Recyclable materials for simultaneous detection and uptake of ammonia (NH3) are of great interest due to the hazardous nature of NH3. The structural versatility and porous nature of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) make them ideal candidates for NH3 capture. Herein, the synthesis of a water-stable and porous 3-dimensional Cu-II-based MOF (SION-10) displaying a ship-in-a-bottle structure is reported; the pores of the host SION-10 framework accommodate mononuclear Cu-II-complexes. SION-10 spontaneously uptakes NH3 as a result of two concurrent mechanisms: chemisorption due to the presence of active Cu-II sites and physisorption (bulk permanent porosity). The color of the material changes from green to blue upon NH3 capture, with the shifts of the UV/Vis absorption bands clearly seen at NH3 concentrations as low as 300 ppm. SION-10 can be recovered upon immersion of SION-10 superset of NH3 in water and can be further reused for NH3 capture for at least three cycles.