In this exclusive interaction, Mr. Shridhar Nair, Senior Vice President & General Manager, shares insights into the hotel’s journey towards sustainable excellence, the leadership approach behind integrating environmental responsibility with premium guest experiences, and how evolving traveller expectations are redefining modern hospitality. He also reflects on the growing importance of wellness, authenticity, and community partnerships in shaping a new era of conscious luxury that resonates with both leisure and corporate guests.
The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel & Residences has recently undergone a transformation. Could you tell us more about this shift and what shaped its direction?
The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel & Residences has embraced a transformation focused on luxury with purpose. From The Leela Art Gallery, which showcases contemporary works that spark dialogue, to our Hydroponic Green House and 3.5-acre Leela Farm supplying fresh produce to Forest View Deck and Aujasya Café, every element reflects a commitment to meaningful, sustainable luxury. Set within a dynamic urban landscape, this approach redefines luxury as a sanctuary, crafted for the modern, conscious traveller.
How are you demonstrating that sustainability and luxury can coexist in an urban setting like Gurugram?
At The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel & Residences, we view sustainability as an elevation of luxury. We have created an environment where guests breathe easier, quite literally. Our advanced air purification systems maintain AQI levels that feel almost weightless, a dramatic contrast to the outdoor conditions. We’ve established our own organic farm and hydroponic greenhouse for farm-to-table dining, and eliminated single-use plastics through our in-house water bottling plant. These aren’t just environmental gestures; they’re commitments to wellbeing, to flavour, to a kind of luxury that cherishes the planet as deeply as it does its guests. When you can taste the difference in your meal and feel the difference in the air you breathe, sustainability becomes indulgent.
What are some of the core sustainability practices shaping the property today?
Sustainability lives in the details here, each practice flowing naturally into the next. It begins with continuously introducing initiatives focused on reducing single-use plastic across the property. For example, the Aujasya in-house bottling plant, where purified water is served in elegant reusable glass bottles, completely eliminates the use of plastic bottles annually while maintaining the refined standards our guests expect. Advanced air purification systems work unseen around the clock, creating an atmosphere of clarity in every guest room and public space.
Our sustainable F&B outlets, Forest View Deck and Aujasya Café, draw their vitality from The Leela Farm, our 3.5-acre farm, and The Green House, where hydroponics yield pesticide-free herbs and vegetables harvested within hours. Daily food waste is transformed into rich, garden-ready compost through our organic waste converter, while drip irrigation orchestrates water with precision across the grounds. PNG powers our commercial kitchens and boilers with cleaner energy, and EV car facilities support mindful mobility for guests and operations alike. Every element works in harmony, crafting a luxury experience as thoughtful as it is magnificent.
From a leadership standpoint, how do you maintain luxury standards while embedding sustainable practices?
Leadership in sustainability begins with culture. At The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel and Residences, we invest deeply in learning and development to ensure every team member understands the purpose behind our practices, not just the process. Through experiential education, our teams engage meaningfully with each initiative, from farm-to-table sourcing to waste conversion, enabling them to become authentic ambassadors of our philosophy.
This commitment has been recognised through two prestigious IGBC Platinum certifications for Net Zero Waste to Landfill and Green Existing Building, and further validated at the Sustainable Summit and Awards 2025, where the hotel was named among India’s Top Ten Luxury Hotels for Sustainability by Hospitality Horizon. These milestones reinforce our responsibility as industry leaders to set benchmarks and inspire progress. When sustainability becomes a shared mindset rather than a directive, it elevates how we serve, how we innovate, and how we deliver luxury with pride, integrity, and conviction.
How are teams encouraged to live this philosophy in daily operations?
We foster a deep-rooted commitment to sustainability through immersive, hands-on engagement across teams. Our culinary teams regularly visit The Leela Farm to hand-select ingredients and understand agricultural cycles, witnessing responsible sourcing at the ground level. F&B teams observe how organic waste is converted into nutrient-rich compost that returns to nourish the very soil that feeds our kitchens. Housekeeping staff participate in initiatives that transform floral arrangements through mindful repurposing. This experiential learning embeds sustainability into daily operations organically, ensuring our teams speak from lived experience rather than scripted narratives. By empowering staff with firsthand understanding, we create a culture where authenticity and accountability flow as naturally as conversation, where every team member becomes a steward of our philosophy.
What kind of guest responses have stood out since these changes were introduced?
The responses have been deeply personal and profoundly validating. Guests speak of immediate tranquillity upon arrival, of sleeping more soundly, of mental clarity that returns in an environment this pure. Many share that they feel truly comfortable here in ways they hadn’t anticipated; breathing freely, relaxing completely, sensing the difference in air quality almost instinctively. There is a clear preference for forest-view rooms, where the quiet presence of nature becomes part of the stay, complemented by in-room sustainable amenities that reinforce a sense of mindful living.
The culinary experiences resonate just as powerfully; the vibrancy of produce that reaches the plate within hours, flavours that feel alive. These aren’t generic compliments but specific observations about how the space makes them feel: restored, nourished, cared for. When guests notice these distinctions without prompting, when their well-being becomes the most eloquent testimony to our work, we know we’ve succeeded in creating something that transcends traditional hospitality.
Have you noticed any shifts in guest expectations or profiles?
We’ve observed a thoughtful evolution across both leisure and corporate segments. Today’s luxury travellers increasingly evaluate properties not just on thread count or stars, but on environmental quality, verifiable sustainability practices, and how spaces genuinely impact their wellbeing. Leisure guests gravitate toward our forest proximity, wellness-oriented menus at Aujasya Café, and the abundance of natural light throughout the property. Corporate guests, meanwhile, seek sustainability practices and certifications alongside environments designed for productivity and mental clarity; spaces where they can perform at their peak. These preferences span demographics and geographies, united by a common thread; both segments now expect properties where luxury and environmental responsibility coexist authentically, where indulgence and integrity are no longer at odds.
How does The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel & Residences navigate Gurugram’s pace while remaining mindful and green?
Operating in one of India’s most dynamic commercial districts, our location fronting a 1,000-acre forest reserve creates unique stewardship responsibilities we embrace fully. Infrastructure and new buildings define Gurugram’s relentless pace, so we’ve taken on the sustainability side of it – not for revenue, but to preserve this space for future generations. PNG powers our commercial kitchens and boilers, while electric kitchen systems reduce emissions without compromising culinary excellence.
Our organic waste converter processes significant volumes daily, transforming discards into compost that enriches our grounds, watered through precision drip irrigation where each drop serves a purpose. Beyond our property, we’ve introduced The Leela Floral Nursery and The Leela Plant Nursery, cultivating green life while actively stewarding the adjacent forest stretch as an extension of our commitment. We maintain indoor air quality that feels almost miraculous against the city’s backdrop; proof that metropolitan luxury hospitality can function at scale while honouring the ecosystems around it, that speed and mindfulness need not be opposing forces.
What partnerships support this approach beyond the hotel’s walls?
We’ve cultivated strategic partnerships that meaningfully extend our sustainability efforts. In collaboration with local florists at The Leela Floral Farm, floral arrangements are transformed into visually stunning decor across guest areas. Through Leela Ke Phool, floral arrangements are thoughtfully repurposed into incense sticks, extending their life while supporting sustainable practices.
The culinary teams support The Leela Farm and Green House, ensuring consistent yields and organic certification. The Leela Ambience Gurugram also collaborates with artisans who work with recycled materials to align creative expression with conscious design for The Leela Art Gallery. Beyond environmental stewardship, our partnership with Sarvam Shakti NGO advances education and employment opportunities for young women. Together, these collaborations demonstrate that responsible luxury extends beyond our property into the communities and ecosystems we nurture.
What guidance would you offer to luxury hoteliers pursuing sustainability without compromising comfort?
Thoughtfully implemented sustainability practices strengthen luxury principles rather than diluting them. The most effective initiatives create improvements guests recognise naturally: superior air quality that deepens sleep, hyperlocal sourcing that elevates culinary experiences to new heights, and thoughtful design that celebrates natural light.
Focus on what can be measured and felt: air quality differentials, the flavour profile of produce harvested that morning, the operational excellence that emerges from systems working in harmony. When environmental responsibility demonstrably enhances service quality and operational performance, it transcends being a differentiator and becomes the very foundation of luxury hospitality. The question isn’t whether you can afford to pursue sustainability; it’s whether you can afford not to, when it so clearly elevates every dimension of the guest experience.
Looking ahead, how do you see The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel & Residences shaping responsible luxury hospitality?
While we’ve implemented numerous sustainable practices, this remains an ongoing journey. We continue to identify and integrate additional measures, recognising that environmental stewardship requires perpetual evolution rather than finite achievement. Our contribution to the industry lies not in grand pronouncements but in consistent, meticulous execution; demonstrating daily that environmental responsibility strengthens luxury service through improvements guests can see, taste, breathe, and feel. When sustainability delivers superior outcomes across every dimension – cleaner environments, fresher cuisine, operational excellence that guests notice intuitively – it evolves from differentiating exceptions to operational standards.
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