With its own helipad, ITC Gardenia Bengaluru has pulled out all the stops to pamper its guests

It’s a no-holds-barred effort to raise the stakes in the luxury hotel industry. At the newly-opened Oberoi Gurgaon you drive to the entrance past a forest grown specially to cocoon guests and give them a back-to-nature feel in a city hotel. Sit in the hotel’s pristine white Jewel Box Lobby, with its floor-to-ceiling windows and admire the greenery outside.

By contrast, The Leela Palace Kempinski in the heart of New Delhi’s diplomatic area is almost cramped on the outside. But inside, the Rs 1,800-crore hotel, described as a ‘palace’, is an exercise in opulence.

Keeping the wow factor going, it’s now possible to land a chopper just a floor above the Presidential Suite of The ITC Gardenia Bengaluru.

Right here in Calcutta you can throw a bash on the in-house cruiser of Ganga Kutir Resort & Spa and The Ffort Raichak at Raichak on Ganges as you sail along majestically on the Hooghly. Meanwhile, tugging at your heartstrings is the Four Seasons in Mumbai that will open its doors to your darling pooch (if he weighs under 7kg) so that he/she can live it up too.

Built on the lines of an opulent palace, the newly-opened The Leela Palace Kempinski New Delhi at Chanakyapuri will soon unveil its rooftop infinity pool

If you’re bored of being pampered silly at super-luxurious hotels across the planet, you ain’t seen nothing yet. For, in India, luxury is being redefined and hotels are curating experiences that aim to reach out to even the most jaded traveller.

“Luxury has evolved beyond its traditional trappings and has entered a new era in which the value of something is more often determined by its singularity, rather than just its price,” says Taljinder Singh, general manager, Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi.

In this world of redefined luxury, Experience is King. And that could manifest itself in a 36-course meal, elaborate menus for the type of pillow you’d like (including contoured cervical pillows to micro fibre and hypo-allergenic pillows) and full-length swimming pools attached to suites many floors up.

Roger Wright, general manager, The Leela Kempinski Gurgaon, says: “Creating new experiences that strike a chord with incredibly well-travelled customers is essential. Customer loyalty is fleeting and so, providing them with unique experiences before the others helps us stay ahead.’’

CUTTING EDGE ROOMS

Designed by chef Sujan Mukherjee (top), the tasting menu at Taj Bengal includes delicacies like pan-seared scallops, sea bass served with dried lemon asparagus and blood orange coulis, and pirzola kuzu made with chargrilled Welsh lamb rack Pix by Rashbehari Das

When The Oberoi Gurgaon opened a few months ago, it perhaps toppled a record. Its basic guest room spreads out over a generous 620sqft — which is the largest size of standard room in ‘any’ city hotel worldwide. The rack rate matches the expanse, of course, at Rs 30,000 a night. The Presidential Suite, at a hefty Rs 3 lakh a night, has a 22m heated, private pool while two Premier Pool Suites come with 17m pools each (Rs 1.5 lakh a night).

The High Life pizza at the Leela Palace Kempinski Chanakyapuri in Delhi is topped with extravagant ingredients — Beluga caviar and Canadian rock lobster

If you want to swing by in style, just land your chopper one level above the split level, Peacock Suite (that’s the presidential suite) at the ITC Gardenia Bengaluru. At 5,040sqft this is one of the largest hotel suites in India, spreading across the 20th and 21st floors. The peacock theme recurs in the opulent colours, textures and styles throughout the suite which has its own elevator, infinity pool, gym, steam room and sauna. And if you haven’t guessed already, the tariff is ‘Only On Request’.

ITC hotels meanwhile are pushing the envelope in the green arena. If you’re prone to allergies and need a room where dust mites won’t get you, check-in at ITC Maurya Delhi’s Pure Rooms. The only ones of their kind in India, the air in the 76 hypo-allergenic rooms and suites is continuously circulated through a state-of-the-art medical grade purifier which filters out 98 per cent of impurities and dust from all surfaces, fabrics and obviously even the air flow in the room. A value-addition, these rooms are not costlier to stay in.

HAUTE CUISINE

Now, hotels take their food very seriously and so it’s not surprising that they are raising standards everywhere. It’s an age of tasting menus and indulging in one at the Souk, the Middle Eastern restaurant at Taj Bengal in Calcutta, could have you munching for four to five hours at a stretch.

At the most expensive, the seven- to 14-course meal will lighten your wallet by Rs 20,000 (but that’s minus the alcohol). Says chef Sujan Mukherjee, who has devised the menu: “Ideally, we need two days to create the spread which is designed after checking on the guests’ preferences.” Expect taster’s portions of cold and hot mezze, grills, sorbets, main course of seafood, red meat or white meat and desserts.

The Turkish hamam at the Aman Spa in Delhi offers a luxurious experience of detoxing in its three heated chambers and warm and cold plunge pools

Another festival of indulgence awaits you at The Leela Kempinski Gurgaon where the Chef’s Bench at the Italian restaurant Zanotta is serving up a 36-course tasting menu. You can take a breather in between courses and exit the restaurant and return later for more. The executive chef doesn’t just drum up dishes but also shares his kitchen secrets. So, are you surprised that you’ll be shelling out Rs 10,000 per head?

“Price is rarely an issue as long as we do not cross people’s perception of the value line,’’ says Wright.

The Four Seasons has a Japanese version of the Chef’s Table. The Omakase (that’s ‘trust the chef’ in Japanese) Dinner at San-Qi presents a series of dishes beginning with the lightest and proceeding to the heaviest and richest. Depending on what you are served, it could cost upto Rs 25,000 (excluding alcohol) per head.

If authenticity is the other bottomline, Kapil Chopra, senior vice president (VP), who runs The Trident Gurgaon and The Oberoi Gurgaon, is a stickler. When he set about looking for Chinese chefs for the 10,500sqft, five-kitchen threesixtyone° restaurant, he decided to keep the fare totally authentic.

The Chinese menu is strictly from the Sichuan and Guangdong provinces — and so are the chefs. Chopra hunted down chefs who hadn’t ever stepped out of these regions to work at the restaurant. “This has kept the dishes absolutely authentic,’’ smiles Chopra. What’s more, the Rs 3,295 per head Sunday Brunch at threesixtyone° offers a bouquet of 10 champagnes of which you can quaff unlimited amounts.

The Delhi Dialogue via The Taj Mahal Hotel and Taj Palace Hotel in Delhi gives guests the opportunity to discover Delhi with Zen practitioner Shantum Seth, who takes them through meditation sessions as well

Some hotels are bent on embellishing the humblest dish on the menu. The Leela Palace Kempinski has just given the ho-hum pizza an expensive makeover. At Cube, the all-day dining restaurant, you can splurge on a near Rs 9,999-pizza. Aptly christened High Life, it’s a combination of the most expensive ingredients: Canadian lobster, thyme-scented mascapone and 28gm of Iranian Beluga caviar, washed down with Grey Goose Vodka.

Golgappas with shrimp and avocado filling? Mozzarella Samosas? That’s level-next of modernity at Delhi’s Varq, Taj Mahal hotel’s Indian restaurant. Here you can dig into masterchef Hemant Oberoi’s gastronomic, luxurious menu.

A sister hotel, Taj Palace New Delhi meanwhile is offering a Spice Tour at Masala Art, the hotel’s Indian restaurant. You’ll get to accompany the chef on a spice tour of Khari Bouli, a spice market in Old Delhi, buy the condiments and later cook the dishes with him. This costs 3,500 a head.

And yes, you know all about Happy Hours, right? But a Champagne Happy Hour? At Aer, Mumbai’s highest open air bar at the Four Seasons, knock back half-price champagne by the glass (Rs 600 to Rs 950 per glass) between 5.30pm and 8pm every night. The price doubles post-8pm. “We wanted to make champagne accessible to all,’’ says Andrew Harrison, general manager.

SPA’S THE THING

There are spas and then there are spas. But your spa experience just got more aromatic. In the heart of Delhi, the spa at Aman New Delhi is one up on all the others — it has a Turkish hamam which you won’t find easily elsewhere. The authentic Posha Hamam Ritual consists of three varying temperature heated chambers, warm and cold plunge pools, a relaxation lounge and a marble massage plinth for treatments. It will set you back about Rs 8,000 for about 90 minutes.

And another first for The Oberoi Spa in Gurgaon — it’s open all night too. Which makes it the only 24-hour spa in Delhi and the NCR where in-house guests can check-in for therapies even in the dead of night.

ART & YOU

The hotels are stepping up the artistic quotient. The six-acre city-resort Aman New Delhi is now the new space in the capital for the Apparao Gallery. Says Robyn Bickford, joint general manager: “In today’s world where hotels are destinations, this collaboration works as a very well-suited platform to explore the new emerging trends in the art world.’’

The Spice Tour at Masala Art courtesy Taj Palace Hotel in Delhi has the chef take guests on a tour of a spice market in Old Delhi to buy condiments before cooking a meal

The art from the Apparao Gallery has brought a new exuberance to the minimalist and monochromatic interiors of Aman. The exhibitions will change every four to six weeks, sometimes staying longer or moving within the same premises but to different locations. “The guests are spending a lot more time in the hotel’s public areas,’’ says Bickford.

Besides his job as senior VP at the Oberoi Group, Kapil Chopra is an avid art collector, (he’s also Graphiti’s art columnist) and an art blogger. He says: “It’s been a purposeful selecting of art at the property.’’ The hotel has introduced 40 young artists on its walls — and they’re from myriad schools of art.

At the Leela Kempinski Gurgaon the Chef’s Bench serves up an exotic 36-course tasting menu

Meanwhile, the art collection at The Leela Palace is valued at $5 million. Besides, the big names of the art world, there are miniature paintings by the craftspersons of Rajasthan and bidri work from Uttar Pradesh.

Cut to The Imperial New Delhi which has been known for its huge art collection of over 4,700 artworks and lithographs. Now the hotel has introduced specialised, two-hour art tours between Monday and Saturday for guests to experience the art on the property. Says Vijay Wanchoo, senior vice president and general manager, “The hotel’s extensive collection has earned The Imperial the moniker of Museum Hotel.’’

TRAVEL WISE

The hotels are also playing insider guides to their guests. You could cruise down the Hooghly on Pari, the cruiser on the rolls of the Ganga Kutir Resort & Spa and The Ffort Raichak at Raichak on Ganges. You don’t have to be a guest at the hotel to hire the boat — which sets sail from Raichak ferry jetty — for a private party. Pari can cruise the entire river and you’ll pay Rs 20,000 per hour and some more for F&B.

You could throw a private party as you cruise down the Hooghly on Pari, the cruiser of Ganga Kutir Resort & Spa and The Ffort Raichak at Raichak on Ganges

More jaunts come courtesy Delhi hotels. Guests at The Taj Mahal Hotel and Taj Palace can discover Delhi with Zen practitioner Shantum Seth who offers talks and instructional meditation sessions to guests and also takes them to less well-known districts of the capital. The Delhi Dialogue via The Taj Mahal Hotel and Taj Palace Hotel can cost Rs 18,000 or Rs 27,000 (plus expenses) for four-hour sessions and Rs 45,000 (plus transport, accommodation etc) for tours outside the NCR. “We want to provide meaningful customer experiences,” says Digvijay Singh, general manager, Taj Mahal Hotel.

The hotels also offer curated art tours with Sunaina Anand, owner, Art Alive Gallery. You’ll get to visit public and private galleries, art studios, art book shops, craft museums and artist workshops. A full-day tour costs Rs 10,000.

Not to be outdone, the Aman New Delhi is also taking guests on joy rides (sometimes in its own autorickshaw). Besides morning Yoga sessions at Lodhi Gardens it offers guests custom-built city tours as well.

(Additional reporting by Angona Paul and Lubna Salim)