Here we are again on our travels and unfortunately chose the Fariyas via TravelBag recommendation.

Forget 4 star this place has never seen 4 stars or 3, at best it is 2 and that is being generous.

No one tells you that the Hotel is adjacent to Mumbai's most deprived area and slums just 300 yards away, no one tells you that the noise from the traffic and constant horn blowing is 24/7.

The hotel staff by in large are pleasant but mainly paying homage to lip service making the best out of what they have here which really is mediocre.

The whole place is very dated and in need of a good lump of investment to bring it up to scratch, the place is not exactly falling down but very very tired indeed.

A pool is boasted but to be fair you would not put goldifsh in it, it is really poor. However, using this hotel means you are centrally located. Although the slums are close by you do not have to go into that area if you do not wish to. Also, the night life is wide and varied and a must is a visit to Leopolds Cafe.

The Hotels redeeming feature if there was one would be its food in the restaurant, very authentic Indian mixed with a little western to appeal to all, the occasional live entertainment however made the whole experience a disaster.

Would we use the Fariyas again ? Simple answer, NO. Spend a little extra and stay at the TAJ PALACE 10 minutes down the road opposite the "Gateway To India" another location featured in Slumdog Millionaire.

Last negative was that we were checking out and onward flight to Hong Kong was not until 0200, we asked if we could retain some basic ammeneties as checkout was 12.00 and was told simply NO!!!!

You pay ya money you takes ya choice.

The hotel may be situated in the heart of the shopping centre of Colaba but it is overpriced, not maintained, walls need a paint over, corners are peeling, rooms are not vacuumed, furniture is not polished, service was poor and lacked hospitality,curtains need laundering etc. The point is that it cannot compare to the other 4star hotels that I visited in Delhi, Rishikesh,Mathura and Jaipur. Even the local Know Your City Magazine Issue Dec 2011, gives this hotel a 3star rating but the manager does not agree. This hotel is solely for the purpose of shopping and certainly not for family holidays. Even the swimming pool picture on the brochure is that of another hotel not the Fariyas Hotel in Colaba. Other travelers who recommend this hotel certainly know no better.

Hotel and accommodations were fine as was the reception and front staff. But cannot really say that about the bar and restaurant staff, however, as they were uniformly slow and somewhat uncaring about their customers.

But the title of this review comes from the evening we were too tired to have dinner elsewhere so ate in the restaurant. Food was fine (pretty good, actually). There was a live singer and keyboard who were basically average. Not great, not bad. At least they were on key. We were not happy with all western music and Christmas carols(!) but it was what it was.

We were asked to fill out a survey form (food, service, and so on) which had us rate the various components on a scale of excellent, very good, or average. That was it, just three choices. So I checked (ticked?) average for the entertainment.

Within minutes a cadre of management types and their thugs descended on the table (at least 6 of them maybe more behind me) and demanded to know why I had the nerve to rate them average. My first thought was to respond, "because you don't have poor as a choice" but glanced at the muscle and replied, "because they are."

Continuing, "they are competent and not unpleasant but if they were wonderful they would be playing the Taj or the Intercon."

The manager guy went into a song and dance about how they do all this and that to provide quality entertainment and how we had no idea of how anything in the restaurant business operates and so on. I went back to my curry in the middle (which apparently is never to be done when being berated by someone supposedly one's superior). I'm betting that survey never made it to the GM's desk.

Also, they never expressed their appreciation for my effort with a free dessert or tea. Ingrates.

Seriously, the overall place is a nice 3-star hotel which is convenient, clean, and quiet. Just don't mention "average" around management. Yes, I would return.

Our stay at Fariyas was a comedy of errors: returning to our room after 5pm to discover it hadn't been cleaned, having to ask for simple amenities like towels and soap, being told that we had to move rooms only to be made to wait around whilst confused staff struggled to locate where we had been moved to and in the end not moving us at all. The location of the hotel is good but it is seriously in need of refurbishment: the lift is temperamental, air cons smell musty,breakfast are mediocre and staff are poorly trained.