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Putin's wish was Maurya
Sheraton's command

A fresh coat of white paint, a spray for the carpet, fresh curtains, a new beige Tussar bathrobe, lots of pink and mauve orchids, and yes, lots of chocolates! That was the Chandragupta suite on the 16th floor of Maurya Sheraton Hotel and Towers in New Delhi, which was spruced up for the Putins.

It began a fortnight back, when the Russian Embassy and ministry of external affairs confirmed that the first family of Russia would stay at the Maurya. The hotel went on a spring-cleaning spree - carpets, curtains, floors, ceilings - every nook and cranny of the hotel was sanitised. Thrice.

Says a hotel source, "The Russians were extremely fastidious about cleanliness. In fact, the Russian team had a doctor who took random samples of air, water, food, clothes, textiles... and got them tested."

Once the bedroom suite was through with maintenance, the 2700 square foot presidential suite (with two bedrooms, a living room, drawing room, dinning room, study, lobby, pantry and a terrace) was handed over to Russian security men on September 30. And that was the last anyone at Maurya Sheraton got to see of it, till the Putins vacated it.

The Russians refused to let anyone in, except for housekeeping, who were allowed only after taking off their shoes outside. Says the hotel official, "Anyone entering was given special airline slip-ons."

By 1800 hours IST on October 2, fresh bunches of orchids were placed all over the hotel. The pink-mauve theme was, of course, inspired by the onion tombs of Kremlin. Says the official, "We wanted to do something warm and special for President Vladmir Putin - hence the theme."

At 2015 hours IST Vladmir and Lyudmilla were escorted into the Sheraton car Porsche by minister in waiting Arun Shourie. The minute Putin stepped on to Sheraton property, everything else froze.

Says the official, "Everybody in the hotel -- lobby, restaurants, corridor et al -- were told to freeze. There was no movement. He was welcomed by S S H Rehman, managing director, ITC Hotels in typical Indian style." Once the welcome ceremony was through, Putin was taken to his suite immediately.

And the rest of the hotel came back to life.

A comparison with the Clintons is almost inevitable. While the Clinton men virtually turned the hotel into a White House, taking over all rooms, the Russians let life continue beyond them as well.

Says the official, "The Russians were about 200 and did not insist on taking over the entire hotel. The others at the hotel were asked to keep off the 16th floor."

But the difference ends there. The Putins too loved the kebabs and freaked out on the gulab jamuns, phirni, brownies, chocolates and all that Chef Sultan laid out.

The Putins were not totally undemanding. There was a request to keep only flowers without pollen and fragrance in the hotel. And Lady Putina refused to keep her clothes in the in-built wardrobe in the suite. She demanded that an open hanging space be created for her clothes, which of course, was done. Putin too wanted a gym inside the suite as he is a self-proclaimed fitness freak and an acclaimed judo master. The President's wish was, of course, the ITC MD's command to his men and the gym was in place.

The Putins also wished separate entry and exit points, which was done by removing an "expensive revolving glass door" near the coffee shop.

But for this, the Putins proved totally docile, low-profile guests, as Lady Lyudmilla stayed inside for most of the time, complaining that the weather was too hot. What may just be a bit disappointing for the hotel staff would be the fact that the Putins were so quiet that they did not venture out meet them. May be Bill Clinton did score over this point as he had meet and thanked every hotel employee.

The Putin visit: The full coverage

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