(From top) A massage at Leo Juventa; the Cascade Room, Champagne and flowers to make it special, Leo Splash and Euro Bungee

A two-hour flight from Calcutta will take you to Hyderabad, not too far from Leonia Holistic Resorts, 250 acres of luxury set amidst the verdant Deccan plains. Thirty kilometres from the centre of the city, Leonia is sprawling and serene with plenty of pamper and professional options to pick from. What more could you ask for on a business or leisure trip? t2 picks five reasons to make Leonia your next dream destination...

BODY AND SOUL

Machine and medicine have united to create “one of Asia’s best health spas”. Leo Juventa, a multi-level health centre spread over 100,000sqft, combines Ayurveda and modern medicine in the right ratio. It takes one good hour to explore all five floors!

While the ground floor houses the hydrotherapy section (the digitised technology is mind-boggling) and massages, the first floor has the Ayurveda suites, couple Jacuzzis and steam and sauna rooms — all of which come with personal therapists. The second floor is the shape-up zone, while the third is the fitness floor with gym, physiotherapy and magnetotherapy sections. On the fourth level are modern and cosmetic treatments — from microdermabrasion and laser procedures to oxygen therapy for anti-ageing. A yoga centre and aqua gym complete the services.

t2 recommends: A dip in the authentic Turkish hamams. Allow therma-generated pools to gently massage your back, legs and feet...

ADVENTURE SPORTS

For the adventure enthusiast, even a three-day stay at the resort will not provide full satisfaction! Start with Euro Bungee Jumping, where you are tied securely with large elastic bands to fixed poles, following which you jump as high as you can on a trampoline! Bigger groups can get aggressive with Paint Ball. Water babies can relax all day at Leo Splash, the water park, or get wet and wild with Flow Rider (artificial water surfing sports), to be launched in November for the first time in India. Serious sportspersons can get into action at the Sports Arena (which will open in December) with indoor and outdoor games like tennis, volleyball, basketball, badminton and squash, engineered to international standards and attached to a 100-room hotel for visiting sporting camps. An impressive gaming room L’L Champs has 24 gaming stations with online and offline games. Battle it out on the PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.

Toddlers can be left at the creche as parents sweat it out.

t2 recommends: Euro Bungee Jumping — what a high!

PLUSH ROOMS

After all that excitement, you could do with a little cooling off. Which is why the Cascade rooms (Rs 9,900 a night) come with a mini cascade pool and a luxurious outdoor shower area. There are 32 such rooms, while another 32 are the Bay Window rooms, with garden view (Rs 7,900 a night). Or stay at any one of the 18 Lagoon Bay Villas (Rs 7,900 a night), which allow you to step off your terrace and into the 400m lagoon swimming pool.

For the extravagant, there are six Celestia Suites. The Residential Suite comes with a 46-inch TV and private pool. Then there are the Business, Honeymoon, Laser and Ethnic Suites and the Lion’s Den. Prices for the suites range between Rs 60,000 and Rs 3.5 lakh.

Coming up is the Business Block — with a helipad on its roof. Here 1,200 “stylish yet practical” business rooms with Wi-Fi and enough desk space will be up soon.

t2 recommends: The Cascade room — it is quaint and cosy, and we loved the private cascade pool. And man was built to take showers in the open!

SIP ’N’ BITE

No vacation is complete without a heavenly feast. The 24-hour coffee shop Sun and Moon serves up a delectable breakfast buffet. Shahi Handi is the fine-dining Hyderabadi-style restaurant while Leo Bistro is the casual dining space with live entertainment. For the health conscious, Café Juventa is the “lite eat” cafe at the spa. Afterglow is the lounge bar — but stick to the usual list of spirits as it isn’t the best place for experimentation.

Finally there’s Leo Vegas, the nightclub. Best visited if you are in a group.

t2 recommends: Cafe Juventa. Don’t miss the apple and carrot juice refresher!

NEXT UP…

With a property this huge, there’s a lot more in store! “The Leo Academy of Hospitality and Tourism Management opened last month and the Leo Convention Centre will open in December,” says Rajesh Kumar, front office manager. The convention centre doubles as the Sports Arena, with a capacity of up to 6,000 people, and a 100-room hotel connected to it. Also, 261 rooms in the business block will open doors by year-end. Priced around Rs 6,000, they target the business traveller.

Guests can also look forward to an open spa near Geo Garden, a restaurant at Leo Splash, a three-screen multiplex with seating for 1,000 viewers, two squash courts and a ladies sports bar.

What is your idea of a luxury getaway? Tell t2@abpmail.com