 The hotel put a hold on my credit card for an extremely high amount citing incidentals that I might incur over our stay In my experience a hotel charges guests for costs incurred AFTER they leave not before purchasing This hold was not stipulated in any reservation information beforehand and put an undue hardship on my finances Housekeeping on most days was pretty good but service differed by staff And I am still appalled that regardless of cost per night at every calibre of hotel housekeeping staff still cut corners For example not providing clean glasses that have been put through a dishwasher due to the time it takes to remove and replace glasses from multiple rooms over large distances Instead it s common practice for housekeepers to wash rinse glasses and cups in room and dry then out with a rag This was most certainly the case at the Taj The thing that displeased me the most but was positively remedied by the head housekeeper or night manager was that during the day one housekeeper unpacked our grocery bag removing some stuff and keeping other stuff This resulting in us losing some of our purchased items Never should hotel staff unpack a guest s belongings and make decisions about what s good and what should be thrown out Not terribly soundproof Fireproof doors can t be pulled shut so people just walk away from room doors which then slam shut which are loud enough to shake the walls 
 Overall This is a very large hotel so people s experiences will likely vary depending on which part of the hotel they were in The Taj has spent a lot of money making its common areas very elegant but our room did not reflect that same level of attention to detail best described as slated for updating because the chair was stained with worn fabric we could see touch up paint on patched drywall the bathroom didn t have a fan so ceiling had black marks from too much humidity I realize London s expensive but there s no way I would ve paid what I did at this hotel for a comparable hotel in Canada The room although dated with window s facing a schoolyard basketball court separated from us by razor wire was likely far more roomy than other hotels in the area based on reviews I ve read Room was very spacious Mattress was comfy enough although it seems that many hotels in England simply bandaid mattresses in need of replacing by putting more toppers on them Staff very friendly and accommodating Came to immediately address any issues I called about 