ITC Grand Maratha is located close to the Mumbai international airport and hence very popular with business travelers who have work in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai. Transit travelers like myself find the place very convenient for meeting up with friends / business acquaintances over a quick breakfast before heading to the domestic airport. On a side note, you should not be stepping out of international airport to go to domestic airport if you don't have personal conveyance. A complimentary airport shuttle service will transfer you between the Mumbai international and domestic terminals. There are a host of hotels in the vicinity to choose from : The Lalit, Hyatt and Meridien apart from ITC Grand Maratha. ITC has a stellar reputation on the cuisine front making it tough for me to try a new place in the early morning hours. As much as I think I'll go to a different place each time, it hasn't happened so far and now I've been a Grand Maratha regular for the past few years primarily for the convenience.
Breakfast is served in the atrium's Peshwa Pavilion and even at 7am you can expect a pretty full house with executives in suits catching morning news over a hot cuppa or doing business meetings. There is a lavish buffet spread serving everything from Indian dishes like idlis, vadas to continental baked beans and salami to the staple cereal counter. They even serve Asian dishes like Mee Goreng. The choice of fresh juices is good and they serve my favorite - tender coconut water which is drained in a glass for you.
The idlis are super soft and the vada is crisp to the right degree. I asked for a side order of hash browns which took a long while to come but was tasty. Eggs and dosas are freshly made as per order. You don't have to queue up at the cooking station as they send it to your table. There is a self-service coffee machine but the staff will gladly take your order and bring that as well to your table. Small touches like these make the big difference.
Now for the pricing. At INR 850 including taxes (yes, you read that right) it is excellent value for 5 star dining. Only education cess is extra which is a small amount. Thankfully service charge is not levied which is a good aspect since service standards can be inconsistent here. In fact, if there is room for improvement it is on the service front. The staff is polite but somehow takes ages to do everything from serving the table to settling the bill. But I won't hold it against them since on all my previous visits, I haven't experienced this kind of slow service. Maybe it was a specially packed morning last week.
Apart from hotel guests, I highly recommend all transit travelers to take a break at ITC Grand Maratha and have a king's breakfast to kickstart the day.
Breakfast is served in the atrium's Peshwa Pavilion and even at 7am you can expect a pretty full house with executives in suits catching morning news over a hot cuppa or doing business meetings. There is a lavish buffet spread serving everything from Indian dishes like idlis, vadas to continental baked beans and salami to the staple cereal counter. They even serve Asian dishes like Mee Goreng. The choice of fresh juices is good and they serve my favorite - tender coconut water which is drained in a glass for you.
The idlis are super soft and the vada is crisp to the right degree. I asked for a side order of hash browns which took a long while to come but was tasty. Eggs and dosas are freshly made as per order. You don't have to queue up at the cooking station as they send it to your table. There is a self-service coffee machine but the staff will gladly take your order and bring that as well to your table. Small touches like these make the big difference.
Now for the pricing. At INR 850 including taxes (yes, you read that right) it is excellent value for 5 star dining. Only education cess is extra which is a small amount. Thankfully service charge is not levied which is a good aspect since service standards can be inconsistent here. In fact, if there is room for improvement it is on the service front. The staff is polite but somehow takes ages to do everything from serving the table to settling the bill. But I won't hold it against them since on all my previous visits, I haven't experienced this kind of slow service. Maybe it was a specially packed morning last week.
Apart from hotel guests, I highly recommend all transit travelers to take a break at ITC Grand Maratha and have a king's breakfast to kickstart the day.
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