As a third-generation hotelier, Amruda Nair carries forward a legacy while carving her own path in the world of luxury hospitality. With an innate passion for creating unique experiences and a forward-thinking approach, she leads Araiya Hotels & Resorts, setting new benchmarks in the industry. Driven by innovation and a deep understanding of evolving guest expectations, Amruda blends tradition with modernity, ensuring that every Araiya property offers more than just a stay – it’s an immersive journey. In conversation with Sumit Jha, she shares insights into her inspirations, challenges, and her vision for the future of hospitality.
Amruda Nair is the natural personification of one who lives to create unforgettable guest experiences, spearheading Araiya Hotels & Resorts, where she is setting the benchmarks afresh for the industry. Amruda’s magic is to fuse the past and present-in her understanding lie the progressively evolving expectations of today’s travellers, to whom every Araiya property is more than just a stay but rather an immersive experience resonant within the hearts of the guests.
Amruda’s experience phase extends across the globe for over 15 years and involves stints at highly regarded placers, like Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, and Head of Asset Management with The Leela before she finally began her journey with Araiya Hotels & Resorts. The entrepreneur at heart had initiated several hospitality concepts in different geographies comprising the Middle East and Europe. Her lens of leadership lies both wide globally and deeply rooted locally in Indian traditions of hospitality.
Amruda’s management style has the family’s inheritance written all over. Her grandfather, Captain C P Krishnan Nair, was the legendary founder of The Leela Group, and her father introduced asset-light strategies which she continues to refine. But, with her head held high, she intends to set foot and build her identity and her brand, one that is young, dynamic, and deeply associated with authenticity. Her asset-light model is enabling her to reach tier II and III markets in India, providing world-class service to new destinations while remaining closely aligned to local culture.
Under her leadership, Araiya is not only witnessing rapid growth – with a flurry of new properties opening in 2025, including the boutique Kinwani House and the nature-infused Aalia Jungle Retreat & Spa in Uttarakhand – but is also practicing sustainability and community-cherishing values. The brand actively promotes fresh produce sourced from local farmers and collaborates with NGOs to form productive employment opportunities for visually challengedartisans in assembling corporate umbrellas. This reflects Amruda’s belief that hospitality must give back more than what it takes.
The vision for Araiya is lucid: to become a globally recognized lifestyle hotel brand that is ‘beautiful and divine’, giving their guests authentic Indian hospitality interspersed with contemporary design and thoughtful experiences. From peaceful Himalayan retreats to dynamic urban settings, Amruda’s pursuit is for each Araiya property to embody the brand’s unwavering values of innovation, inclusivity, and environmental responsibility.
Through Araiya, Amruda Nair’s work honours a legacy while also encouraging a new breed of hoteliers characterized by heart, purpose, and audacity in innovation.
Let’s start with your journey. What inspired you to venture into hospitality and develop boutique properties at remote destinations in India?
I had just come back from the Middle East and had spent three years witnessing how Qatar was gearing up for the World Cup. Back home in India similar investments were being made in infrastructure, with airports coming on stream in second and third tier cities and the road connectivity improving across the country. To me it seemed like it was going to be the next boom for travel where people would have options within short driving distances.
For us to get into this space was a pre-COVID decision. Now, in retrospect, it seems like a post-COVID strategy because we were focusing on remote locations within driving radius of the cities, looking at locations in India that people had yet to discover. The Himachal project opened six months before COVID. It checked all the boxes and was very well received because of the timing. The minute people could travel, the first thing they did was run to the hills.
There has been a big change in the travel preferences of the Indian diaspora. While the post-COVID travel scenario has accelerated the growth of properties like ours, we had already anticipated a shift towards curated, personalized, smaller-format experiences. Infrastructure advancements like the UDAN program also made remote destinations more accessible, which supported this idea beautifully.
We felt that all those elements were coming together and it made sense to go to a unknown location and create the destination. Araiya becomes the reason they come to a new place and then through that they discover all that the destination has to offer – be it their cuisine, culture, or environment.
You mentioned India’s changing travel preferences. Could you elaborate on this shift?
Indians are embracing their identity with great pride now. Instead of conforming to Western tastes, travellers are keen on discovering India – be it its cuisines, traditions, or village life. There’s a growing confidence in experiencing authentic Indian heritage, like eating an Aloo Paratha made at a village home. It’s a beautiful change. Indians by themselves have become more confident as travellers – about being themselves and clear about what they like.
What makes an Araiya experience unique?
We are not doing anything cookie-cutter from a design perspective. It is use of local material, colours and textures for creating a real sense of the place. Local talent plays a huge role as it is the most unadulterated way a guest can immerse into a place. When it comes to staff and training, we don’t follow the standard practice being followed elsewhere. For example, in Himachal, we trained our artisans to smile, to have the confidence to look at a guest and say hello. We are not scripting their conversations. There is still a naturalness about it. What we are offering is grooming and skill development. But who they are innately has to stay true to that location, thus adding to the guest experience. I think you learn a lot from just the basic interactions. Our staff members are well-versed with their surroundings and could get into an insightful conversation with the guests, letting them know more about the geological and historical prowess of the place.
We seek to deliver a certain quality of experience, but the experience will be different, bringing in the local experience, including the cuisine and decor. The promise is that the level of service will be consistent between all our properties. While there will be standardizations to achieve efficiencies, each property will have its unique offering, making them distinct from the other.
Each location is unique, whether it’s the cuisine or the landscape and the Araiya experience honours that identity. Guests can savour locally inspired breakfast or enjoy naturalist-led activities like bird walks. The idea is to be able to provide consistent service but different experiences. Our promise is to provide consistent service which is localized, so it’s dependable but always true to the surroundings.
Sustainability and community engagement seem central to your approach. Could you share more on this?
We focus on employing locals and creating opportunities for people within their own states. We’ve partnered with Jobs Plus for skilling programs, enabling trainees to grow and certify themselves. Beyond employment within our hotels, we actively source amenities responsibly and support people with disabilities.
How many properties do we expect to see under the Araiya banner?
We will be 10 properties in 2025 with presence in six states – Himachal, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The brand’s portfolio is divided into three distinct categories. Araiya is our flagship brand offering elevated service in a boutique setting. We will have 3 hotels operational under the Araiya brand by the end of the year and one more under construction.
Anthology is a collection of independent properties that have a very clear ideology, distinct identities, and each of them tell a story. We have 2 properties currently operating under the Anthology brand. Our third brand, Soul by Araiya, which will have 4 operational properties, is our mid-scale offering often acting as gateway stays in key locations.
In Himachal Pradesh, Araiya Palampur is already operational, while Soul by Araiya Dharamshala is under development. In Gujarat, Araiya Gir, a Mavintara Resort, has officially launched, and Soul by Araiya Ambardi is being conceptualised. Uttarakhand now features Kinwani House and Aalia Jungle Retreat & Spa under the Araiya Anthology brand. Kerala and Maharashtra will also be witnessing the opening of Soul by Araiya Resorts in Paithalmala and Tapola, New Mahabaleshwar, respectively, while Araiya Mt. Abu is under development in Rajasthan.
With these properties operational, we would be cementing our position as a key player in India’s lifestyle and experiential hospitality market.
What makes your approach to luxury unique compared to competitors?
Our idea of luxury is not about opulence. Araiya redefines luxury through innovative spaces, personalized service, and a focus on curated experiences. We want our guests to indulge in the sophistication of the present, the here and now where every detail is crafted to elevate their stay beyond the ordinary. It’s about immersion, local engagement, and meaningful experiences. We celebrate each destination’s uniqueness, delivering consistent excellence while fostering genuine engagement and a deep sense of connection beyond mere extravagance.
You inherently carry forward the Nair legacy. Is there a pressure of being a Nair, and does that impact your business?
I don’t see it as pressure, but I do think having a legacy drives me to take on risks and try something new. What I learnt from my grandfather’s legendary episode with bleeding madras is that even a catastrophe can be an opportunity. That said, I am staying within a space that I understand but approaching it from a fresh perspective.
What we’re trying to demonstrate is that luxury can be more than palaces and marble cladding. What we’re trying to do is offer luxury in a different form. I am not straying too far away from the path that I know but approaching it differently. What has certainly helped me grow is being able to count on the resources and relationships that that I’ve developed while being a part of the Leela story. What has been heartening is to have people come back to me and say, we’d like to work with you again in the 2.0 form.
We are also a part of the GHA Discovery Programme, a shared loyalty program with the Leela, Araiya and Anantara in India. So, from a loyalty and a distribution process point of view, we are a part of a shared network.
What benefit do your partners derive from your experience?
Because we come with an owner legacy, we completely understand the pain that the owners can go through with brands. From the way our contracts are structured, the kind of reporting formats we follow, we speak the same language as an owner does, and, since we’ve been owner operators, so in that sense, there’s a lot more comfort. Majority of the owners who are working with us are first time hotel owners. One thing that I’m proud of is that we go out and tell our hotel owners what not to spend on or if there is a more cost-effective way to do it, because we have gone through it ourselves. The owner’s mindset, bringing in the efficiencies, the transparency, and how we structure our deals makes us different from other operators.
Where do you see Araiya as a brand five years down the line?
We are not necessarily going to talk about the number of flags and signings and announcements. Our growth will be driven by the fact that there’s so much of India left to be discovered. That is going to lead our growth story. Moving forward, to be taken seriously as a leisure player, we will need to have a national footprint that also covers Goa, Rajasthan and the North East in addition to the 6 states we already have a presence in. The growth strategy is going to be led by what’s a natural extension to where we are, where our guests want to go, and that’s going to lead it. It’s purely going to be driven by, where else do you think our guest wants to be?
Lastly, what role do you play in the organization’s strategy?
My focus is on streamlining operations, ensuring profitability, and maintaining transparency for owners. Our approach stands apart because we deeply understand the challenges faced by first-time hotel owners and offer solutions that are efficient and sustainable.
