The building, designed by Singapore-based SRSS Architects, is of mixed-use development with three separate wings and is themed after traditional Dravidian architecture of the Chola dynasty.

[17] The marble walls are interspersed with panels of carvings of the wheel of life, the four-petalled flower, and are echoed in the etchings on the glass doors leading to the rooms and lounge area.

[21] The hotel has 7 lounges, and the average room size is 625 sq ft.[20] The intricate stonework in the building were created by 4,000 artisans from Mamallapuram who worked on site.

[17] With its own solar and wind farms,[24] the whole of the hotel's energy requirements are met through renewable sources, including waste water.

[19] A 12.6-MW windmill caters to the power requirement of the hotel complex,[17] the excess of which is contributed to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.

[17] The envelope materials of the building comprising composite wall assembly, multi-glazed windows, and roof-top insulation, well exceed the fenestration standards of ASHRAE/ECBC.

The water-efficient fixtures in the complex is estimated to reduce the water usage in the hotel by 35 percent compared with conventional benchmarks.

[17] The hotel has 600 rooms and features 1,600,000-square-foot (150,000 m2) of built area, 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m2) of retail space and 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of conference and exhibition facilities, which includes a pillar-less main ballroom of 26,540 sq ft named the Rajendra Hall,[17] which can accommodate 5,000 guests.

The hotel has a total of 10 food and beverage locations,[27][24] including Peshawri, which serves cuisine from the Northwest Frontier, and Royal Vega, a vegetarian restaurant.

Others include Madras Pavilion, Cafe Mercara, Nutmeg, Cheroot Lounge, Pan Asian, Modo Mio, The Pub, Tranquebar,[28] and Ottimo-Cucina Italiana.

[28] RFID columns are installed in the floors to enable the staffs greet the guests by names and offer them a personalised service.

[23] Commercial facilities in the hotel include restaurants, a health spa, 30,000-sq-ft banquet space to accommodate up to 600 guests, an exhibition space, a 2,625-sq-ft auditorium named Kalai with a seating capacity of 45,[29] and discreet levels that consist of board room and four meeting rooms, a private multiplex with a capacity of 100 guests and underground parking for 1,000 cars.

[32] The hotel has obtained a Platinum rating (the highest on the scale) from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), an internationally recognised green building certification system.

[11] Initially, the hotel also planned to construct a helipad on the terrace,[33] for which the multi-storey building panel of CMDA has denied permission in October 2011.

It was rated on 34 criteria, categorised under various sections, including site selection and planning, conservation, utilisation of resources, and building operation and maintenance.