The Park Mumbai

Divia Thani checks out Mumbai’s all-new boutique hotel in Bollywood’s favourite suburb.

- Divia Thani

Priya Paul is obsessed with design. The Delhi-based doyenne (and 2012 Padma Shri recipient) runs THE Park Hotels, a chain of hotels that have design, art and character at their core. For instance, in Hyderabad, the 263-room hotel feels like a supersized, modern version of the Nizam’s jewellery box, incorporating works by no less than 20 prominent Indian and international artists and designers, including Tarun Tahiliani, Rajiv Saini, Preksha Baid and Jean-Francois Lesage. And its Chennai hotel sits on the very spot on Anna Salai where the iconic Gemini Studios was located; paying homage to its history, sound and light projections are a major design feature of the hotel.

Although THE Park has a hotel in Navi Mumbai, this new opening—on Juhu Tara Road—will undoubtedly be the first experience many Mumbaikars will have of the chain. So how do you impress a city of people who think they’ve seen and done it all? Especially when you’re located in the suburbs, where Bollywood’s biggest (and blingest) reside?