My job involves taking frequent flights to do hotel and spa reviews and while it does seem glossy to most on social media; it comes with its own set of disadvantages. We don’t get to soak in the gigantic bathtubs long enough (sometimes not even once, our days start at dawn when we wake up to shoot and we don’t get to catch up on our sleep. Very often, we return home tired and almost like we need another trip to recover from the last. It is a vicious cycle really but I am not complaining. Anyway, being extremely hyper and restless, my disposition doesn’t allow me to sit still and relax when I am in Delhi. I am constantly on the move rushing from collaboration to shoots and meetings with very little break time or even time for a languid meal with co workers or friends. Anadita Singh rang me and asked me to come in to the Le Meridien Gurgaon to relax my nerves, catch up on my zzz’s and pop in for a massage at The Senses Spa.

The hotel used to be the Pullman before it went through a partial revamping and makeover. The new and improved Le Meridien Gurgaon is a few moments away from Guru Dronacharya Station in Gurgaon and a stones throw away from Cyberhub. A member of Starwood Hotels Worldwide, Le Meridien Gurgaon is a great option for corporates, young couples and families who are looking for some R&R without burning a hole in the wallet.The hotel features 285 guest rooms, including 22 suites, with contemporary furnishings; a renovated signature dining venue, Latest Recipe; and a new Longitude bar. The property also has a state of the art entertainment and live music pool side venue called iKandy and a spa called the ‘Senses Spa’ and ‘the cutting edge’ salon for all your cover ups and express pedicures.

I walked into Senses Spa at the Le Meridien and had someone talk me through my problem areas, medical history and allergies and sensitivities. I was definitely a ‘vata’ type and was prone to all sorts of vata imbalances. My R&R began with a strong chocolate scrub that worked to exfoliate and slough away the dead cells leaving behind new, radiant, baby soft skin followed by a sports specific massage.

The highly aromatic chocolate and sugar scrub is a particularly famous scrub because it is very effective at targeting cellulite making you ready for the beach. Sugar is a natural exfoliant which when combined with the caffeineThe sports specific massage is like a deep tissue massage that is perfect for those of us that train too often without enough recovery or stretch time afterwards. Like deep tissue, this treatment helps promote lymphatic drainage, improves blood circulation and increases range of motion, thereby making you less sore and more flexible.

My therapist was very perceptive and patient with me. I have had issues with soreness in the neck and shoulders because of too many hours spent in front of the computer as well as not enough mobilization exercises and poor posture. She started with an aromatic foot ritual and proceeded towards my problem areas- taking special care to release the knots and tension from the areas. I was at ease in the spa room- the music wasn’t too loud, the lighting and the temperature was perfect and I started to fall asleep. I woke up a few times in pain because she was trying to rid my body of the stiffness and the knots but fall back to sleep again. The massage was over close to an hour later. I ran in for a quick steam session and walked out feeling invigorated, with more energy and a spring in my step. I helped myself to some lemon ginger herbal tea and walked across to the coffee shop for a quick lunch.

The food at The Latest Recipe is delicious and the chefs pay special attention to your dietary preferences and requirements. I tried the buffet offerings and absolutely loved the sushi. I would definitely come to the hotel for the sushi and some of the south east asian specialties. I ordered a plateful of salmon and tuna sashimi with a few salmon and maki rolls. I was very impressed to hear that the hotel also caters to gluten free soy sauce if you are coeliac or avoiding wheat. The team at the Latest Recipe are very attentive and the spread is really large leaving you spoilt for choice. For the calorie conscious, you’ve got a range of cold cuts, lean meats and the salad section as well as sugar free desserts.

My room was on a non smoking floor and had a nice view overlooking verdant, green landscape which is difficult to come by in Gurgaon. Fitted with the latest technology and replete with all the amenities; the pantry even had decaffeinated coffee which is a huge bonus for coffee lovers like me who need to count their cups of joe. The bathrobes were comfortable and I spent all day in them except for when I needed to leave for a quick gym session. I ordered in-room dining for dinner that night and the chef prepared a twice cooked chicken breast with oven roasted vegetables, a sugar free dessert and a delightful salad with avocados and artichokes minus the croutons. I watched television for a few hours before bed, curled up with a book that night and was feeling extremely well rested and relaxed when I woke up the next morning. I couldn’t believe that I had logged 8 hours of sleep and my body pillow and the massage really helped promote relaxation and deep sleep.

I popped in for a quick swim by the pool followed by a languid breakfast replete with coffee, eggs, sausages and a gorgeous tropical fruit platter. I came up to the room to freshen up and finished some work until it was time for me to check out. I was pretty sated post breakfast and didn’t really need to grab lunch before I checked out but I had heard a lot about the sushi at Latest Recipe so I knew I had to check it out. 

For those of you who live in Gurgaon- this place is a no brainer because they have trained staff who tend to your needs and aren’t exorbitantly priced unlike the other hotels in the area. For Delhizens, it is a little bit of a trek but its definitely worth the drive and you can always spend the evening cooling off at the pool area. I remember thinking to myself that this is something I would do again if I am looking for some quiet time to collect my thoughts, sip vino in the bathtub or just catch up on my sleep.

Special thanks to Anadita Singh for organising the perfect staycation and making my stay super comfortable. Special mention to Kunal Dewan and the GM Mr David Hopcroft for joining us for lunch and entertaining us with stories on travel, meditation and trekking in the himalayas. I am grateful to all the staff and the entire team at Le Meridien for being so prompt, pleasant to deal with it and extremely helpful. I can’t wait to be back here for a sports or deep tissue massage followed by a languid lunch.

Wanted to end this piece with a beautiful, thought provoking quote from singer and song writer Moby.
“Hotels fascinate me, they’re incredibly intimate spaces that are scoured every 24 hours & made to look completely anonymous. People sleep in hotel rooms, cry in hotel rooms, make love in hotel rooms, start relationships in hotel rooms & end relationships in hotel rooms,etc but yet every time we check into a hotel room we feel as if we’re the first guest & we get very upset if there’s any remnant of a previous guests stay. Something about this idea, that these intimate spaces are wiped clean every 24 hours, fascinates me. We enter a hotel room and it becomes our biological home for a while & then we leave. In some ways it’s similar to the human condition. We exist & we strive, we love & cry, we laugh & we run around & eventually we die & not to sound depressing, the world is wiped clean of our biological presence which, from my perspective, makes our brief biological time here all the more precious due to it’s relative brevity”- Moby

Location Courtesy- Le Meridien Gurgaon
Jewelry- Zariin
Have a look at what Zariin has to say about Wandering for wellness here
Yoga top- Aria Leya
Bag- commuter bag by Scentra
Shop here-
Scentra
Photo Courtesy- Le Meridien NCR

Disclaimer- I was a guest at Le Meridien Gurgaon and stayed there for one night. The views and opinions are entirely my own. I hope you enjoyed reading about my experience and will visit the hotel soon. I would and bring home some items from the patisserie and some sushi. Until next time.

About Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts

Le Méridien , the Paris-born hotel brand currently represented by nearly 100 properties in more than 35 countries, was acquired by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) in November 2005. With more than 75 of its properties located in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Le Méridien provided a strong international complement to Starwood’s then primarily North American holdings at the time of purchase. Since then, Le Méridien has gone through a brand re-launch, which included a large scale hotels product consolidation and redefined brand strategy. Through partnerships with some of the world’s most creative minds, Le Méridien has transformed numerous guest touch points, thus bringing unique, interactive and curated experiences to its guests. Plans call for dynamic expansion of Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts within the next five years, concentrating on markets in Asia-Pacific and the Americas. Le Méridien recently opened new hotels in Columbus (Ohio, USA), Charlotte (North Carolina, USA), Indianapolis (Indiana, USA), New Orleans, Chicago, Tampa (Florida, USA), Cairo, Bahrain, Bali, Atlanta, Oran (Algeria), Zhengzhou (China), Thimphu (Bhutan), Gurgaon (India), and Suvarnabhumi (Thailand), and will open in the next 12 months in Mahabaleshwar (India), Paro (Bhutan), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Qingdao (China), Leshan (China), and Putrajaya (Malaysia). For more information, please visit www.leméridien .com or www.facebook.com/leMéridien . Follow @LeMéridienHotels on Instagram and Twitter.

Quick Notes-
Le Meridien Gurgaon
Sector 26,
M.G.Road,
Delhi – Gurgaon Border, Gurgaon, Haryana 122002
Phone:0124 499 2000
http://www.lemeridiengurgaondelhincr.com/
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