15 gems in Gurgaon’s realty crown

Winners don’t always take it all, especially when one has to choose the best from the best.

The 10 housing societies that made it to the top 15 of Clash of the Condominiums but couldn’t break into the best five matched the winners in several parameters and even surpassed them in some but lost out in the overall tally.

An analysis of the survey, conducted by the Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB) in association with The Times of India, shows the condominiums that made the top 15 have almost everything an ideal home should — from efficient administration to a well-equipped gymnasium and good neighbours.

The names of the first five have already been announced — Aralias, Hamilton Court, The World Spa, Gurgaon One and Raheja Atlantis. This is how the rest stack up. At No. 6 is The Laburnum Complex, followed by Vatika City, Wellington Estate, DLF Park Place, Jal Vayu Towers, The Close North, Belvedere Towers, Ridgewood Estate, Orchid Petals and Sispal Vihar AWHO Society.

The condominiums were judged on parameters that included maintenance charges, RWA performance, power back-up, construction quality, satisfaction with maintenance, safety of children, satisfaction with facilities, frequency of government events organized within the complex, festival events, the quality of gymnasiums, swimming pools and common and play areas.

Each aspect was rated on an individual scale before a final ‘overall satisfaction index’ was drawn up, taking into account both tangible components like infrastructure and intangible ones like safety and neighbourly interactions. While the top five did well in almost all indices, the others too had their moments in the sun.

The Laburnum Complex, for instance, finished next only to the winner, Aralias, as the condominium whose design most people in the city would adopt if their own society was to be given a makeover. Then, Vatika City, which doesn’t figure in the top five, notched up the best scores for its swimming pool, common area and club. Similarly, The Close North got maximum points for its common area, club and kids’ play areas while Jal Vayu Towers and Sispal Vihar AWHO Society also got the perfect score for their common area and kids’ play areas.

Along with Aralias, Belvedere Towers topped the gym and swimming pool score sheets. The society that scored full marks for its common area and power back-up was DLF Park Place. On the aspect of safety with respect to visitors, which was given significant weightage in the study, Sispal Vihar outdid all others, specifically for its implementation of maid ID cards. It also received top marks for its convenience store, a category in which the only other complex that bagged full points was Wellington Estate.

Some apartments with moderate results in most categories outshone others in one or two segments exponentially. Orchid Petals, for instance, performed exceptionally well on power back-up, finishing among top societies like Aralias and DLF Park Place.