A new retreat to seal that deal

WHEN TOP EXECUTIVES WANT to discuss business in Mumbai, they usually head to either the Taj Chambers or the Oberoi Belvedere. Now there’s another option. The Club at the Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai is carving out its place as a mid-city business meeting address. Since its opening in 2009, The Club has signed up 350 members, says Andrew Harrison, the hotel’s general manager. The interiors of The Club, on the 33rd floor, were done by Florida-based Bilkey Llinas Design. It boasts four private meeting rooms, a lounge area, bar, library, wine cellar, and the city’s only in-house cigar lounge. The Chambers and the Belvedere charge an “initiation fee” of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 15 lakh, respectively, besides an annual fee of Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000. The Club’s fees, at Rs 1.2 lakh a year or Rs 6 lakh for 10 years, broadens the field, attracting executives who aspire to a corporate club membership but find the fees daunting.