Another action-packed IPL evening peppered with some pampering at an elegantly-designed art deco style hotel in the Heritage Precinct of Mumbai made for a great mid-week outing.
IPL was fun and thrilling, in turns! Much to the relief of Mumbai Indians supporters this time, the MI gave a decent target to Chennai Super Kings and exemplified great control in fielding and bowling, skillfully seizing every opportunity to stop a four, grab a wicket, and restrict the opponent! After the first innings played by MI, setting a target of 171 for CSK, nobody could guess where the match would head, making for a lot of fervent excitement in the stadium for supporters of both teams. 171 was not a great target for CSK, which is much higher in the league table at the moment with 6 points, but it got off to a shaky start with a tepid performance throughout, much to the disappointment of CSK fans and supporters, who were cheering for it to pull off the second innings.
Mumbai Indians polished off the final few overs beautifully by taking important CSK wickets, with each wicket sending the stadium into a new frenzy. The icons of the day were clearly Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, and Suryakumar Yadav, all of whom gave a knock-out performance to win the day. Roars of “Mumbai Mumbai” in the stadium paled any displeasure that supporters may have had over the past few weeks.
After this high adrenaline match, I retired to my quiet but very stylish abode for the night in South Mumbai, the Residency Hotel at Fort. Although I had booked a Club room, the management very graciously offered to upgrade it to the Club Heritage room – which had all the elements of luxury like a four-poster bed, inbuilt wall controls for lights, large-sized TV, and very thoughtfully decorated suite and bathroom (with a rain shower).
The hotel has a contemporary art deco interior – very modern, functional and elegant in the space it occupies – spelling glitz, opulence and luxury. It has a touch of old school glamour about it, making its occupants enjoy small luxuries at a very decent price. It has subtly lit-up corridors with walls displaying modern paintings, lending it a delicate charm.
The staff is courteous and helpful, and it makes an ideal stay for foreigners visiting the area, looking for great accommodation at good prices. It is also walking distance from most heritage spots in South Mumbai for those keen on exploring antiquities and this old-worldly part of the city. South Mumbai is also home to many Irani restaurants that have existed for decades plus many new restaurants have come up offering modern and diverse cuisines, giving travellers, locals and non-locals an eclectic choice of food.
The hotel also has a café and a buffet breakfast (included in the price), which is a decent spread of cereal (I enjoyed mine with maple syrup in it!), Indian breakfast like parathas and idlis, eggs made to order, chai served in ‘cutting’ glasses; adding to this are very attentively and tastefully-designed breakfast tables (what really caught my attention was the arrangement of fresh white roses in flower vases on each table, which the staff told me were regularly changed by their florist).
It’s a highly recommendable hotel in the Heritage Precinct of Mumbai for those attracted to the old-world charm, having all the makings of an upscale and sleek lodging.
