MUMBAI: Final preparations were under way for the reopening of the two luxury hotels stormed by terrorists, amid tight security and pledges to return to business as usual.
The modern wing of the Taj and all of the nearby Trident Hotel are due to relaunch today, less than a month after the devastating attacks that left scores, including nine of the 10 gunmen, dead.
Guests will begin checking in at the Trident today, while more than 1,000 key clients and guests have been invited for a private reception at the Taj before an evening reopening, officials at both hotels said. “It’s the best thing that could have happened,” said Sanju Soni, the general manager of the Trident. “A hotel without guests is very depressing, especially after what happened. We are all looking forward to it. The sooner life gets back to normal the better.”
One hotel employee, who asked not to be named, added: “It’s good to be back at work.”
The Trident threw open its doors to the media yesterday, allowing access to its gallery of high-end shops, reception and restaurant areas, as finishing touches were put to the decor and fittings. Women hotel workers in saris handed out yellow roses to reporters after stringent checks on identification, bags and frisking by security guards.
Armed police were positioned behind sandbags at the entrance and access roads were blocked off. Roads were also closed around the Taj and the landmark Gateway of India monument.
At a news conference, Rattan Keswani, the president of Trident Hotels, paid tribute to the efforts of the staff to get the hotel back in shape, saying he felt “deep pride” for their work both during and after last month’s attacks.
“Yes, there is grief, there is definitely a huge amount of sadness in everybody’s mind because of colleagues and guests that we lost,” he said. “But since those days and the days after that, they have been committed 100 percent to whatever the needs are and they are desirous that the hotel bounces back as quickly as possible.”
A total of 22 guests and 10 staff were killed at the Trident during the Nov. 26-29 siege.
No date has yet been set for the reopening of the adjoining Oberoi Hotel, which was more badly damaged during the siege and rescue operation. Bullet marks can still be seen on its whitewashed, sea-facing facade.
The 105-year-old palace wing of the Taj, which was badly damaged by fire and gunshots during the 60-hour siege, is also closed, pending painstaking renovations to ornate wood and marblework and lavish furnishings.
Keswani estimated that the cost of repairs to the Trident would be about $100,000 and up to $10 million at The Oberoi.
Physical traces of what happened would be erased but memories would not, he added.
Some 100 of the 550 guest bedrooms at the Trident will be occupied tonight, with all meeting rooms and the hotel’s four restaurants open for business.
A total of 268 rooms will be available at the Taj, plus seven eateries, although officials said no immediate figures were available for bookings.
About 30 to 35 percent of prospective Trident guests canceled after the attacks, as was the case with other hotels in the city.
