Away Nights

One night, One Hotel, One Incredible Experience

Trident Hilton, Gurgaon, New Delhi

Set in an expanse of seven beautifully landscaped acres, the building has an imposing yet serene presence

By: Mary Gostelow

Ultimate serenity is looking through my floor to ceiling windows straight into the infinity pool that comes - at its level - right up to the windowsill.

You think, says Mary Gostelow, that if the water rises, it will flow right through the glass into the bedroom. Six feet from the window, a frangipane tree grows out of the water. Twenty feet beyond the tree, the water falls over the edge, with treetops visible below. The evening sun makes the water like glistening gold. In fact I am looking out into an open courtyard, about 250 feet by 250 feet, with ochre buildings around, and the same windowsill-high ornamental ponds all round, framing what turns out later to be, one floor down, the Centrum of the hotel, the blue-tiled outdoor pool - heated year round. At dusk, fire urns set into the ornamental ponds, and lanterns on all staircases, turn the vista into magic.

Conveniently next door to my room, number 312, 33 stone stairs lead directly down to the pool. I am down there like a flash, first to the gym, which has the latest Technogym equipment, and then into the pool: all designers should note the value of putting pool entry steps, like these, flush with the length of the pool, so not to affect serious laps. An attendant has set up a lounger, with white mattress and striped towels the same green as the leafy trees around. Then I had a memorable 60-minute massage from Weni, a Balinese therapist in the Angsana spa.

The hotel, by the way, is really convenient not only for total relaxation but also for anyone doing business in the burgeoning Gurgaon commercial area. It is only 20 minutes from the airport, which is handy for the middle-of-the-night flights that seem to be a feature here. It was Sukhbir Badal, son of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who thought of putting a hotel on the seven acres they owned. Badal had to badger PRS Oberoi (Biki Oberoi), scion of the Oberoi hospitality group, to do a hotel with him. Eventually he said why not, and he brought on architect Lek Bunnag, interior designer Rujiraporn (Pia) Wanglee of P Interior & Associates, and landscape specialist Wannaporn Phonprapha - which is why you could well think that you are in Thailand with a hint of India. Arriving from the airport, you look through an arch and across yet another, and football pitch-sized, reflecting pool, with four inset fire urns that are a sure wow at night. In the distance, through another arch, is an Indian dome. Gardens around the 136-room property are immaculate (you wonder if the grass and perfect hedges are really real?)

There are constant surprises. The lobby has been justifiably described as more like a soaring modern museum, a wrap of white until you look up to the ceiling, from which a gold-lined dome soars even higher. The straight corridors that lead to room 312 are floor-lit deliberately to emphasise their length, and tall-tall, as in ancient Indian palaces. Discreet staff are dressed, and trained, as if in an Amanresort. My room, which turns out to be the

Presidential Suite, has a foyer with mottled brown marble floor, gold wallpaper with white flowers. The salon and bedroom have pale wood floors, lots of mirrors, dining for eight (there is a working kitchenette) and a massive Panasonic flat screen - there is another in the bedroom. The bathroom has a semi-circular Jacuzzi, two glass hemispherical basins on flecked brown marble stands, towel and cotton robes, and La Source by Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries. Of course, in a place that vies for the best rates in town (and constantly gets the maximum five in one online consumers' rating system) you have a safe, and wireless, and padded satin hangers, and the bathroom lighting is great for makeup and contact lenses.

We dined in the all-nation Cilantro restaurant, with high-backed chairs that suitably soar up to a high-high (well, 60ft) ceiling with a red-lined dome, companion to that in the lobby. Chefs are attending all the buffet stations, never putting out more than five portions at once so that everything is freshly cooked. You can even have sushi brought over from the adjacent sushi bar which opened May 1st (the chef had last been working at One&Only Le Royal Mirage in Dubai). I had a look at the stunning hotel boutique, with wearables and collectibles that even the most jaded traveler would really want, and went to sleep. It was only a few hours, literally, before my 3.45 am wakeup call... I dressed, and found my butler outside my door, ready to escort me to the gym, which is not only open 24 hours but manned by an alert attendant. After showering, I went along to the business centre (my room did have wireless but the wired broadband, in the centre - which of course is also 24 hours - is much faster). My room service breakfast had been ordered for there, and it arrived on the dot, on a crisply-set table with a red rose, Tiptree jams, fabulous fresh juice and papaya and home-made natural yoghurt. The coffee, of course, came in a Bodum plunger. I was sorry not to have ordered eggs, which apparently have bright yellow yolks, so unlike the pales ones usually found in India, but then here they partner with an organic farm, and pasteurise the eggs themselves.

My car is waiting. It is still only 5.45 am and dawn is breaking, but a complement of half a dozen smiling staff waits to wave me off, wish me bon voyage and please come back. Since this is so close to an airport that really does operate 24 hours a day, what a glorious way to spend one's first, or last, night (or part of the night) in Incredible India, www.trident-hilton.com.

Trident, Gurgaon, New Delhi, India
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