The Leela, the Indian luxury hotel chain run by Brookfield Asset Management, has unveiled a collection of ultra-luxurious villas in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Situated along the shores of Lake Pichola, Arq by The Leela at The Leela Palace Udaipur is designed to offer a “palace within a palace” experience.
Catering to high-net-worth individuals and “discerning elites,” each villa blends contemporary luxury with Indian heritage. Design elements include brass inlaid wooden floors, traditional Thikri artwork and lapis stones.
The villas offer customized curated programming to each guest, from arranging culinary journeys to artistic immersions. Guests staying at the villas will enjoy round-trip airport transfers, arrival by a dedicated electric private boat, a “foot ritual” upon arrival and private pool with jacuzzi.
“The launch of Arq by The Leela at The Leela Palace Udaipur represents our vision of reimagining luxury for the most discerning travelers,” said Shweta Jain, chief sales and marketing officer, The Leela. “This isn’t just another destination — it’s a continuous ascent into the true essence of luxury, where every detail is designed to be a personal exploration of beauty, creativity and indulgence.”
The villas in Udaipur mark the first set of properties in a series of similar spaces under the name that will be introduced across The Leela’s portfolio. Arq by The Leela is characterized by an amalgamation of elevated design, hyper-personalized service and curated programming and aims to create personal luxury experiences for guests.
The launch of the ultra-luxury offering comes within a month of The Leela filing draft papers for a Rs. 5,000 crore ($594 million) initial public offering, marking the biggest ever IPO for the Indian hotel sector. The share sale will see the company expanding its portfolio by tapping into emerging segments and raise funds to repay debt. Canadian investor Brookfield is also set to sell 15% to the public initially.
Since acquiring The Leela in 2019 for Rs 3,950 crore (roughly $470 million), Brookfield has been infusing capital in the company in the past five years. At present, The Leela’s portfolio consists of 3,382 rooms across 12 open hotels under three brands — The Leela Palaces, The Leela Hotels and The Leela Resorts. The hotel company is aiming to add eight hotels through 2028, including adding properties in Agra, Uttar Pradesh; Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir; and Sikkim as well as wildlife resorts at Ranthambore, Rajasthan and Bandhavgarh, Madhya Pradesh.
After suffering severe losses due to the pandemic, India’s luxury hospitality sector has picked up pace and has been flourishing. The country’s luxury hotel market is projected to total $2.72 billion by the end of this year and surge to $4.39 billion by 2029, according to a study by Mordor Intelligence. The rise in the travel and tourism sector and a burgeoning middle class have led to a progressive growth in the luxury hotel market trends. Global hotel companies have been benefiting from the increasing purchasing power of domestic travelers, developing aviation industry, increasing foreign tourist arrivals and relaxed visa norms.
Tapping into this potential, several companies have been expanding their portfolio in India. Earlier this month, Thailand-based Dusit Hotels and Resorts announced the soft opening of a luxury retreat near Shimla in northern India. Dusit D2 Fagu marks the return of Dusit in India. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced the upcoming launch of its Microtel by Wyndham brand, marking the eighth Wyndham brand to enter India.
