Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

The Taj Mahal Palace
The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel
Location within Mumbai
General information
Location	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Coordinates	18°55′19″N 72°50′00″E / 18.9220°N 72.8333°E / 18.9220; 72.8333
Opening	16 December 1903
Owner	Taj Hotels
Technical details
Floor count	6 floors in The Taj Mahal Palace, 20 floors in the Taj Mahal Tower
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya, D.N. Mirza
Main contractor	Shapoorji Pallonji Group
Other information
Number of rooms	560
Number of suites	44
Number of restaurants	9
Website
Official website

The Taj Mahal Palace is a heritage, five-star, luxury hotel in the Colaba area of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, situated next to the Gateway of India. Built in the Indo-Saracenic style, it opened in 1903 as the Taj Mahal Hotel and has historically often been known simply as "The Taj". The hotel is named after the Taj Mahal, which is located in the city of Agra approximately 1,050 kilometres (650 mi) from Mumbai. It has been considered one of the finest hotels in the East since the time of the British Raj. The hotel was one of the main targets in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Part of the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, the hotel has 560 rooms and 44 suites and is considered the flagship property of the group; it employs 1,600 staff. The hotel is made up of two different structures: the Taj Mahal Palace and the Tower, which are historically and architecturally distinct from each other (the Taj Mahal Palace was built in 1903; the Tower was opened in 1972).

The hotel has received many notable guests, from presidents to captains of industry and movie stars.^[1][2]