 "Runway-facing Taj rooms in Mumbai yet to open")
Guests looking to grab a bird’s-eye view of jetliners taking off or landing at the Mumbai airport from the confines of a luxury room will have to wait for a few more weeks.
Indian Hotels Company-owned (IHCL) Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has only partially opened the recently-inaugurated luxury hotel, located a stone's throw away from the domestic airport in Mumbai.
Of the 279 rooms, only 141 rooms of the Taj Santacruz, Mumbai are currently open, none of which face the runway. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), which lays down aviation security standards, had reportedly raised concerns over the hotel's close proximity to the airport.
“As of now, the first three floors of the hotel are operational and there is completion work underway on the 4th, 5th and 6th floors, which are likely to be operational before March 2016”, said a spokesperson of the Mumbai-based IHCL. The property, which is IHCL's fifth property in Mumbai, reportedly received BCAS clearance only a few months ago. “The balance 138 rooms and the Chinese restaurant, China.Inc will launch in the second phase before March 2016”, stated the IHCL spokesperson.
Guests could experience slightly heightened security at this property given that personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will be manning the hotel at all times. “Owing to the proximity to the airport, the CISF is proposed to take over the security of the hotel in due course of time in compliance to the guidelines given by BCAS”, added a spokesperson.
This not the first time that hotel projects so close to the airport have run into a logjam. In Delhi, as many as a dozen hotels located within the aerocity were asked to get a similar clearance from BCAS before opening, though these properties were not as close to the airport as the Taj Santacruz.
Work on the Rs 110-crore luxury hotel, owned by the joint venture company Taj GVK, started in 2011, but had run into slight delays owing to granting of permission from BCAS.