Hospitality Design - January/February 2014 - 88

perspectives

special feature

destinations

1

Southern India > India's leisure

3

playground no longer means just Goa. Neighboring
Southern Indian states, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil
Nadu, are experiencing a spike in hotel development as
they become go-to destinations for culture and coastal
tourism, as well as conference goers.

2
1. Bold colors define a
guestroom at the RitzCarlton, Bangalore.
2. The soaring lobby of
the JW Marriott Hotel
Bengaluru.

3. Tea pots and cups
find a perfect perch in
mirrored circular cutouts
at the JW Marriott's
Bengaluru Baking
Company.

Moving Up

Despite a current slump in growth due to red tape and
investment issues, Kaushik Vardharajan, managing
director of HVS India, predicts the high-end market
will grow substantially. Of 364 hotels in India's
pipeline, 94 are upscale and 26 luxury. "Tourism is just
budding in India," he says. Rising demand for luxury
resorts from affluent Indian travelers is contributing
enormously to demand, "especially in leisure markets
such as Kerala," he says.
India's 4,660 miles of coastline is well untapped for
tourism, he adds. "We anticipate it to be the real driving
force for the industry over the next decade."
Kerala's beaches, balmy climate, spice plantations, and forests are
creating a major leisure demand as well as business and MICE events, says
Prakash Jayadevan of the new tech and design savvy Courtyard Marriott
Kochi Airport in Kerala's capital. "In the next 18 months, 600 rooms will
be added to the branded hotel space in [Kerala port city] Kochi alone."
Take Starwood's Westin Bekal Resort & Spa, which is expected to open
its doors in northern Kerala in June. Australian hospitality design firm
CHADA has been involved on the 25-acre site since 2012, which "includes
Indian Ocean beach frontage, river frontage, and the creation of canals on
which the majority of the hotel's 100-room villas are being constructed,"
says CHADA director Rick Whalley. The hotel will also boast five
restaurants, spa villas, and a presidential villa.
Luxurious development is also happening in Tamil Nadu, with the ITC
Vilasa resort and spa coming this August. The 92-room Bengal Bay-facing
resort will feature traditional materials inside and out-lush gardens, wood
paneling, and stone. "Each of our hotels pays architectural tribute to the
ancient dynasties that ruled India in the Golden Age," says ITC chairman
Y C Deveshwar. Adds designer Isabelle Vergnaud, "Key traditional design
elements applied architecturally and mirrored in the interiors is the
universal innate sense of perfection in humans and nature called Golden
Mean, which creates a sense of balance and aesthetic. And contrasted
tones of black, white, and yellow and recycled timber has been extensively
used in the guestrooms to create a cabin feel and sheltered experience for a
tranquil private retreat."

088

January/February 2014 hospitalitydesign.com

Old Meets New

Hotel growth in Karnataka's capital Bangalore is being
fired by its place as "India's Silicon Valley"-and as
a hive of history-says Saurabh Bakshi, of the newly
opened Sheraton Bangalore At Brigade Gateway. The
16th-century city is rapidly growing and already the
country's third largest, Bakshi says. "It's a unique mix
of old and new: ancient temples, the Bangalore Fort,
crowded spice markets, and parklands contrast with towering skyscrapers,
shopping malls, and IT parks."
Following the end-of-year arrival of the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott
in Bangalore, comes Four Points by Sheraton Bengaluru Whitefield in
April, and the Shangri-La on Palace Road, the Swissotel Bangalore
Whitefield, and the Sheraton Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel & Convention
Center this fall.
WATG's design for the 277-room Ritz-Carlton combines traditional jaali
screens handcarved out of stone, colossal pillars of Jerusalem limestone,
and metal latticework with lush, natural foliage, water elements, and
the elemental characteristics of fire and stone to evoke India's vibrant
landscape. The jaali screens recall ancient Rajasthani palaces that Brad
McNamee, the design leader for the project, and his team visited seeking
out architectural inspiration. "We used a precast, lightweight concrete
in a factory and erected them onto the building," he explains. The
interiors by Peter Silling & Associates showcase more than 1,200 works of
contemporary art, handpicked by hotel owner Nitesh Shetty. Jaali screens
are found inside as well, as they "offer a sense of privacy while allowing
light to flow through them," Shetty says. Mogul Empire references, such
as pointed archways and lashings of white marble-as used on the hotel's
striking staircase, what Shetty refers to as the hotel's centerpiece-evoke
the Taj Mahal. Another grand gesture: Lantern, a three-level restaurant
that Japanese design firm Super Potato (appropriately) created in the form
of a glass lantern, is part of a four-story glass enclosure, from which the
swimming pool extends out. "At night, it glows," says McNamee.
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