No question, in real estate size matters. Not far from the capital of India, The Camellias is a large, luxurious residential condominium in Gurugram, bordering on the state lines of Haryana and New Delhi, and it has been making news for its size and breadth of scope, amenities, and resort-like luxury for local and international residents alike.

When you get an aerial view of the vast property and project spanning acres of land, it’s like a mini-town of its own, equipped with the highest standard and peerless facilities, the likes of which you’ll find in top-tier resorts—not a residential property. It took six of the biggest names in the design industry to collate and work in unison to create a high-end luxury estate of this magnitude and, upon inspection from every angle, The Camellias lives up to its legend.

The Camellias includes two signature golf courses under the DLF Golf and Country Club and the rest of the amenities list is lengthy, including an all-weather sports field, a private 65-seat state-of-the-art movie theatre, spa rooms, eateries of different cuisines, an Olympic-sized pool, a business centre, a multi-brand retail space, medical facilities, an art gallery, and gourmet grocery store, among so many other facilities and services. And those golf courses? Designed by Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, no less, and part of the country club engulfed around 25,000 trees. Only residents get this unique offering within the confines of The Camellias, a state-of-the-art bubble in the “Millennium City” (as the town has been called in the press).

You need that sort of iconography and list of facilities to catch the eyes of the potential residents that are hovering in the area, and to house the global citizens of Fortune 500 companies headquartered in India. Every aspect of the residential area is top-notch, bar none, and it was brought to fruition with the best in the business working tirelessly behind the scenes.

When DLF, India’s largest listed property developer, broke land, an international panel of notable names from the world of architecture, hospitality, interiors, landscaping, and lighting were brought in to build on an area of this scale and ensure a level of quality that’s second to none in the world, namely Hafeez Contractor, renowned architect who led the project with the master planning, Shawn Sullivan of Rockwell Group (New York) for The Camellias’ clubhouse and tower lobbies, Arnold Chan of Isometrix (London) for lighting design, Jay Wright of The Wright Fit (New York) for the fitness space, Ingo Schweder of GOCO Hospitality (Bangkok) for the spa design, and Gerdo Aquino of SWA Group (Los Angeles) for the landscaping.

The culmination of that multi-hand project is The Camellias, which features 429 apartments within nine soaring residential towers. There are penthouses that vary in size from 13,000 square feet to 16,000 square feet, featuring five bedrooms, five bathrooms, two decks, and a view that money can buy.

The hectares of land in lush greens and the property’s wide-open spaces look more like an impeccable golf resort and hotel dotted with trees than a homely area for people to stay. Thoughtfully planned with an overall holistic arch and a soothing water body circumnavigating the space, it’s a serene and green locale—and that’s intentionally so. Great importance to the environment and creating minimal impact on the ecosystem were at the heart of the entire development from the outset. The myriad trees that dot the property? Transplants that are thriving in their new home as these former mature trees were being felled in other parts of the city. The water is recycled and the gardens and green areas are irrigated by treated water alone, which derives from the sewage treatment plant that produces clean water used exclusively for the area’s horticulture.  

The sustainable practices applied to the project while designing the enclave clearly worked: The Camellias was awarded the LEED Platinum certification by the US Green Building Council for its sustainability and energy conservation efforts. Another point to be noted: DLF is the only Indian real estate company to be listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

In the wake of that award-winning announcement, The Camellias went on to collect further accolades. It was conferred The International Architecture Award for 2022 by The Chicago Athenaeum, an international museum of architecture and design, and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

The opulent residence is waiting for local and international families to move in, but the big question is, how quickly can we?

All images courtesy of Petrie PR.