Grand Hotel (Bombay)

Being over here in Ballard Estate feels a bit different than the rest of the city. The buildings around Shiri Shivsagar and Ramgulam Marg are all that old stone style, and the Grand Hotel fits right in. It’s been here since before many of us were born. Inside, the ceilings are high and the floors are that old-fashioned tile. It takes a lot of work to keep the dust off everything because the sea air comes in through the windows. We spend a lot of time just maintaining the place. It’s not a quiet area during the day because of all the offices, but at night it gets strangely still. The staff here mostly stays out of the way unless someone needs something. We’ve seen the neighborhood change a lot over the decades, but the hotel stays mostly the same. The rooms have heavy doors and old furniture that’s been polished many times. Sometimes the elevator is slow, so people just take the stairs. We don’t have a big marketing team or anything like that. It’s just us answering the phones and making sure the linens are clean. People come here because they like the old feel of Bombay. It’s a practical place to stay if you have business near the port or the courts. We just keep the doors open and do our jobs every day. It’s a simple living for all of us working here.