Hotel room booking in Mumbai: Best Areas, Booking Tips and What to Expect
Mumbai doesn't do things by halves, least of all its traffic or its street food and certainly not its hotel rates. Yet, there are things about Mumbai that you need to know, but which most travel guides never talk about, especially regarding hotel room booking in Mumbai and hotel prices in the financial capital of India. It’s really expensive and most people pay a lot for staying there but the thing is that they don’t really have to because it’s not as mandatory as most would have you believe. Mumbai has cheap hotels which are clean, well-placed and comfortable enough that you don’t mind seeing what was behind the doors.
Best value neighborhoods
Knowing how to get around the city is often the key to finding budget hotels in Mumbai. Andheri, East and West, is one of the perhaps most neglected places for cheap accommodation in the city. It is located on the Western line and has access to the metro and is close to the domestic and international airports. It is full of budget to mid-end hotels that are contemporary, clean and professionally managed. This is something that business travelers guessed years ago and vacation travelers are not far behind. It is one of the nicer areas of the city, and while Bandra might be a little more expensive than Andheri, it is still much cheaper than South Mumbai. If you go to Mumbai to experience something other than just conducting business there, Bandra can offer you fine cuisine, walkable streets and proximity to the ocean without charging the price of a Colaba location.
Dadar is at the geographical center of Mumbai and is well connected by Western and Central railways. The hotels in the area are not fancy but good, sturdy, practical, clean and a lot cheaper than any other similar hotel in South Mumbai. Among the eastern suburbs are Kurla and Ghatkopar which have one of the cheapest hotels in Mumbai to stay when the traveller’s itinerary involves the eastern suburbs or even when one is just passing by the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus.
When and how to reserve
Timings are as important as locations to ensure you make the most of your Mumbai stay. There is a definite high season in the city between October and February when the weather is relatively cooler and the number of visitors and prices increase. Look for lower prices throughout March and the early monsoons of June and July, but remember there is rain in July. If you book your reservation directly through the hotel website, you will get a small but significant discount, compared to the third-party websites, which quietly increase commissions and pass this burden onto the client. Third-party sites can lend a hand with this. Compare with the hotel rates and then decide. See them first. The best time to book rooms in the cheapest hotels in Mumbai is three to four weeks in advance. This time you can reserve in advance without selling yourself short, but it means you don’t miss any deals.
What to actually expect from a budget Mumbai hotel
It’s not all about price.” A room that may be affordable but that requires three hours of travel a day is not cheap. It’s just exchanging money for time.
Focus on hotels close to rail stations or metro stations; the railway network in Mumbai is very effective and extensive, covering almost all corners of the city. Having been there and travelled on the trains, one can say that almost any part of the city can be reached in less than forty-five minutes without even paying for an auto rickshaw. AC check is must especially in the months of March to June with high humidity level. Be sure to read recent hotel reviews that emphasize the cleanliness of the room and the quality of the internet connection as these two factors alone can make for a good budget hotel versus a lousy one.
Bottom line
There are a lot of cheap hotels in Mumbai but these may not be the places where a first time traveler would look for hotel room booking in Mumbai. Instead, look for areas well connected via the transport system. Andheri, Bandra or Dadar are good examples. Book in advance, at least a few weeks ahead of time. Go for the shoulder season, when possible. Prioritise transport convenience over an elite postcode.
Mumbai is the city for the traveler who knows how to play the game of Mumbai. Do it smoothly, keep in touch and Mumbai will give you everything it has without breaking you financially, especially if you know how to find cheap hotels in Mumbai.