Three months ago I faced an awkward situation while staying at the iconic Taj Mahal Tower hotel in Mumbai. Being a business trip I would leave in the morning by 9-30 after breakfast and usually return after an exhausting day filled with multiple meetings with clients, often with no time for a meaningful lunch.
Coming back late I had stopped to pick up a burger from Burger King, hoping to have a small bite before I crashed into bed. This is something I often do because the alternative (room service) usually takes ages and serves large portions that I personally do not like in taste and which I inevitably waste. At the entrance my small briefcase was scanned at security and a young staff member politely asked me if I had food inside. On my answering in the affirmative he mentioned that outside food was not allowed, sensing my annoyance (and desperation) he guided me to a supervisor who, not unlike a parole officer, allowed me this infraction though not without reminding me curtly of the no outside food rule. Of course, this was horribly embarrassing and I ran up with the offending burger as though I were Oliver Twist.
This got me thinking later - how common or reasonable is such a rule? I can understand not allowing food delivery apps into the premises (though the Singapore Hilton and the Al Jaddaf Marriot had no such restriction when I stayed there in the last one year - delivery folks were allowed but only till the foyer) -- but checking a guest's bag specifically for food and then not allowing it in sounds a bit harsh. There could be any number of reasons why a guest may prefer to get their own food - time, cost, convenience, dietary preference, heck it could even be a packed breakfast or snack for the next day.
I later wrote to the Taj Mahal Palace but only received a very poorly composed and utterly anodyne reply that would make Grammerly look positively HALian in comparison.
I'm curious what the rule is worldwide - is outside food such a no-no? Do all bags big and small get scanned for food?
