Holiday Inn Express, London, Luton Airport

This is an Express, Holiday Inn Express. Very basic room and a bath. People keep using the term "very European" to describe it but I have stayed in bigger hotels in Europe that would also be "very European". The reception area is combined with the bar and lounge area, very lively check in late at night. The breakfast area is nice and plenty of different types of food and drink, the reception staff did a nice job and is one of the few hotels that asks to see and ID before processing anything. The hotel is actually on the airport property but the rooms a very quiet. The room is a room, no closet just an area to hang clothes, no iron or ironing board, there is a room where you can go to iron. the bath is basic, one dispenser of a combo body wash and shampoo, TV with about 5 channels, overall very clean and a good deal if you need to stay close to the airport. The cost was $124 US which included breakfast.

Hotel Taj Mahal, Mumbai (Bombay) India

This is without a doubt, the nicest hotel I stayed in last year. there are 2 different sections, the Palace and the Towers, the Palace was built in 1903, I think, it has a private reception area. Normally they are serving drinks but we checked in at 0530 local. There are butlers on the floor to help with all of your needs. The rooms are very nice as you can see from the photos. I did have some trouble with the satellite TV but it was fixed very quickly. The hotel is located directly across fro the Gateway to India, a very historic structure built in the early 1900's for the the visit of King George and Queen Mary. We walked over to it once and were mobbed by people selling stuff and people just begging for whatever they could get, the begging and sales tactics invaded our personal space considerably. A driving tour of the city was a much better way to see the sites of Mumbai. The restaurants in the hotel were wonderful, we ate at "Iron Chef" Morimoto's place twice, the pool was grand and the health club and spa were both outstanding. The hotel has a very nice shopping area featuring many expensive brands of clothing, jewelry, handbags etc. This hotel is about a 1.5 hour drive back to the airport during busy traffic. The rooms were about $450 US per night. All of the service was exceptional