ALMOST EXACTLY TWO years ago (in December 2023), we spent a few nights in the Moti International hotel in a street leading off Bombay’s bustling Colaba Causeway. Despite its impressive sounding name, this hotel was curiously interesting.

It is housed in Moti Mansion, a large house built by a Parsi family in about 1900.

We had not booked the hotel in advance, but walked in to enquire whether we could stay fir a few nights. The young man at the small reception desk asked us:
“Are you married?”

We told him that we were and then he said:
“I have to ask you because, you see, my grandfather who lives with us on the top floors, is an old fashioned orthodox Hindu.”

Our ground floor room was adequate, air-conditioned,and had a decent attached bathroom. Sadly, the windows had been painted over. So there was no daylight. When we asked for a kettle, the young man explained:
“Yes, but I must charge you an extra 100 rupees for three days of electricity.”
We were happy with that.

On our last morning, we met the boy’s mother. She showed us the buildings impressive main wooden staircase. She explained that many of the rooms in the building were occupied by long-stay guests.

Today, 19 November 2025, we walked past Moti Mansion. Its street facing facade wast partly hidden by scaffolding and almost all the windows were covered over with wooden boarding.

I wonder what the future holds for this charming edifice.