Review : Yes, it's cool. It's where the Bollywood stars hang out. It has the hottest nightclub in Mumbai. But how is it as a place to hang your hat?
I've been to and from Mumbai from the U.S. a couple of times in the past year. The first trip, 3 1/2 months, I spent at the ITC Sheraton. It's an okay hotel, but has an intrusive staff, the rooms are starting to fray around the edges, it's located in a no-man's land of airport slums, and the food is so-so. So I decided to try the JWM in Juhu Beach for my last 4-month trip.
Juhu is an upscale seaside village with a carnival atmosphere. There are plenty of great little restaurants (go to Shiv Sagar for some of the best pav bhaji and dosas in town, and Cafe Mocha is, well, the best all-around hangout going), some good shopping, and a lot of little stands along the beach for snacks and cheap handicrafts. Every morning and evening it becomes a promenade as the locals bask in the ocean breezes as they take their constitutionals. But on to the hotel.
Pluses: It has one of the grandest reception areas in Mumbai. When you walk through the entrance, your eyes are immediately drawn past the lobby, over the cafe, through the huge beach-facing windows and out to sea. The view from the mezzanine is truly one of the great sights of the city--beautifully landscaped gardens, an infinity pool, Tiki torches grown to monstrous proportions, and that shining expanse of water. The Lotus Cafe, on the ground level, is known primarily as THE place for Sunday brunch. A nearly endless variety of Indian selections (North and South), a pasta station, dosa station, omelette station, waffle station--you name it, if there's some kind of food station extant they have it. It's also the place to go after Enigma closes and you want to see some Bollywood action.
Also in the food category is the Bombay Baking Company--great fresh breads, sandwiches, and desserts. Room service (I practically life off it, since I don't like to spend every meal by myself in a restaurant) is adequate, though the menu could have more variety. Prices are the same as in the restaurants. The third space I want to mention is Club Marriott, the large bar/lounge. A beautiful and soothing space, usually with great music and terrific views over the ocean and gardens. Drinks are pricey (a glass of Italian wine goes for Rs. 450), but they usually have 2-for-1 specials of daquiris and margaritas for around Rs. 400.
Finally, Spices, the Southeast Asian restaurant which leans towards Thai and Japanese selections. Terrific soups and their prawn entries rival Mahesh Lunch up the street. It has recently opened a sushi bar, the first in Mumbai (the Taj has also just installed a sushi bar, but I haven't tried it, as its prices are outrageous). The sushi is a fair attempt at duplicating what is available at the hundreds of such places in New York or Tokyo. However, its offerings are fairly limited--they never seem to have the advertised tuna sushi, no edamame, and even though the chef has been promising sake for the past two months, they yet have to get a license (perhaps they haven't found the right government official to bribe). Surprisingly, other than sushi, there is very little other fish to be had there, the seafood dishes being limited to prawn, crab, and lobster. Everything I've tried there is uniformly good; the chicken dishes especially tasty, and the tom yum soup appropriately fiery. In my opinion, Spices is the only restaurant at the JWM worthy of making a special trip.
Health club/spa: Terrific. After the cramped, dark facilities at the ITC, this luxurious space is really the place to feel pampered. A personal trainer is available for around Rs. 6000/month, which sounds like a lot, but is only a small fraction of the price of a trainer in NY, where I live.
Now for the minuses: The rooms are, how should I say this? Tiny. Unless you have Rs. 15000 or more a night to spend (my company wouldn't really go for that), you are stuck with a space not a whole lot larger than the king-sized bed. All rooms have a view of the sea, which is good, but it is hard to get rooms close to the ocean, and if, like me, you have to get up early, avoid rooms within a couple of floors of Enigma, as the music pounding through the floor at 1 a.m. can be pretty irritating. The rooms have all of the usual amenities, nice granite baths, but they are small. And at an average price of Rs. 10000+ a night, you expect more.
The other restaurants: I was amused to see the latest Times Restaurants of Mumbai, since the winners in all categories were hotel restaurants. Mezzo-Mezzo, JWM's Italian offering, was #1 on the list of Italians in Mumbai (and some have said it is the best Italian restaurant in India). If this is the case, then India is in need of some Italian immigrants--perhaps Sonja Gandhi could go into the restaurant biz. It has a decent wine list, but in the several times I have gone there I haven't had one meal that would measure up to a mediocre Italian restaurant in NY. Yes, it's a beautiful space, and yes, if I were a Bollywood star I'd probably go there since the setting would highlight my fresh good looks (my imagination is getting carried away). But would I go there for the food? Um, nope.
The Indian restaurant, Saffron (also high up in the Times list), is in need of something...I know, good cooks! The offerings are uniformly bland, and if you are looking for a nice spicy biryani, you'd better tell the chef to try throwing in some chilis. I've developed a thesis about Indian restaurants, to wit: The less you pay the more likely you will get a good meal. All of the hotel Indian restaurants I have visited have been insipid, an Indian's idea of what Americans or Europeans might like (they're wrong--Americans and Europeans often like their food spicier than that which is found in the average Indian restaurant).
Service: Pretty good. Sometimes you need to call the concierge a couple of times to get something, but mostly the staff is adequate and doesn't bother you too much. All in all, JWM is a pretty good hotel. However, I was a little dismayed to hear one of my coworkers say, ''The JWM isn't a five-star, it's a seven-star!'' Yes, and pigs will fly. JWM could be a great hotel, but it has a number of kinks to work out, and some things, like the small rooms, aren't going to change. Still, of the 3 hotels I've stayed at in Mumbai, I'd still choose the JWM.
