Mumbai-born Ghulam Noon, better known as Britain's 'Curry King' for his vast Indian food empire, was one of the guests at the Taj Mahal Hotel during the terror crisis but managed to escape.
However, Andreas Liveras, another prominent businessman who built a luxury yacht empire, was not so lucky as he became the first Briton to die in the Taj hotel.
On Wednesday, Noon (72) had booked a table at the restaurant but at the last minute he felt slightly ill and changed his mind to have dinner in his room with his brother and two business associates.
"It probably saved my life as the restaurant was the first place the terrorists went," he told newspersons.
"We thought we were hearing wedding fireworks, it sounded as though crackers were being let off in the lobby," he added.
"We looked out of the window expecting fireworks display but instead "we saw men rushing into the building and people fleeing," the hotelier said.
"The whole building shook. It was like an earthquake, then there were more explosions. I was about to run outside but I looked through the peephole and saw a man with an AK47 coming down the corridor," he said adding, "I rang the duty manager and amazingly he was still at his desk."
"He told me to jam the door as some men with guns were looking for Americans and British people in the hotel. I am British and proud of it," he said.
Noon said he was horrified by the thought that Islamic extremists were involved in the Mumbai attacks. "I am a Muslim so it is very difficult to take. This is not real Islam. There is no religion or caste or creed that believes it is right to terrorise people," he added.
"They were only looking for British and American people. Perhaps it was because we went in to support America in Afghanistan and Iraq," Noon stated.
He said although he lives in London he still loves Mumbai and he can't believe what has happened to the city.
