The Luxe List 2014: Abode, Mumbai, India
A collaboration between Wich Latte sandwich-chain owner Abedin Sham and former Goldman Sachs banker Lizzie Chapman, this 20-room charmer holds the distinction of being Mumbai’s first luxury boutique hotel. Abode inhabits the 110-year-old former home of David Sassoon in Colaba, within walking distance of Kala Ghoda and the Fort area. The larger of its retro-chic rooms shine with double-height windows, carefully restored vintage furniture, hand-tiled floors, Indian textiles and art, and claw-foot bathtubs, while the smaller rooms—though no less charmingly appointed—share bathrooms and are affordable for travelers on a budget. As part of its community outreach philosophy, the hotel employs single mothers to work as its own team of taxi drivers and hires its massage therapists from a nearby vocational school for the blind, who will do treatments in-room if you don’t want to venture to the spa facilities. And if afterward you’re too relaxed to step out for a bite, ring the lobby café at any hour, day or night, for a Mumbai street food–inspired meal.
Landsdowne House, M.B. Marg, Apollo Bunder, Colaba; 91-80/8023-4066; Abode; en-suite doubles from US$98
