Seven years ago, the Jatias, a Mumbai hotelier family, bought land in the city’s derelict former textile mills district that was partly occupied by slums and was faced by a large shanty town – hardly where most would site a five-star hotel.

But this week, after years of navigating red tape, the 202-room Four Seasons Mumbai became the first luxury hotel of its size to launch in the city’s south in about 20 years.