofas or take a walk at the green promenade as you wait for your room to be ready.
The checkout is at 12 pm. However, we checked out around 1 pm and the staff was polite. They did not put any pressure on timely checkout.
How luxurious are the rooms at Waterstones Hotel in Mumbai?
Being a five-star service hotel, the room features lavish furnishings. Each room had unique displays of stones, sand, and starfish. The image above is embedded in a table. The moment you step into the room, you will notice many luxurious yet modern and cozy features. The bathtub for us was the icing on the cake. Just carry your own bath salts and warm up yourself for a relaxing weekend, away from home. The in-room services were a little slow, probably because the hotel was running at full capacity, and we had to call a few times for towels, in-room slippers, and even water bottles.
What does a staycation package include?
You can grab several offers for your staycation. We booked the package that gave us complimentary access to Waterstones Club facilities, as the stay is incomplete without the fun and frolic at this premium Mumbai club, inside the premises.
Our staycation package for one-night included:
- A welcome drink
- Buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner – Dinner for check-in day and breakfast and lunch the next day.
- Four pieces of laundry (which we didn’t even use 🙁 )
- Complimentary WiFi
- Complimentary neck and foot massage (which we did use 🙂 )
- Access to Waterstones Mumbai Club (Hooray!!!)
What are the amenities and facilities at the Waterstones Club in Mumbai?
Waterstones Mumbai Club offers a range of activities to do, inclusive of sports, fitness, and leisure games, making your experience more premium. As you enter the club, you are welcomed by an abundance of nature, making you forget that you are indeed in Mumbai. The club has a juniors room for the little kids, which was useful to us to keep our kids busy. It houses all the engaging games that a parent can imagine.
Moving ahead, it has a sand garden with slides and other games. Our kids played until the sun came down. Every inch of the property is well-maintained so we did not have to worry about the hygiene aspect. The Olympic-sized swimming pool was a treat to the eyes, I cannot say relaxing to the body, as we could not swim, due to COVID norms. Nevertheless, you can take pretty pictures here to fill your Instagram with exotic images.
A stroll in the vast garden is soothing to the mind and body. As the sun went down, we explored the games room on the first floor of the club. You can enjoy a game of table tennis, carom, and Ludo while your kids enjoy the board games, available in plenty, at the indoor games room.
Is the food worth the price?
We stayed at the property on a weekend and we had our first meal as dinner. The dinner buffet had limited options but the food was delectable. My family enjoyed the non-veg meal and the basic dal and rice were yum too. All in all, the food was delicious but options were limited.
The next morning, we had our breakfast buffet. Now, the thing is most people usually book stay packages with breakfast only as they are more affordable. In fact, since this hotel is within the city, you can even order from Swiggy or Zomato. The only negative with the breakfast buffet was the crowd. There were so many people that it was hard to find a table. But, the buffet had more variety than the dinner and you could ask for anything that you desire, which was not included in the buffet display.
We ordered pancakes, masala dosa, paneer paratha, etc. The service was not prompt due to the heavy crowd. The other negative was the stress of COVID since many people were sharing the same space for a long.
The breakfast buffet starts at 8.30 am, and ends by 11 am. Therefore, a little planning is needed. We went at around 10 am and struggled to get a table or any kind of service. But the food was delicious.
After checking out we went for our lunch buffet, although we were not at all hungry after having a humongous breakfast. It would be better if the hotel provided a lunch buffet on the check-in day rather than checkout. Anyways the buffet had limited options but it was delicious. We enjoyed the fish curry and rice. There were also chicken and other veg options too. The dessert comprised of jalebi and ice cream, which were delightful too.
Therefore, overall, our experience of dining at Waterstones hotel was wonderful, albeit with a few glitches. Not opting for lunch and dinner hardly saved us a few hundred rupees, but having all the meals included saved more money, so it was a better option for us.
How much does it cost to stay at the Waterstones Hotel in Mumbai?
For a one-night stay for three adults and one child, inclusive of all meals, we paid approx. 10.2k for one room with extra bedding. We booked our staycation on MakeMyTrip. You can grab even better deals if you book in advance. Just be on the lookout and make sure you have complimentary access to the Waterstones club, otherwise, your stay would not be as memorable or fun.
Book a stay at Waterstones Hotel in Mumbai if you want to experience top-class luxury within Mumbai. It is the perfect place for a relaxing and memorable time with your family. As it was children’s day on our checkout day, our kids also enjoyed complimentary activities planned at the club. So, we had two full days of fun at the hotel.
To watch a video review of our staycation, click on the link: Waterstones Hotel | Luxury Hotel Review in Mumbai – YouTube
Hope this blog was informative. Since the pandemic, I have shared many places to travel locally in Mumbai, do checkout the blog on Flamingo sanctuary in Airoli, as the flamingo season has already begun.
Stay tuned for more such amazing blogs about Best of India travels.
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