I stayed at the shalier hotel with my kids in December. I will break it down by the positives and negatives.

Positives:
1. Location is excellent. Very close to great parks and central Mumbai.
2. Very clean property which is tough to find in India.
3. Excellent rooms and bathrooms. We stayed twice at property and I would have to say that the lifestyle suites are well worth it. Beautiful room.
4. Excellent hotel staff, 5 star service. It is true that staff expect tips. I would suggest that management raise wages and make a no tipping policy. This will greatly enhance guest experience.
5. Food is nice for breakfast.
6. Hotel manager is fabulous. I wrote many requests prior to my arrival and all were met. He is very responsive.
7. Great cake shop

Negatives:
1. If your room is not nonsmoking, has a smoke smell. They tried to remove smell as I have kids, this dis help some but not completely.
2. Spa services are very inadequate for four star property. My wife had pedicure and thought
the salon was a little dirty. This was very surprising at an otherwise very clean property.
3. Service in hotel restaurant is very slow. They have plenty of staff, but at times are just standing. Once when the toaster was broken, I had to wait 25 min for toast.

Even with a few negatives, the positives win out and this is a fabulous property. I travel a good bit in India, and my experience was better here than even at some 5 star properties like the Taj. I will definitely stay here again in Mumbai. With a few changes the hotel can be 5 star.

My husband and I spent 6 nights during the busy pre-Christmas period (16th-21st December) at The Shalimar Hotel. That's the beginning of the most expensive period in Mumbai for hotel bookings up to the end of the first week in January. We had the cheapest room in their range and the room was more than adequate. Everything was very clean and we were both very happy there for the duration of our stay. We even had bathroom scales - which, after the amount of food I ate, I never used! We arrived extremely late - around midnight, but our arrival was expected and we received a very warm welcome from Mr. Darshil Patel, Front Office Supervisor. All the staff were extremely polite and helpful. Even Rose, the Housekeeper, recommended shops where I could buy Indian clothes. The only negative note was the banging of the workmen who were and still are working on the hotel during the day. As we went out sightseeing after breakfast and only came back for a shower and a short break in the afternoon, it did not impede on our stay. The work only starts from about 9am till late afternoon. We had a faulty light outside our room, which (when working) showed whether we wished for the room to be made up or not and, on reporting this, it was fixed on our return the same day. Breakfast was lovely. We ate the fruit with no hesitation (we are English and were keen to keep our tummies in good order lol) and the omelettes and dosas were delicious. Anyone who complains about having to wait for food and drink is obviously neither in the holiday mood nor understanding the Indian way of life. We were always happy with the speed of service, but a gentle reminder would always have speeded things along.

We visited the bar on two occasions late at night and the service was great. Obviously the prices are hotel prices and if you don't like what they charge, then you shouldn't go there. It's the same with the bottles of water, which some reviews mention. We never drank the tap water - I'm sure it was fine, but we didn't want to take the smallest risk - so we just bought bottled water and brought it into the hotel. A small bottle costs only about 13p!! We also took advantage of the Minibar, which on our arrival was a Godsend. As to the location - the most important thing when you are a tourist in Mumbai - it was excellent. We used to go outside the hotel and for 100 Rupees (£1.25p), plus a large tip (as we felt they well and truly earnt their money!), we rode to Colaba. I just kept my eyes shut whilst in the taxis - the rides were incredible. We had a great time and even took the ferry over to Elefanta Island. BTW we had a great meal there - very reasonably priced, especially as the beer prices are not governed by Mumbai taxes. Nearer to the hotel is the Golden Crown - about max. 15 mins walk - go under the flyover and straight on - it's on your right with the park to the left of it. Don't go into the downstairs restaurant (that's where they'll try to get you to go - that's the expensive part, which is less frequented), but go upstairs via the outside staircase and you will have a lovely meal - Indian and Chinese menu available. The service and food are great.

We think The Shalimar is a good bet for the price, location, service and facilities.

The shalimar hotel is beautifully situated in the core of the city , i always prefer taj mahal palace for my stay , this time selected Shalimar , the experience was execellent ,
Value for money

Good work done , Shalimar great work

Coming soon to have a beautiful stay

As you first walk in to the rooms, you are welcomed by a strong musty stretch, the room has no ventilation, bathrooms have no exhaust fans, the windows don't open. Tiles in the bathrooms are cracked, carpet is dusty. They will charge you for everything, yes, that includes the usual complimentary bottle of water.
The breakfast, that is supposed to be open till 10 AM, reach at 9:15, and you will have to scrape the scaps from the buffet, to top it service sucks. The first day I had to wait 30 mins for just plain scrambled eggs. Had to ask waiters 3 times before I could get my 1st cup of coffee. Day-2, I was served coffee in a completely cracked cup, no not chipped, cracked from top to bottom.
The hotel itself is cramped, no place to swing a cat, dingy, the kind of place where people keep lingering till they are tipped.
I could confidently label this hotel, one of the worst I've ever had the misfortune to experience. Best avoided at all cost.