Hotel History

The Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay was born out of Jamsetji N. Tata’s dream. Mr. Tata believed that Bombay (now Mumbai), the commercial capital of India, required a grand hotel, one that would enhance its reputation amongst the great cities of the world. Jamsetji N. Tata was the visionary founder of India’s premier business house – the Tata Group.

A New Addition

The 1970s saw the addition of the Tower block, which nearly doubled the Hotel’s room inventory and added to public areas and F&B outlets. With its arched balconies topped by a jagged diadem, the new wing stands in harmonious contrast to the Heritage building. The Tower wing was conceived by Melton Bekker, a renowned American architect.

The interiors of the Tower wing were conceived by Dale Keller, a Hong Kong based Swiss designer who ensured that an ‘Indian-ness’ manifested itself in the new building too with detailing like a relief panel in Udaipur style, Tanjore pillars in the Indian restaurant and the like.

In the late 1990s, the Tower wing received a makeover. Various areas were taken up for refurbishment. Rooms on the four top floors were modernized with cleaner lines, ergonomic furniture and modern communication facilities.

Select snapshots from the past