Global travellers give Mumbai 4-stars 3rd spot

MUMBAI: When it comes to luxury stay at four-star hotels, global travellers apparently find Mumbai the thirdmost affordable city in the world. But if you are looking to indulge yourself with a pampered stay without shelling out an astronomical amount, you should make a beeline for Cape Town in South Africa and Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt where four-star hotels come for the cheapest.

These findings are thrown up by TripIndex Room Service 2013, a cost-comparison study of common incidental items and services that travellers avail of at hotels. The index was tracked against the Indian rupee and was based on the combined cost of a club sandwich ordered on room service, bottled water, peanuts, a small bottle of vodka, a can of soft drink from the mini bar and the dry-cleaning of a shirt.

“On an average, Moscow was found to be nearly three times costlier than Mumbai for most room-service items,” the survey said. For example, a club sandwich ordered in a four-star hotel in Mumbai costs Rs 395, while in Moscow, it comes with a price tag of Rs 1,161. Similarly, a bottle of water in Mumbai is priced at Rs112, while in Moscow, it is Rs 353.

“When planning our travel, we do keep in mind the cost of a room per night. But we often forget to account for incidentals incurred at the hotel for services like inroom dining and laundry,” said Nikhil Ganju, country manager of online travel portal TripAdvisor, which conducted the survey. “The cost comparison of popular items from hotels around the world gives a quick overview of travellers and their budget and what they can get for the money they set aside.”

Africa emerged as easyon-the-wallet for Indian leisure seekers with three cities, Cape Town, Sharm-el-Sheikh and Marrakech in Morocco, being on the list of 10 least expensive cities. Apparently, a bottle of soft drink or a small bottle of vodka comes for the cheapest at four-star hotels in Cape Town, while Sharm el-Sheikh offers the most economical rates for dry cleaning a shirt. One could choose between a bottle of water and a can of soft drink to quench thirst in Cape Town, as they were priced at Rs 99.50 each.

Closer to home, some of the cheaper destinations in Asia are Jakarta in Indonesia and Taipei in Taiwan, placed eighth and tenth on the list of the least expensive cities. But Singapore was found to be the costliest city for hotel amenities in Asia.

For Indian travellers, Europe seems to dominate the index of the 10 most expensive cities for four-star hotels, with six cities including Paris, Stockholm, Oslo, Zurich and Helsinki, featuring on the list.

“But Indians keen on heading to Europe may find Istanbul, Budapest and Sofia in Bulgaria to be more affordable destinations, them being among the 10 least expensive places,” the study stated.

Global travellers give Mumbai 4-stars 3rd spot