London has no shortage of luxurious, characterful hotels, so the pressure to come up with as many original ideas as possible is intense. 51 Buckingham Gate – the Taj’s luxurious courtyard of suites in London’s Westminster neighbourhood has already been making the most of its parent group’s other brands, with a sleek suite decked out in all things Jaguar. From a fireplace shaped like one of the car’s rear windows to leather door handles and plenty of Jaguar accessories, the suite was also designed by the luxury car brand’s head of design, Ian Callum.

As of late last year it has also opened a suite themed around global cinema, designed by Sabyasachi Mukherjee, a regular guest at the hotel, and a big film fan (he has also done the costumes for several Bollywood films).

Be warned: the “Cinema suite” as the 170 square meter (1,832 square foot) two-bedroom chambers are known, is not for a traveller who likes minimalist spaces. It is as ornate and as cinematic as one might expect from a designer known for his lavish, intricate pieces. The walls and surfaces are covered with enough bits and pieces new and old to keep you entertained for a good while – from table lamps and cushions decorated with some of his rich materials, an old telescope, and portraits and film posters (from Bollywood and Hollywood from across the ages). Some of the artwork also comes from Sabyasachi’s Kolkata-based Art Foundation. Much of the décor harks back to another age – the study is an old fashioned “gentleman’s” one, replete with an old writing desk, deer heads on the wall, an antique globe, a decent library of leather bound tomes, and even an old-fashioned rotary-dial telephone, while the green leather walls are covered in tributes to old Bollywood and Hollywood classics. Sabyasachi handpicked many of the items, trouping round antique shops across London to find them, I am told.

The other rooms continue in the same vein – one concession to modernity is the rather impressive 85-inch 3D television set in the living room, controlled, like the lighting in the room, by a snazzy touch screen tablet. I briefly sit on a sleep-inducingly comfortable soft leather sofa to watch a few scenes of The Titanic – more than the visuals, it’s the sound system, of iconic piano maker, Steinway, which stands out the most, transforming the cosy living room into a concert hall.

Of all the rooms my favourite was the master bedroom – a plushly done-up warm space, with a huge four-poster bed, and a mattress so thick many would need to use the footstool to clamber up. The bathroom is done up in a classic style, though in another concession to modernity one of the walls is a pane of glass, whose colour can be changed to suite your mood. Down the hallway there is a bright ornately done-up “powder” room (think 1920s film star), set up for in-room treats like manicures and pedicures.

The only downside to the suite is that there isn’t a balcony, though the building in which it is located overlooks a pretty courtyard, with plenty of places to relax outside in the few months of the year that that is possible in London (live music is sometimes performed here in the summer). Smokers won’t have to step outside, as its possible to smoke in the suite.

The suite doesn’t come cheap: like the Jaguar suite, it costs 5,100 GBP a night (other suites range from 600 GBP to 5,995 GBP). But for those tired of luxurious, if clinically bland hotel rooms the Cinema Suite will be a refreshing change.

What: The Cinema and Jaguar two-bed suites

Where: Located at 51 Buckingham Gate, London.

How much: 5,100 pounds a night (around Rs 4.5 lakh) with a full butler service.

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