The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel & Residences

Housed in an enormous, office-building style complex off the main freeway that links Delhi to Jaipur, the Leela Ambience Gurgaon is a luxurious mega-hotel aimed primarily at business travelers. The Gurgaon location puts the hotel near plenty of domestic and international business headquarters, and the attached shopping mall is a major area draw. The style here is refined and elegant, with a nice amount of traditional polish and shine. Guests enter into a large marble lobby that's frequently busy with both people staying at the hotel and those dropping in for meetings in the ground-floor event spaces. Furniture has curvilinear lines that look classic and modern at the same time, and a mix of details like bright fresh flowers and tasteful sculptural art combine to create a hotel that's more elegant and less generic than the typical business hotel. However, this is a huge property with expansive floors full of rooms, suites, and serviced apartments for long-term guests, meaning Leela Ambience lacks the intimate, personal ambience found at its smaller competitors. Expect to see mostly business guests here, though some families and couples also pass through.

The Leela Ambience Gurgaon Hotel & Residences is located in Gurgaon, a satellite city of neighboring Delhi. There's not a lot to see or do in Gurgaon proper, and most people stay here because they have work in the area. The only major attraction of interest beside shopping malls full of American and European brands (the enormous Ambiance Mall is attached to the hotel) is an entertainment complex called "Kingdom of Dreams" -- a 15-minute drive away -- where regular live music and dance performances are held daily in Hindi.

It's a 10-minute walk to the Micromax Moulsari Avenue Rapid Metro station. It will take about an hour to reach Connaught Place by metro, one of Delhi's commercial hearts that's packed with plenty of upmarket restaurants and shops. The drive can take just as long, or longer during rush hour, due to consistent traffic jams that often only ease up in the overnight hours. Indira Gandhi International Airport is about 20 minutes away by taxi, depending on traffic. 

The Leela offers a wide range of traditional hotel rooms and serviced apartments, and while there is some stylistic variety, most units have a dark and elegant vibe. Details include dark-wood floors, contemporary area rugs in muted tones, a mix of dark-wood furniture and upholstered sofas or chairs. The palette in each rooms is refined, with dark greens, grays, and neutral tones covering most surfaces, alongside subtle patterns in the carpets and soft furnishings. Standard amenities include air-conditioning, VoIP telephones, kettles, flat-screen TVs, safes, and minibars. Bathrooms vary depending on room type, but all are made out of cream-colored marble and have walk-in showers and deep soaking tubs. Some of the bathrooms have huge windows that look out on rooms with blinds to draw for privacy.

Entry-level Deluxe Rooms (484 square feet/45 square meters) are located on the second through sixth floors and have either one king bed or two kings, and have a similar layout to the Royal Club Rooms located on the seventh floor. Premier Rooms measure in at 517 square feet (48 square meters), and some add terraces. Royal Club Rooms and Suites come with lots of extra perks, including access to the hotel's Royal Club Lounge. Suites range in size from the 818 square feet (76 square meters) Executive Suites to the 1,163 square feet (108 square meters) one-bedroom Panorama Suites, which feature 180-degree views through floor-to-ceiling windows.

Residences start at 861 square feet (80 square meters) for one-bedrooms and run clear up to 2120 square feet (197 square meters) for three-bedroom units. These apartment-like units are designed for long-term business travelers and have kitchens, dining areas, access to dedicated laundry facilities, and an ordering service for food and household items. Guests wanting a lot of space (and who have lots of money to exchange for it) are best off booking the enormous Presidential Suite, which measures 3617 square feet (336 square meters). This luxurious unit features all sorts of upscale perks, including a private massage parlor, a 24-hour butler, and a study.

The Leela is primarily geared toward business travelers, with amenities to match. Meeting rooms here are extensive, and include a the huge Pearl Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 1,000 guests for receptions or be broken off into a couple of smaller spaces. There are a few other smaller meeting rooms on the lobby level -- The Maple Room, for up to 120 people, and The Royal Room, for up to 350, plus seven boardrooms for eight to 18 guests. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel. 

One of the Leela's best features for leisure travelers is its excellent spa, which features all sorts of traditional Ayurvedic treatments along with hydrotherapy, Balinese, Thai, Swedish, and deep tissue massage. There's also a salon with hair and nail service. The fitness center is huge, with wood floors and rows of treadmills, ellipticals, and exercise bikes plus a small selection of weight-training machines and free weights. There are also fitness classes every day of the week, including yoga, aerobics, Zumba, and Pilates. Note that non-hotel guests can access the fitness center for an annual fee. A long outdoor swimming pool with a sectioned-off side for swimming laps is a nice retreat from the Delhi area's heat and grit. It has plenty of lounge chairs with parasol shading plus tables and chairs for poolside dining. Like the fitness center, the pool can be accessed by people not staying in the hotel on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis.

The Leela Ambience places a strong emphasis on dining and drinking options, with five bars and restaurants on-site. The all-day restaurant, Spectra, features seven live cooking stations spread across the center of the floor, plus two private dining rooms and plenty of casual seating. Breakfast, lunch, and weekend brunch is available as a buffet, and dinner is served a la carte. Cuisine ranges from traditional Indian classics to Thai, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese specialties. Upscale alternatives include Diya, a North Indian dinner restaurant, and Zanotta -- also open only for dinner -- which focuses on Italian food, including all sorts of rich chocolatey desserts. The Leela Patisserie in the adjacent Ambience Mall also features plenty of sweets and cakes. Rubicon Bar and Cigar Lounge in the lobby serves snacks, cocktails, and spirits, plus a wide range of imported cigars. The pool-facing Skydeck Lounge has a more relaxed atmosphere, with cocktails, wines, and a selection of light Mediterranean and Indian dishes. Room service is available 24 hours a day. Guests staying in Royal Club Rooms and suites also get access to the Royal Club Lounge, which comes with free breakfast and evening cocktails.