India’s leading luxury hotel group, ITC Hotels, will launch its first five-star leisure retreat in late 2014. The ITC Grand Bharat, a luxury golf resort and spa, is set to open on October 1st. The new property will be the first retreat in ITC Hotels’ collection, which currently comprises 10 business-focused hotels in India’s top cities.Only 40 minutes from Delhi, ITC Grand Bharat, will be a destination within itself. Situated over an expansive 300 acres, the luxury wellness retreat will be a tribute to India’s rich heritage and regionally inspired architecture, overlooking an iconic Jack Nicklaus designed, 27-hole Classic Golf Course.
The centrepiece of the resort will be the Jack Nicklaus designed golf course, the first in South Asia. It offers three specialised courses, each with nine holes, the Canyon Course, the Ridge Course and the Valley Course, alongside a golf club and bar.
For those not keen on the greens then the large spa, ITC Hotels’ signature Kaya Kalp – The Royal Spa, will offer an extensive array of rituals and treatments. With nine treatment rooms, the spa will offer medicinal healing and detoxification programmes as well as comprehensive yoga regimes from the prestigious Bihar School of Yoga and a state of the art fitness centre with personal trainers. Guests will also be able to dine on naturopathic cuisine; a special diet planned by Ayurveda practitioners and certified doctors.
These facilities will be complemented by four dining outlets, the Aravalli Pavilion, an all day dining restaurant, the India Room, serving classic European cuisine, the Peacock Bar & Cigar Divan and Camp Bharat, a poolside bar and lounge. The resort will also be home to ITC Hotels’ first culinary school with courses and lessons available to guests. In addition many of the retreat’s fresh fruit and vegetables will be grown onsite within the extensive grounds.
A host of recreational activities for both adventure and natureenthusiasts will also be available, from nature trails and bird watching, to canoeing, paragliding, swimming, cycling or watching a live performance at the open-air amphitheatre. The local area is rich in culture and ripe to be explored, with museums and art galleries that showcase the cultural, political and natural history of the region.
ITC Hotels are set to expand their portfolio even further with a second resort due to open in mid 2015. The ITC Vilasa, located just 25 kilometres from south Chennai, will overlook the majestic Bay of Bengal and will be ITC Hotels’ first beach resort and spa. A further four hotels are scheduled to open by 2018, expanding ITC Hotels’ portfolio from 10 to 16 properties, equating to roughly 5,000 rooms. ITC Hotels’ first property outside of the country, the ITC Hotel in Sri Lanka’s capital of Colombo is slated to open in 2018.
