Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

The Taj Mahal Palace is a famous luxury hotel in the Colaba area of Mumbai, India, right next to the Gateway of India. Built in the Indo-Saracenic style, it opened in 1903 and is often simply called "The Taj".

It is named after the Taj Mahal in Agra, about 1,050 kilometres from Mumbai. The hotel was commissioned by the businessman Jamsetji Tata and has been seen as one of the finest hotels in the East since the time of British rule. Its red domes and harbour view make it one of Mumbai's best-known buildings.

History

The Taj Mahal Hotel opened to guests on 16 December 1903. A popular story says Tata built it after being refused entry to another hotel reserved for Europeans, but writer Charles Allen doubts this. He says the hotel was built because a newspaper editor wanted a hotel worthy of Bombay, and Tata gave it as a gift to the city.

In 1972 a second building, the Tower, opened beside the original palace wing. It was built on the site of an older place called Green's Hotel.

Two buildings, one hotel

Today the hotel has two parts that look very different: the old Palace of 1903 and the newer Tower of 1972. Together they hold more than 500 rooms and suites, and about 1,500 people work there. The hotel is owned and run by the Indian Hotels Company, a Tata Group company.

In 2008 it was one of the main targets of the Mumbai attacks, and it was damaged. It was later repaired and reopened.

On the globe

The model shows the hotel's red central dome and corner towers next to the harbour.