Taj City Centre Gurugram

We eagerly await the day when India’s big-city hoteliers embrace fun, funky, freaky little boutique hotels. Until then, however, we’ll continue to praise them for what they do best — big, extravagant, highly polished luxury hotels. The latter, it should be said, is a natural fit for Gurgaon, New Delhi’s business-focused satellite city. And it’s the latter tendency, of course, which finds exemplary expression in the form of Vivanta by Taj.

Yes, the same Taj that’s responsible for so many extraordinary palace hotels, all over India and beyond. This strikingly modern tower isn’t about to be mistaken for a Mughal monument, but as a contemporary luxury hotel, it certainly doesn’t shy away from monumental effects — the soaring atrium, the sprawling presidential suite, the plunging pool, the expansive, interconnected restaurants.

Inside the rooms the look is contemporary, bright and sunny, modestly restrained in palette. The Jiva spa, on the other hand, aims for otherworldly effect, and does not fall short. In a town whose business-hotel market is as competitive as can be, the Vivanta plays comfortably in the big league, and manages to look stylish doing it, something that cannot truthfully be said of all of the competition.