Facts You Didn't Know About Antilia

An extravagant palatial tower on Altamount Road in south Mumbai, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani's Antilia is the world's most expensive private home. 

PropGuide lists a few things that you may not know about this wonder of a home:

• How the idea came: Once, Ambani's wife Nita was in a spa at Mandarin Oriental in New York, overlooking the Central Park. She was so fascinated by the contemporary interiors there that she enquired about the designer. With intentions and means to own a customised home, the Ambanis consulted Perkins & Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates, the designers of the Mandarin Oriental.

• A tall marvel: Owing to its magnificent height, Antilia towers on Mumbai's skyline like a cloud-tearing tower made up of fine glass. It is a 27–storey tower taller than any standard 50-floor skyscraper. Some floors of this 570-feet-high building are double or triple the average height. 

• A huge living space: Antilia has been built over 4,532 square metres of land, which translates into approximately 49,000 square feet. It is inhabited by the Ambani family of five members, along with 600 support staffers who maintain the luxury mansion on a daily basis.

• Each bit unique: Unlike a hotel or a condominium that has a common layout on every floor, no two floors in Antilia are alike in their layout or materials used. If metal is used on the ninth floor, it shouldn't be used on the twelfth. The idea behind this form of construction is to blend different styles and patterns of architecture with a sense of consistency without repetition.

• The lap of luxury: Antilia just oozes luxury in every way possible. It has nine elevators that service various floors; separate for family, guests and staffers.

• Where comfort blends with fitness: The Ambani home is equipped with a spa and a large ballroom with crystal chandeliers. The hall opens into an indoor/outdoor bar, lounges, powder rooms and green rooms.

• A snow world indoors: The building also has its own snow world, called the ice room, where the family and guests escape into to beat the searing Mumbai heat.

• Luxury for cars, too: As many as six floors in Antilia are allocated for parking the huge fleet of cars that the Ambanis own. A private car service centre is on the 7th floor.

• Hanging gardens: The smartly built mansion has W-shaped hanging gardens which are critical to the façade of the building. Apart from the adornment purpose, they act as an energy-conserving device by absorbing sunlight, to keep the interiors cool.

• Bring choppers home: Antilia has three helipads and an exclusive air space floor which is the control centre for helicopters.

• An army of support staffers: Reportedly, it takes 600 staff members to maintain the world's most expensive home, but the owner makes sure that they are all taken care of nicely as well. There is a special entourage room in the building where the staff can unwind and relax.