Set along the edge of Bandstand, Taj Lands End is one of Mumbai’s most iconic luxury hotels. Overlooking the Arabian Sea, it’s home to Vista Restaurant — a vibrant, multi-cuisine dining space known for its elegant atmosphere and steady stream of guests throughout the day.

Within Vista lies a timeless design feature: a 1,500 sq. ft. Burmese teak wood floor, originally installed nearly two decades ago. After years of high foot traffic, the floor had become dull, worn, and heavily scratched. Despite multiple restoration attempts by the hotel, the results never quite met the original standard.

Condition of the floor before sanding

After our initial inspection, it was clear that a complete sanding and recoating would be necessary. This process would remove all surface scratches by taking the floor back to bare wood, allowing us to smooth it out and refinish it using high-performance Bona polishes.

However, working within a busy, operational restaurant inside a five-star hotel came with its own set of challenges. The hotel management had a few critical requirements:

• The entire process needed to be dust-free
• There could be no harmful fumes or strong odours
• Work hours were strictly limited to 12 am – 5 am
• The restaurant had to remain open during the restoration

While ensuring a dust-free process and avoiding fumes was well within our expertise, the real challenges lay in the restricted work hours and the fact that the restaurant had to remain operational.

Our Approach

To meet these demands, we deployed our full range of dust-free sanding equipment, including the Bona Belt Sander with Dust Containment System, Bona FlexiSand with Power Drive, and our trusted Bona Edgers.

To accommodate the restaurant’s operating schedule, we divided the 1,500 sq. ft. area into two phases. The first section was completed over the course of four nights, with each area ready and set for breakfast service the following day. Once both sections were fully restored, we carried out a final buffing of the entire floor in a single overnight session. This ensured a smooth, consistent surface across the entire space. We then applied a final coat of Bona Traffic HD across the full floor area, creating a seamless finish and unified appearance.

Area being set before breakfast service

Another challenge quickly surfaced: over the years, multiple layers of maintenance coatings had built up on the floor. These coatings had become sticky and were trapping dirt during regular cleaning. We needed to strip this buildup completely. To do so, we began with Bona’s anti-clogging abrasives, which effectively cut through the heavy coating. We then transitioned to Bona 8300 series abrasives, specifically engineered for dust-free sanding.

It’s important to note that solid Burmese teak is a premium hardwood, and preserving as much of the original material as possible was a top priority. While heavy-duty sanding equipment can make quick work of refinishing, excessive sanding shortens the lifespan of the floor.

That’s why, after an initial pass with the Bona Belt Sander, we switched to the Bona FlexiSand with Power Drive. This system not only delivers a finer, more controlled finish, but also removes minimal wood — helping to preserve the teak. Combined with Bona Diamond Abrasives, this method allowed us to complete the sanding process with maximum efficiency, completely dust-free, and with minimal wood removal.

To complete the wood floor renovation, we applied a coat of Bona Prime Intense, an EC1 Plus-certified wood primer that enriched the teak’s natural color and gave it a warm, inviting tone. For long-lasting protection, we finished with Bona Traffic HD — a premium wood polish and surface finish trusted worldwide.

Used across millions of square feet in airports, restaurants, and high-traffic commercial spaces, Bona Traffic HD delivers unmatched durability, scuff resistance, and chemical protection. Its performance and low-VOC formula make it the ideal choice for high-end wood floor restoration and wood renovation projects where both aesthetics and durability matter.

Area after complete sanding and recoating (Bona Gold Treatment)