Why would you, after braving the urban insanity of the daily commute day in and day out, want to drive down to a wheat-belt village for a vacation, without a single attraction within hailing distance
Two reasons First, it&rsquos so close that the time spent travelling is hardly more than that daily commute. Second, it&rsquos the Westin.
The Westin Sohna-Gurgaon Resort & Spa, India&rsquos first property from the brand, has transformed a 35-acre chunk of countryside at Sohna into a self-sufficient resort that you will feel reluctant to leave. Their motto is &lsquoYou will feel better when you leave than when you arrived&rsquo &mdash and they take it very seriously.
At the Westin, you are encouraged to recharge the way you prefer. If that means stretching out in a hammock, head right for your patio. If your eyes are sore from lack of green, join the morning RunWESTIN for a guided jog through the countryside, spend an afternoon with the horses or follow the geese on their daily trail around the resort. Need to catch up on shuteye Make for the canopied, fluffy, five-pillow, three-sheet (180-250 thread count) signature Heavenly Bed. Too wound up to sleep Centre yourself in the dark heart of the spa&rsquos meditation pyramid. Or if you&rsquod rather catch up on your reading, stroll down to the Mix bar-and-lounge and park yourself by the fireplace. Speaking of fireplace, each Westin suite has one &mdash and a fire menu that lets you demand a specific aroma from your fire
The main spa, set to launch shortly, will have six treatment rooms along with a hydrotherapy chamber (till then request your treatments in-room). Relax &mdash and rediscover your appetite.
At the all-day multicuisine Living Room, a &lsquoSuperfood&rsquo tag tells you when a dish offers an extra-generous helping of health. The Indian food is &lsquolike homemade (by a very seasoned cook)&rsquo The international options are innovative&mdashlobster burger with pesto and mango salsa, or a spa menu option of temaki with avocado, daikon sprouts, snowpea sprouts and pickled ginger. My duck and potato broth was such a stunner in terms of both gustatory experience and presentation that I&rsquom tempted to go back for that alone. Breakfasters may find themselves offered tasting portions of dishes the kitchen is proud of &mdash gratis, of course.
In the evening, the fine-dining Chinese restaurant comes alive in its open pavilion &mdash Xiao Chi plates up &lsquosmall bites&rsquo (that&rsquos what the name means) and they look delectable &mdash little pak choy-shaped crystal dumplings, prawn cakes spooned up to resemble the pipa (a Chinese lute), leaf-lookalike spinach jiaozi...
The look and feel of the Westin is unlike any of the other hotel chains in India, and it&rsquos a first to be proud of. Attentive to your every comfort, without overpowering you with obsequiousness. Modern and youthful, but with a solid foundation of superior service standards. And it is details like these that charm you into relaxing every last finger, toe and eyelash. From the welcome elixir, a Westin Place (that&rsquos what they call their lobbies) tradition that is interpreted uniquely at each location &mdash here with cinnamon-scented apple juice &mdash and the signature White Tea fragrance lingering there. To the Unwind evening ritual where a conch calls you poolside for a complimentary drink and live entertainment. And the way all the music in every Westin place is computer-controlled to match time of day and ambience across spaces (the spa alone has seven tracks on at a time) &mdash mixed by a Westin musicologist whose sole job is to arbitrate which Westin guest hears what, when and where
We can hardly wait to hear more (next up from the brand is a city hotel in Gurgaon).
The information
Location Vatika Complex, P.O. Dhaula, Karanki Road, Sohna, Gurgaon 122103, Haryana (2hr drive from South Delhi)
Accommodation 52 deluxe rooms (operational from March) 29 studio suites 15 two-bedroom deluxe suites 1 presidential suite (to be added later this year)
Tariff Rs 18,000 (deluxe room), Rs 26,000 (studio suite), Rs 35,000 (deluxe suite)
Contact 0124-4508888, www.westin.com/sohna