MUMBAI: Kamat Hotels (India) Limited has thrown open the doors to two contrasting properties that capture India’s dual identity: a wellness sanctuary beneath the snow-capped Himalayas and a sleek business hotel in the country’s tech capital.
The hospitality chain unveiled The Orchid Rishivan Hotel in Rishikesh and IRA by Orchid Hotel in Hyderabad on Sunday, adding 117 rooms to its expanding empire and planting its flag firmly in both India’s spiritual heartland and its commercial nerve centres.
In Rishikesh, where the Ganges rushes down from sacred peaks, the 54-room Orchid Rishivan Hotel promises to marry ancient mysticism with modern luxury. Guests can stretch into sunrise yoga sessions beside a centuries-old Shivling temple, then retreat to a state-of-the-art spa surrounded by whispering forests. The property operates under a revenue-sharing model and caters to the booming wellness tourism market, complete with conference facilities for corporate retreats and intimate wedding venues.
Some 1,500 kilometres south, the 63-room IRA by Orchid Hotel stakes its claim in Hyderabad’s bustling business district. The leased property targets the city’s army of technocrats and deal-makers with contemporary rooms and dining that blends authentic Hyderabadi spices with international flavours.
“We are tapping into the rising demand for wellness tourism and destination weddings, while Hyderabad positions us to serve a thriving corporate market,” said executive director Vishal Vithal Kamat. His father, executive chairman and managing director Vithal Venkatesh Kamat, described the openings as highlighting the group’s “dual focus” between eco-luxury and metropolitan hospitality.
The launches underscore Kamat Hotels’ strategy to capture both ends of India’s travel spectrum: spiritual seekers fleeing urban chaos and business travelers powering the country’s economic engine. With wellness tourism surging and corporate travel rebounding post-pandemic, the group is betting that India’s contradictions—ancient and modern, spiritual and commercial—can fuel profitable growth.