The Hotel Residency is a perfectly decent place to spend a few nights in Mumbai. The rooms are clean, the beds comfortable, the showers have warm water, and the rooms come equipped with a fridge and television. We opted for a 'Twin Deluxe' room, which set us back 40 pounds a night, which is reasonable given the comfort and the generally inflated prices in Mumbai. From the airport, I was collected by an AC taxi, which drove me to the hotel's door. Given the impossible traffic at most times of the day, I felt the AC was worth paying for - 900 INR, although if you book a (non AC) taxi from the airport on arrival, it can cost as little as 400 INR.

The staff were invariably helpful and friendly and always pleased to help with any queries about the city, places to eat and so on. The nearby road does get busy - and stay busy - until quite late at night, so if you need to get an early sleep in, take some ear plugs. The room was fairly compact, but had a wardrobe and a bedside cabinet, as well as a big window that opened out onto the street. There was plenty of room for the two of us, our big bags and a hard-cased guitar.

The only negative qualities of the hotel were that the lift occasionally failed to work, which meant a quick walk up the stairs past floors one and two, which were in the process of being extensively renovated. The work here was rarely loud, but did produce a fine dust that rose up to the third floor every now and again. If you are fussy about this kind of thing, perhaps you should call and see if the work has been completed. We did not sample the breakfast, as nice food can be found in the many restaurants and stalls nearby.

The hotel is situated in The Fort area of Mumbai, which is 'quieter' than nearby Colaba, which is rammed with tourists, and those trying to exploit their custom. Just up the road is a small restaurant (left out of reception) called 'Ideal Corner', which serves excellent breakfasts and lassi's. There is also an off-licence a little further up the same road that sells beer and spirits if you are so minded. The hotel is close enough to the 'places of interest' most tourists want to see, yet far enough removed to gain some respite from the hawkers and touts. It is also very close to CST train station, taking about ten-fifteen minutes to walk, which again is very useful. To book tourist tickets, be sure to use the separate building, behind and to the right (facing the main entrance) - or, if you'd rather side step the bureaucracy of the Indian Railway service, use the website 'cleartrip', from which you can book tickets all over India.

Overall, this was a decent hotel to return to following the chaos of Mumbai; a clean, pleasant base from which to explore this impossibly busy city.