Ahmedabad: A quick visit to the newly opened ITC Narmada hotel in Ahmedabad, Gujarat:

– The top two suite of the hotel are bullet proof. There are separate lifts from underground parking for these suits.

– The hotel has three underground level parking floors that can accommodate over 300 cars and over 100 two-wheelers.

– The hotel has Kirti Toran replica in front of the entrance. It has also Jali replica close to the entrance.

– As you enter the hotel, there are two old-time wooden doors, next is the tall waterfall that signifies Narmada. On both sides of this flowing water there are flora and fauna of Narmada river bank projected.

– Below the waterfall there is digital diya on the screen.

– The hotel lobby has lot of natural light. If you look above, which you would surely do, you would notice that the floors are not in straight elevation but they are adjusted one above other in stepwell form.

– There’s also a steady water tank in the lobby.

– Apart from a jewelry shop and chocolate products outlet of ITC brand, there’s Adalaj restaurant on the ground floor which has sitting arrangements with large pictures of Adalaj stepwell and Modhera sun temple in the background.

– There are two-colors of glasses here for water. One is red and the other is green. Those who would wish to have vegetarian food will be given green glasses and therefore the table itself will be noticed by waiter and other staff as the one having vegetarian customers. For those who eat non-vegetarian food, the staffers will put red glasses on the table to identify the preference of food easily.

– The front desk has also been shaped uniquely like a stepwell.

– There’s only one banquet hall in the hotel which is located on the first floor. There’s a dedicated entrance and lifts for that. Outside the banquet hall, there’s a stall of ITC products.

– Each room in the hotel has iPad, using which the guests can avail various services along with surfing internet. If someone knocks the door, the guest can see his/her face using iPad.

– Each room has along with other amenities, has standing hanger for blazer, coat.

– In the bathrooms, the hotel uses wooden tooth brush and wooden shaving kits instead of plastic ones.

– In each room, there shall be ITC food products in one cupboard that can be used by paying MRP (maximum retail price) later.

– The entire hotel has only presence of crystal water bottles. No plastic bottle is used.

– The room lobbies have paintings of Gujarati gents and ladies in their traditional attires.

– The hotel has lot of mirror work from Kutch at various places including in the ceiling of main lobby.

– The hotel has Chinese restaurant on the ground floor with Chinese style separate room for a group of guests. The restaurant is named as Yi Jing.

– The hotel has Peshawri restaurant at upper floor that would also offer the signature and famous food item Dal Bukhara. Those fond of Dal Bukhara of ITC hotels would travel to Delhi or Vadodara earlier, but now it is available here in Ahmedabad. The kitchen in this restaurant is open with glass wall. One can witness veg and non-veg being cooked separately. The sitting arrangement, the interior is same like that in Delhi based Peshavri. The staff of this restaurant is also dressed in traditional Peshawri attire. This particular restaurant doesn’t offer you spoon, until you demand. This also ditto same as the one in Delhi. Instead of handkerchief, they offer apron on the table which you can wear and start eating the food.

– Another restaurant is Royal Vega which would offer vegetarian Thali. This restaurant offers perhaps the costliest thali in entire Gujarat. It would coast upto Rs. 3500. There are lower options as well. The thali will be brought in special manner and the staffer will carry it over their head. The silver and golden thali (as per your order) will have silver and golden cover also.

– The hotel has open swimming pool for adults and splash pool for children on the fourth floor. It has spa rooms including the couple spa room with jacuzzi. The hotel has also a gym with required equipment. It has business meeting rooms that are named after various rivers of Gujarat like Orsang, Hiran among others and various places including Karjan. The costliest business room has also an attached reception room.

– The hotel is full of various pictures and paintings depicting the historical places of Gujarat. Some frames also contain the textiles of Gujarat.

-Though the hotel is 20 floor high, its elevator shows first floor as the ninth floor, and therefore the top floor number is shown as 29th.

– The hotel has no bar/liquor serving available at present because as per the Prohibition policy in Gujarat, the hotel has to pass one year before opening the liquor bar.

– The hotel has been built at a cost of around Rs. 600 crore.

– This is the last ITC hotel built in India. The other had been built in Sri Lanka. The ITC group has decided not to build any new hotel from scratch. The group will instead acquire the existing hotels in future and own and operate them. DeshGujarat