Shooting up in the lift to The Residence - two private floors of executive style - you begin to see just how cleverly UK interior designers Conran and Partners have brought old style India into the 21st Century. The Hindu elemental theme of Vaastu Shastra throughout the hotel is continued here as 'earth'. You see it in the carpet - bold, irregular width stripes in greens and burnt brown and oranges. You see it on the walls with the Hindi word symbol for earth that has been graphically stamped into the plaster.

In the rooms, fired oak wall panels treated with lime demarcate areas. The bedhead is a cushioned panel of neutral leather occasionally stamped with a gerbera pattern, as if by an old Indian rice stamp. Skinny troughs of live wheat grass, signalling a green Delhi, grow across the backs of desks. In the bathrooms, the style heads further east with the smooth curve of a Japanese tub and the square panel of a super large rain shower.

It is the technology that utterly throws us. Delhi has always been merde with its riot of wiring - great tangles that loom in the air - and its electricity blackouts. Here, there is broadband, a docking station for your i-Pod and large LCD tvs. We don't need to try the 24 hour instant service, but we're sure - like everything here - it works.

At this level too, the designer power of the award-winning Agni bar and Aqua poolside bar and dining can be experienced. Order a Satan's Whiskers cocktail and enjoy the dark, devil's lair atmosphere of Agni. At Aqua choose between a cane and canvas covered love seat or a sheer-draped pavilion and turn up your own heat.

You can undo any partying damage on the outdoor yoga deck with morning and evening classes, or slip into luxury at Aura Spa. Here a mix of all-natural ingredients and a menu that runs from 'Stress Busters' to traditional 'Siddha Marma Massage' defies any of the former chaos of urban Delhi. We blink again.