With over three and a half decades of experience in luxury hospitality Jaideep has worked with well renowned brands like The Oberoi Hotels and Ananda in The Himalayas. Over the years he has developed an eye for detail and a deep understanding of design aesthetics together with the nuances of luxury operations.
Jaideep joined The Leela Hotels in 1995 and led the turnarounds of The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel and The Leela Ambience Gurgaon before moving into the role of Pre-Opening and Development at The Leela Corporate Office. He has spearheaded the pre-opening tasks for The Leela Hyderabad, The Leela Bhartiya City, Bengaluru, The Leela Gandhinagar and The Leela Palace Jaipur guiding the preopening teams and ensuring these hotels reflect The Leela brand across every touch point. He has led many special projects for the brand including new bath amenities and uniforms for The Leela Palaces and The Leela Hotels amongst others.
He holds the privilege of being a gold medallist student from the renowned Oberoi School of Hotel Management, where I led the development and successful pre-opening of more than 10 luxury hotels in my career. Jaideep loves to travel and explore new cultures. He is an art enthusiast and sketches in his free time. He is also a gifted singer and is focused on his personal spiritual journey.
Today he celebrates one year of The Leela Gandhinagar by sharing his perspective of the hotel, luxury hotel segments, MICE business, Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre and more…
Q. What makes The Leela Gandhinagar different from other luxury hotels?
Blending modern splendour with the vibrant old-world traditions of Gujarat, The Leela Gandhinagar is a resplendent 318 hotel, built atop the concourse of the Gandhinagar railway station, only minutes away from the Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre managed by The Leela. Located merely 30 minutes from the Ahmedabad airport, it is in close proximity to many business hubs and is the perfect destination for corporate meetings and conferences. Our cutting edge, versatile, indoor and outdoor meeting spaces spread across an area of 30,000 sq. ft., are well equipped to host small as well as large scale business and social events alike.
Located only 40 minutes away from the hustle and bustle of the city, we invite you to satisfy your inner wanderlust with a relaxing break at The Leela Gandhinagar, the ideal destination for a spontaneous getaway. The hotel offers a myriad of facilities, from a world-class spa, a swimming pool and a state-of-the-art fitness center, to exceptional dining venues spanning a host of cuisines in an idyllic setting.
Flooring inspired by the vav or the archaeological stepwells, traditional textiles and beadwork, local crafts and architectural elements can be seen throughout this magnificent hotel. Influenced by the state’s rich flora, fauna, culture, design and architecture, you can explore a wealth of the art décor stories during your stay at the heart of the vibrant capital of Gujarat. With the legendary Leela hospitality and signature service, this iconic hotel promises to become the quintessential stopover for the sophisticated global traveller to this multifaceted state.
The Leela Gandhinagar today is one of the most affluent modern prides of Gujarat state. With one of the biggest convention halls in country-Mahatma Mandir Convention & Exhibition Centre, future destination for mega conventions like Defense Expo 2022 event, our country’s pride. The Leela Gandhinagar along with Mahatma Mandir Convention & Exhibition Centre will also be key to hosting several large-scale medical conferences and social residential events.
Q. Can you tell us more about the architecture and interior design of The Leela Gandhinagar?
The Leela Gandhinagar monumental façade and elegant interiors draws influence from the architectural rich, diverse art and culture, dating back to Vedic times. The hotel lobby floor patterns, Moksha Lounge entrance and the grand ‘jaali’ in the lobby are all inspired by the popular Adalaj Stepwells or ‘Vavs’ of Gujarat as they are popularly known. Whereas the Siddi Syed’s famous ‘Tree of Life’ can be seen in many interpretations of commissioned art in our guest rooms and banquets.
Traditional glass beads and semi-precious stones enriched in textile craftsmanship such as Bandhej, Ajrakh, Batik, gold and silver zardozi are represented across our public area spaces. The art consultant has worked extensively with local craftsman across Gujarat to showcase its states rich diversity.
The varied beautiful flora and fauna, (local and trans migratory birds) that are represented in our guest corridor galleries across many levels of the hotel.
The erstwhile ‘Rajwadas’ (kingdoms of Gujarat), represented by their insignia shields adorn the walls of Diya, our jewel coupled with our silver handcrafted ceiling brought to life by our crystal luminaries represent the ‘royal life’ of erstwhile ‘Raj Gharanas’.
A compelling art story such as this, can only be ‘toured’ and not just told. Every evening our head concierge leads you on this sojourn and culminating it with Moksha Lounge signature afternoon ‘Tea Charlie’, which again showcases amalgamation this time in cuisine diversity.
Q. The Leela Gandhinagar has been operational for a year now. How has the twin city of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar been as a market?
The Leela Gandhinagar opened its doors on 1st September 2022 to a warm welcome in the twin city of Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. Over the period of time in the past one year, The Leela Gandhinagar has been successfully delivering a true Indian luxury experience to all our guests, thereby making it a quintessential stopover for them.
Over the past one year, staying true to our commitment to providing travellers with the traditional Indian luxury experience of ‘Athithi Devo Bhavo’, which means Guest is God, experience a memorable and relaxing stay coupled with a host of leisure facilities, including a holistic world-class spa, a state-of-the-art gymnasium, salon, and pool, also make The Leela Gandhinagar ideal for tranquil weekend getaways. Furthermore, our signature shower amenities brand fragrance ’Tishya by The Leela’ will provide you an unforgettable immersive sensory experience that will make you comeback for more such weekend getaways.
Our award-winning food and beverage outlets in the hotel successfully added a new dimension to the food and beverage story in the twin city, with the introduction of ‘Aujasya by The Leela’, the brands signature wellness programme aimed at redefining the road to holistic wellbeing. Through Aujasya by The Leela, led by Executive Chef Ashis Rout and Chef Abhishek Roy in collaboration with Dr. Ankita Jalori, the brand has re-imagined its culinary spread by redefining and improving the nutritional profile of food menus. Inspired by traditional and modern practices, Aujasya by The Leela encompasses a collection of authentic experiences built around Restore (Food) and Renew (Mindfulness), the 2 Rs of wellbeing.
Q. Has the hospitality industry in general and The Leela Gandhinagar in specific recovered fully from the pandemic or do we continue to feel the impact?
The global pandemic has presented us all with the unique challenge of hosting large-scale and small-scale events. This has driven everyone in the industry to undergo research and come up with unique offerings that will make the experience even more seamless with the best technical support.
With the market slowly opening again over the last couple of months, corporate MICE queries have started flowing in. Currently, though the trend is on a smaller scale in the approximate range of 20 to 150 counts, there is the potential to go up to greater numbers over the next quarter. We are expecting more potential larger format corporate events, exhibitions, conventions, etc. in the latter part of the year.
At the Leela Gandhinagar and Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre, we have introduced numerous state-of-the-art technological upgrades that will make the experience of hosting events and conferences even more seamless. Starting with the smooth arrival, check-in, and check-out at the hotel and access to various state-of-the-art facilities at the convention center, elevate your event and conference experience to a new level of luxury. Our efforts for your safety and care are also covered under Suraksha by The Leela which ensures maximum precaution and safety for all our guests. It’s very important to ensure guest safety today and under Suraksha by The Leela, we are and have been successfully able to create a difference in terms of experience in comparison to our competition.
Today MICE business has evolved a lot, especially post-pandemic for the hospitality industry. A lot more flexibility in terms of space and services is expected by guests today. At The Leela Gandhinagar and Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre, we are looking to drive bespoke MICE events and conferences to match the par excellence standards we are known for to our guests. With that, we are hoping to see more rise in the MICE segment of business with both corporate and social segments engaging with us for bespoke events, coupled with signature Leela hospitality culture.
Q. What is The Leela Gandhinagar’s positioning in the market?
The Leela Gandhinagar is Gujarat’s first true Indian luxury brand built on top of Gandhinagar Railway Station, thereby making it an architectural marvel, one of a kind never seen before. Located in the heart of capital city of vibrant Gujarat, the hotel is an ideal destination for both corporate, leisure and MICE driven travellers across the globe. The Leela Gandhinagar has the largest room inventory in the twin city of Ahmedabad and Gujarat. The hotel is well-complimented by one of Asia’s largest convention and exhibition centre – Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre managed by The Leela. This makes it one of the most premium MICE-driven operators in the country. Being one of the largest MICE destination complexes in the country, combined with our state-of-the-art conference facilities just elevates the overall MICE and social-driven events’ overall magnificence scale.
The Leela Gandhinagar itself has a total capacity of 8545 sq. ft in the Grand Ballroom with an attached pre-function area of a total size of 13,584 sq. ft. Add to that the multiple boardroom meeting spaces of 6612 sq. ft. combined with state-of-the-art technology and personalized Leela services.
Furthermore, The Leela Gandhinagar boasts extravagant and extensive outdoor venues with the potential to host up to five thousand people approximately. Overall, the Leela Gandhinagar offers cutting-edge, versatile, indoor and outdoor meeting spaces that are well equipped to host small as well as large-scale business and social events alike.
While on the other hand, the food and beverage at The Leela Gandhinagar play a very critical role in driving the business goals of the hotel as well. We offer an extensive selection of dining venues to satisfy even the most sophisticated palate. Though food and beverage are conventionally believed to be a lesser contributor to the hotel’s total share of revenue, The Leela Gandhinagar’s dining destinations in this short amount of time have been quite attractive to non-resident businesses in the city and beyond. Therefore, the overall contribution we are striving for with food and beverage is going to be on equal terms to other key revenue-contributing departments. We offer a tempting mélange of delectable cuisines, picturesque views, and modern contemporary interiors, across our extensive selection of dining venues to satisfy even the most discerning taste buds in the twin city of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.
Q. Can you tell us more about the Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre managed by The Leela and how it adds value to The Leela Gandhinagar?
The Leela Gandhinagar complements the country’s largest convention centre, Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre, managed by The Leela, and located just a few minutes away, seamlessly blending state-of-the-art facilities with the famed Leela hospitality to offer a complete convention solution and making it an ideal choice for business travellers. The Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre managed by The Leela draws inspiration from the life and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi. Spread across 34 acres, it is one of the biggest state-of-art facility in India, uniquely designed to combine a sense of aesthetics, functionality, and flexibility. The 20,000 sq. m. of Convention and Exhibition area has an abundance of natural light and airy spaces and is equipped with energy efficient lighting and wastewater management.
The convention and exhibition centre’s state-of-the-art facilities seamlessly blend with The Leela Gandhinagar’s famed hospitality to offer a complete convention solution for MICE and Social Events space. Together, the Leela Gandhinagar and Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre offers the largest convention complex in the country, who have and will be playing host to global convention and exhibition events in the form of Criticare 2022 and upcoming country’s pride- Defense Expo 2022.
Q. The Leela is known for its culinary experiences. What are the dining and beverage options at The Leela Gandhinagar?
The food and beverage at the Leela Gandhinagar play a very critical role in driving the business goals of the hotel as well. We offer an extensive selection of dining venues to satisfy even the most sophisticated palate. Though food and beverage are conventionally believed to be a lesser contributor to the hotel’s total share of revenue, the Leela Gandhinagar’s dining destinations in this short amount of time have been quite attractive to non-resident businesses in the city and beyond. Therefore, the overall contribution we are striving for with food and beverage is going to be on equal terms to other key revenue-contributing departments.
We offer a tempting mélange of delectable cuisines, picturesque views, and modern contemporary interiors, across our extensive selection of dining venues to satisfy even the most discerning taste buds in the twin city of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.
Starting with the ‘Citrus Junction’ as the name suggests is inspired by the historical Indian railways. The décor and architecture of the restaurant capture the pivotal role railways played in the lives of Indian people over the last century. The restaurant concept has been designed around the lives of yesteryears of luxury trains with their elaborate dining cars, serviced by the very best of chefs and personal butlers. Citrus Junction is an all-day dining outlet with interactive world cuisines- Japanese, Oriental, Indian, Continental, Italian, and Middle Eastern. You can walk into our live cooking section and curate your own food to suit your palate.
Whereas our specialty Indian restaurant- Diya represents a stimulating sense of curiosity created by an interesting play of light on the carved contours of the silver metallic ceiling. At Diya, we bring to you a delicately crafted medley of Indian flavors ranging from kebabs and curries to celebrated local vegetarian delicacies. The cuisine at Diya embodies a mélange of authentic handpicked ingredients that represents a distinctive culinary trail from ancient to modern India created by a talented Indian Master Chef at the helm. Diya will be the new address for every connoisseur to revisit their happy culinary memories.
Finally, the Moksha Lounge offers ‘tripti’ or ‘satiety’ for our hunger and thirst. Be it, youngsters, hoping to catch up with their pals, a quick chit-chat for homemakers in the neighborhood, or an all-day dining area to interact with business, Moksha Lounge is an all-day meeting place.
Q. What are the leisure activities The Leela Gandhinagar offers?
The Leela Gandhinagar over the past one year has become an idyllic getaway destination for the discerning wanderlusts. With access to a sanctuary of relaxation and wellness amenities, The Leela Gandhinagar delivers memorable and magical stay experiences that can help you rejuvenate their body, mind, and soul. Access to holistic world-class wellness center like The Spa, offering the best of therapies ranging from Swedish, Deep tissue to the best of products for facial therapy as well to make you feel refreshed. For fitness freaks, the hotel offers a state-of-the-art gymnasium with expert fitness guides, who will personally work with you to ensure a fit body and fit mind is the new trending lifestyle even on holiday. One of the highlights of the hotel is its infinity swimming pool coupled with the scenic Central Vista view and surrounded by lush greenery in the heart of urbanization in the capital city of vibrant Gujarat.
Furthermore, elevate your romantic weekend tale with our signature Leela touch as well. At The Leela Gandhinagar, when it comes to creating a new chapter in your tale of love, our multiple scenic view spaces are just what you need. Coupled with tailored made décor to suit your tale, and a unique dining experience filled with mélange of aroma and flavor, your romantic tale will surely scale to newer heights at the Leela Gandhinagar. Whether it’s witnessing the beautiful sunset by the pool side and renewing your vows or dining over exquisite evening view of the Central Vista and rekindling your romantic tale, romance at the Leela Gandhinagar is an unforgettable experience that is tailored for all occasions of romance.
The location of the hotel offers an ideal getaway combined with picturesque views makes it an ideal destination for couples.
When it comes to a family activity weekend getaway, The Leela Gandhinagar is an ideal destination for families to enjoy and relax in the twin city. Whilst you embrace the tranquility and charm of the hotel through super comfortable rooms and state of art amenities, one can also look at indulging the inner chef by learning to make pizza under the guidance of our very talented culinary artists. Learn the art of pizza base to baking it under the right temperature and surprise yourself with the perfect evening tasteful meal. You can look at learning the best of New York inspired mocktails under the guidance of well-experienced mixologists and refresh your tired soul with some much-needed tantalizing mocktails.
Q. Can you tell us more about your signature wellness programs?
The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts recently announced the launch of their signature wellness programme – ‘Aujasya by The Leela’ aimed at redefining the road to holistic wellbeing. A unique blend inspired by traditional and modern practices, Aujasya by The Leela encompasses a collection of authentic experiences that build vivacity and promote the vigour of life, built around the 2 Rs of Wellbeing – Restore (Food) and Renew (Mindfulness). Taking origin from the Sanskrit word, Aujasya – translated as beneficial to strengthening vitality or energy, this initiative will truly allow guests to embrace an enriching and healthy lifestyle.
The brand has launched the first pillar, Restore (Food), in collaboration with renowned nutritionist and food consultant, Dr. Ankita Jalori. The Leela Gandhinagar has re-imagined culinary experiences across the twin city by improving the nutritional profile of food menus and offering healthy alternatives. Executive Chef Ashis Rout and Chef Abhishek Roy along with their culinary teams have thoughtfully curated menus to achieve the right balance between health needs and gastronomic expectations by focusing on millets, lean proteins, low-fat dairy and whole grains.
