The DNA: Soho House Mumbai is the city’s sexiest hotel and offers easy access to a world of glamour. Sprawl around the rooftop pool to watch the sun sink into the sea, settle into the plush screening room or stretch into a yoga class. A fairly narrow 11-storey townhouse, this hotel is homely in scale; intimate in atmosphere. Purists may complain that the style is a little pastiche but the English country-house mash-up with Indian craftsmanship and materials works. There’s plenty of polished teak retro Mumbai furniture, gorgeous fabrics (hand-printed in Rajasthan), and cool cement tiles – but the artful mix of patterned wallpapers and fabrics is a particularly English kind of flair. The usual Soho House rules apply – members and guest-only access beyond the ground floor; no cellphones or photography; no laptops after 7pm. At night decadent lighting dials up the romantic vibe, with very few ceiling and no overhead lamps, designer Linda Boronkay preferring small pools cast by wall-mounted, table or floor lamps, and plenty of shadowy nooks into which local club members hive off.

Seen: design milk, dezeen, Sleeper Magazine, The Spaces, Wallpaper*

Accolades: Wallpaper* Best Urban Hotels 2019

✅ free Wi-Fi • size matters: 38 rooms • hotel opened: 2019 • bathroom amenities: custom • wheelchair accessible