What’s happening in Mumbai’s hotels? A peek into the party circuit and events in the city… By Marcellus Baptista
Three cheers
The cheer was on at the opening of the third Social in town. After the success of the Colaba Social and Todi Mills Social, it was time for Riyaaz Amlani, CEO and MD, Impresario Hospitality to present Palladium Social located at Palladium mall. It turned out to be a beer-and-burger night with a choice of burgers like cheese burger, crispy lamb burger, pulled pork and mango burger and potato and beer roesti burger along with a state-of-the-art craft beer tasting section featuring 15 craft beers on tap. Of course, there was also premium spirits and cocktails at the bar. Guests soaked in the ambience of this third café/working space in town, as they listened to Riyaaz Amlani hold forth on the F&B industry among a gathering of mainly influential individuals from the hospitality industry.
After hours
Located close to Palladium Hotel, venue of the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2015, Bombay Canteen got an opportunity to showcase its culinary offering as it was the venue for the after-party of the opening show by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. Yes, after the ‘Jawani Jaaneman’ show that was an ode to retro chic, bringing alive an era reloaded and repackaged in a futuristic avatar that told you clearly that classic is always chic, it was time to live it up at Bombay Canteen located at the nearby Kamla Mills. It was a high-profile turnout with the presence of Jaya Bachchan, Dimple Kapadia, Twinkle Khanna, Pinky Reddy, Nita Ambani, Ishita Salgaocar, Sussanne Khan, Sonali Bendre, Anu Dewan, Mandana Karimi, Rukshana and many more.
First wave
St Regis Mumbai stamped its presence on the night of its very first day after replacing Palladium Hotel. Yes, the ballroom of the hotel was the happy venue for the Vespa party on September 1. The most famous scooter in the world along with Umesh Jivnani hosted the Vespa party to celebrate the brand’s latest offerings in the presence of legendary football player and Vespa global brand ambassador Alessandro Del Piero. Showcased was the 150cc range of scooters from Vespa, a timeless icon of Italian lifestyle. Piero unveiled the new range and also launched the ‘Vespa for Children/Del Piero version’ programme for a charity auction under the umbrella Piaggio Group charity ‘Vespa Do for Children.’ The auction conducted by Rochelle Rao saw the scooter fetch Rs. 3.75 lakh which went to Smile Foundation. Magical music by Manasi Scott and Suchitra Pillai set the merry mood with luxury drinks and dinner thrown in for good measure.
Final fling
Palladium Hotel had its one last fling with fashion as it staged the popular Lakme Fashion Week. This Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2015 season saw a veritable fashion feast, both in the main show area and also the Jabong stage where young emerging designers had a chance to showcase their styles to a packed house. It was five days of fashion passion with shows after shows and showstoppers, too. It also gave the hotel a chance to showcase their global gastronomic offering at the Seven Kitchens that was the place to be for a bountiful buffet. And in between shows guests chilled out at the terrace on the ninth level. There was also a VIP lounge, orchestrated by Flypsydee with imported wines and alcohol as also Kingfisher Ultra. All in all, it was one satisfying stylish soiree.