Gurgaon, July 11 (IANS):  It was a “dream come true” for Capt. C.P. Krishnan Nair as the Leela Kempinski Gurgaon formally opened Saturday in this bustling IT hub on the outskirts of the national capital, where the hospitality chain will soon be opening a luxury hotel too.

“It is a momentous occasion for us to have opened the first business hotel in north India,” Nair, the chairman of The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, told reporters here, adding: “It is an important milestone in the group’s expansion plan.    

“We had bought land in south Delhi because I always wanted the Leela to be in the national capital. We had even paid Rs.200 crore but for various reasons it did not come through. It took us seven years to get the money. Now, it's a dream come true for me that we've opened in Gurgaon."   

The new hotel is the sixth Leela Kempinski in India after Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Kovalam and Udaipur. It will open in New Delhi and Chennai in 2010 and at a later stage in Agra, Hyderabad and Pune.   

Located within a 15-minute drive from the Indira Gandhi International Airport and on the Delhi-Gurgaon border, The Leela Kempinski Gurgaon offers 322 luxuriously appointed rooms and suites and 90 residences in configuration of one, two and three bedroom options - making it perhaps the only property in the region with comprehensive accommodation solutions for modern luxurious living.   

The Gurgaon hotel is the first amongst Leela's upcoming properties in north India. It is also the first managed property of the group.    

“We own all our hotels but Raj Singh Gehlot (of the Ambience Group that owns the property) was so persuasive that I just had to give in and agree to manage it,” Nair said.   

According to Gehlot, the hotel is “amongst several other key luxurious projects at the Ambience Island” where it is located, just off the toll plaza on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway.    

“The addition of The Leela Kempinski is an integral part of this mixed-use complex, qualifying the Ambience Island as a luxury destination for residents, visitors and guests,” Gehlot added.    

The hotel guest rooms are a balanced synthesis of space, beauty and advanced technology. The rooms feature a full range of modern amenities and facilities including Wi-Fi internet connectivity, Internet Protocol (IP) Phones, LCD Television with Blue Ray Player, Bose iPod Dock, electronic safes and ergonomic mattresses.    

Amongst dining alternatives is Spectra, a 225 capacity restaurant with live kitchens and serving seven cuisines; Diya, an elegantly designed 112 capacity Indian restaurant; Zanotta, a 76 seating capacity Italian restaurant; and an eclectic bar.    

The hotel offers possibly the largest banqueting facilities in the region with over 27,000 sq ft of function space including pillar-less ballrooms, board rooms and meeting rooms with state-of-the-art equipment that meets the most advanced requirements of discerning social getaways and business functions.    

“Amongst many interesting features of the hotel,” Nair pointed out, “is a grand showcase of Indian contemporary art and an extensive use of advanced technology at public areas, rooms and banquet spaces, qualifying The Leela Kempinski as a delightful destination for discriminating business and vacation guests.”