Tata's Taj Mahal Palace and Tower in Mumbai and Orient's Le Manoir Aux Quat'saisons at Oxfordshire, UK, are among the world's 17 best hotels for having food, according to the 2008 Gold List prepared by British magazine Conde Nast.
The Taj Hotel near India Gate will remain with the Tatas for one more year and will have the first right of refusal in an auction to be conducted within this period.
Leading five-star hotels in the country are taking their signature restaurants to cities across the country, thanks to their success and popularity. Taj Hotels and Palaces in Mumbai will open its signature Japanese restaurant, Wasabi by Morimoto, in Delhi by early next year.
Development authority said to have passed Taj's file to Delhi lieutenant governor for approval.
Indian Hotels, which owns the chain of Taj hotels and East India Hotels, may gain from a tax court ruling that allows hoteliers to claim depreciation and tax benefits on imported cars which are used to ferry tourists.
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, had helped co-conspirator David Coleman Headley to obtain an Indian visa, a Mumbai police official familiar with the probe said. Rana was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday evening following his extradition from the United States. Rana, who had served in the Pakistan Army medical corps, had emigrated to Canada in the late 1990s and started an immigration consultancy firm. He later moved to the US and set up an office in Chicago. Through his firm, Rana gave cover to Headley to carry out reconnaissance mission in Mumbai prior to the November 2008 attacks and helped him get a ten-year visa extension. During his stay in India, Headley used the front of running an immigration business and was in regular contact with Rana. There were more than 230 phone calls between the two during this period. Rana was also in touch with 'Major Iqbal', another co-conspirator of the attacks during this period, as per the NIA charge sheet. Rana himself visited India in November 2008. As per the charge sheet filed by Mumbai Police against Rana in 2023 in the 26/11 attack case, he lived in a hotel in Powai, and had a discussion about crowded places in South Mumbai with a person who has been listed as a witness in the case. Subsequently, some of these places were targeted by the Pakistani terrorists during the deadly attacks that claimed 166 lives.
The multi-brand strategy could drive profitability to a 25% profit margin in the next five years from 17% now.
Indian Navy's elite Marine Commandos have recovered a Mauritian national's identity card from the rucksack of a terrorist, who escaped from the Taj hotel room, after an encounter with the security forces.
"Three terrorists have been killed but the operations are still on. Until we search the entire hotel room by room and satisfy ourselves that there are no more terrorists or booby traps I will not declare the operations are over. I don't know whether all of them have been killed. I can say only after completing the operations," Director General of NSG, J K Dutt, told reporters outside the hotel.
The contract has been entered into with Paranjpe Schemes Construction Limited and the new hotel will be a part of the Taj Business Hotels portfolio, a release stated.
Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist arrested during the terror attack on Mumbai in November 2008, on Friday told a special court hearing the 26/11 terror case that he was not aware of the attacks at Hotel Taj, Hotel Oberoi, Nariman House and Leopold Cafe in Mumbai. "I also do not know the people who had fired and exploded bombs at these places on November 26, 2008," Kasab said in reply to questions put to him by Judge M L Tahiliyani.
For Karambir Kang, the general manager of Taj hotel in Mumbai, not much has changed over the year.
'...and I was a great admirer of his leadership of Tata Sons.'
The Indian Hotels Company Ltd on Wednesday said the group has adequate insurance cover to repair and restore the damage caused to its property, The Taj Mahal Palaces and Towers in Mumbai, during the last week's terrorist siege.
On November 26 in 2008, a trainee at Mumbai's Taj Hotel witnessed one of the biggest terror attacks in the country. The over 14 hours he spent battling fear and terror and in rescuing and securing the safety of hotel guests are now documented in a new book by that management rookie, Ankur Chawla.
'Even today, though my hair looks different, people recognise me wherever I go. They come up and say 'Aap Maine Pyar Kiya mein thi, na?' I think it's going to follow me to the grave.'
Large chains like the Marriott and Taj that are estimated to consume two million plastic bottles a year have taken a conscious decision to first eliminate PET bottles on their premises and then reduce the use of single-use plastic altogether, saying they are all for a sustainably environment-friendly tomorrow.
The 112-year old hotel chain has readied a three-pronged turnaround plan
World's leading online travel agency has placed Taj Lands End at Mumbai on its list of world's best-reviewed hotels.
The hotel has currently turned into a high security zone with guests living there moved out to other facilities of the Taj group.
The city's landmark five-star Taj Mahal hotel, popularly called the Taj Mansingh after the road it's situated on, is likely to get yet another lease extension.
Tahawwur Rana, accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, is expected to be extradited to India from the United States soon. The US Supreme Court denied his last-ditch effort to stop his extradition, moving him closer to being handed over to Indian authorities. Rana's extradition is expected to help probe agencies expose the role of Pakistani state actors behind the attacks and shed new light on the investigation. He is associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.
The court, however, asked the civic body to grant six months "breathing time" to the company in vacating the hotel in case they lose out in the e-auction.
Tourists and locals enjoy the snow sculpture of the Taj Mahal created by a hotel in Gulmarg to promote tourism in the Kashmir Valley.
In a continued push to spiritual tourism, there will be a focus on destinations related to the life and times of Lord Buddha.
Marriott now has 30 brands globally with over 5,700 properties in over 110 countries
Vance is expected to be accompanied by at least five senior officials, including from the Pentagon and the State Department, the people cited above said.
Customised restaurant recreations, cafe setups, pop-ups by Michelin-star chefs, bespoke table linens with monograms and couple-themed hashtags.
Mumbai 'Chai Wala' known as 'Chhotu' aka Mohammed Taufiq, whose alertness saved lives during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks stated that there is no need for India to provide Tahawwur Rana with cell and Biryani and facilities which were provided to Ajmal Kasab, one of the terrorists involved in Mumbai attacks.
The construction of this hotel has been deferred by four years.
The papayas from Mumbai were too squishy, the chef raced through the streets of Goa in a police jeep to look for fruit ripened just right only to have security personnel puncture many a hole through them... a new book recalls in detail the struggle to procure and plate perfect papayas for Indira Gandhi during a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 1983.
If the only superpower, which calls India an ally, sees the region through an India-Pakistan prism, it is unacceptable. Rather than endorse India's sphere of influence, this undermines it, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The decision to auction Taj Mansigh brings to an end a six-year-old tussle between the NDMC and Tata Group, which has operated the landmark property for nearly four decades.
Reader Vidhi Daryanani sent us a picture of Dravid from Mumbai.
Devika Rotawan, a survivor of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has demanded the death penalty for Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused extradited from the US. Rotawan, a key witness in the case, identified terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Kasab in court during the trial. She believes the extradition is a "big win" for India and called for further action against other conspirators in Pakistan.
The influx of such international hotels chains into India over the last two years has led to a sharp correction in room rates, not just in Pune but also in other hot spots like Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Goa.
'India has not faced a major terrorism loss since the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008.'
"'His mantra was simple yet profound: Be number one or be ready to be wiped out. There's nothing in between," he used to say and it was a reminder for all to always aim high, to push boundaries, and to strive for excellence.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances