Both Jessica and Neeraj liked the “white look” of Plush. “It’s nice to have a lounge with some lights! And with a different crowd. I only hope the screening is as strict as it was tonight!” said Jessica. Strict security on the opening night ensured that only those on the invitation list walked in.	With DJ Sanjay Datta playing exclusively at Plush when in Calcutta, the music can’t get better. “I am a Calcutta boy so it feels great to play here. Electronic dance music is my forte,” said the DJ who kept the party people tapping to his beats.
Vikram and Ekta Puri, the brains behind the lounge, played the perfect host and hostess. The USP of Plush? “I’d like to think of Plush as a lounge till midnight which transforms into a night spot with a clubby feel thereafter — but not a nightclub which is why there is no dance floor,” stressed Vikram.	The rush for drinks may have had the bartenders in a tizzy on opening night on Wednesday, but the 42-ft L-shaped bar at Plush made sure there was space for everyone! Spread across a cosy 2,000 sq ft, drinks aside, the lounge has Mediterranean food lined up for its patrons. “We have two menus — a 20-dish main-course menu and a snacks menu. There’s food from most of the countries around the Mediterranean, in fact, the whole belt,” said consultant chef Raymond Wasser.

Hotel HIGHLIGHTS

Plans for The Astor, as rolled out by owner D.S. Puri, on Thursday afternoon:

All 35 rooms in the Theatre Road hotel have been revamped. Housed in a 110-year-old building, The Astor has vintage value. Each suite now includes a separate seating cove, wi-fi and DVD player.

A 103-room hotel in Agra is expected to be ready by 2010. It will be spread across two-and-a-half acres, with another three acres for further expansion.

At least four three- and four-star properties across India are in the pipeline.

Astor plans to set up a management company which will manage other properties, as well as a hotel management institute, possibly in Agra.

The total planned investment is Rs 250 crore, over a five-year period.

Karo Christine Kumar