Lifestyle - Pamper me wild

Hear this. The personal requests of Hollywood diva Jennifer Lopez include some specifics for her hotel rooms; sheets with a certain thread count, full-length mirrors in every room, and lit candles. Perfume should be sprayed when she walks down her path. Her dressing room should be replete with white lilies and roses, white drapes, white couches, and accents of white silk, muslin and lace... This is the length a luxury hotel is willing to go to accommodate its new-age princes and princesses who don’t blink while spending a million for an exclusive luxury stay. Be it feather duvets or pillow menus, wild orchids or dedicated butlers, from mood lighting to spa-within-the-suite, the super luxury traveller is asking for the moon and niche hotels are more than willing to satisfy his every whim. The trend may be attributed to globalisation and awareness, and every luxury hotel worth its salt is trying to outdo competition in fussing o ve r exclusive clientele. So don’t be surprised if the staff is prepared to dash out to get you the specific book or that special Belgian chocolate you crave for in the middle of the night! “The idea is to make a guest feel that no request is unreasonable. Every stroke is carefully targeted, every comment is unassuming and every small detail is just as the guest wanted, before they even knew they did,” says Tarun Thukral, COO of Le Meridien in Delhi. Being sensitive to the needs of the new-age deep-pockets alone is a good concept, but mollycoddling? Thukral remembers an American guest who wanted to keep his pet cat with him. “It drove the staff into a tizzy, but we managed to accommodate him in the suite’s pantry!” If you are a lady, the indulging goes a step ahead, with exclusive wings, separate floors and specialised services to protect and pamper you. The ITC hotel chain has Eva Floors - floors where men are simply not allowed. “Even butlers and housekeepers are women on these floors,” says an ITC spokesperson. The Taj Group, the Oberois, JW Marriott and Hyatt, everyone has something special on offer for the woman traveller. Why the fuss? “Today, a hotel’s philosophy is to be 10 steps ahead of its guests, providing premeditated, but genuine acts of hospitality that don’t cease to surprise,” says Sonica Malhotra Kandhari, ED of Radisson MBD Noida. The hotel itself has a wing of customised rooms with an in-suite spa, a jacuzzi next to the king-sized bed, personal selection of movies and music, an in-room library and a walk-in closet. It’s glitz within glitz, where a well-stocked mini bar, a large plasma screen and wi-fi are just bare necessities. “Guest expectations are changing, so are we. Our mantra is to foresee what he’d like rather than wait for him to ask for it,” says Malhotra. From a private lounge for a working lunch to the final touches in the in-bed sushi menu, the process of personalisation works in every way. The Rambagh Palace in Jaipur offers a complete bathing ritual, where a butler draws the bath with rose petals and aroma oils. At the Lake Palace, Udaipur, a table can be laid at the guest’s request in the middle of the lake Pichola! The Taj Usha Kiran, Gwalior, offers the ‘Mangal Snan’ where bathing becomes a ceremony amidst swaying chanderi drapes, whilst musicians serenade bathers from behind delicate filigree screens. So next time your personal attendant politely asks you if you’d mind if she rubbed a little tequila into your toes, just gaze coolly. Mind? Are you crazy?