Summit Hotels Expands Its Offbeat Collection with 24-Key Samthar Retreat
Scheduled to open in October–November 2026, Summit Samthar–The Offbeat Collection will bring 24 Kanchenjunga-facing rooms to the emerging North Bengal destination.
By SOH Edit Team
Summit Hotels & Resorts is extending its footprint deeper into the Eastern Himalayas with the signing of a 24-key property in Samthar, West Bengal, an emerging mountain destination approximately 30 km from Siliguri.
Scheduled to open in October–November 2026, Summit Samthar–The Offbeat Collection will join the company’s recently introduced Offbeat portfolio, which is focused on hospitality in destinations outside established tourist circuits.
Surrounded by forests, tea gardens and Himalayan landscapes, Samthar remains relatively underexplored compared with North Bengal’s established tourism centres. That relative obscurity is central to Summit’s proposition. The company sees destinations such as Samthar as an opportunity to tap into growing interest in slow travel, nature-led experiences, hiking and birdwatching, while encouraging travellers to extend their itineraries beyond conventional hill destinations.
The upcoming retreat will feature 24 Kanchenjunga-facing rooms with private balconies, alongside a restaurant, private lawn, tea garden, children’s play area, common sitting spaces and outdoor areas.
The Offbeat Expansion Play
For Summit, expansion into smaller destinations is also tied to the economic activity a hotel can generate beyond its own operations—from local employment and transport to sourcing and tourism services.
“Samthar represents exactly the kind of destination we believe has considerable potential for the next phase of leisure travel in the region,” said Sumit Mitruka, Founder & CEO, Summit Hotels & Resorts.
Drawing on the company’s experience in destinations including Tindharia, Pelling and Lamahatta, Mitruka said Summit intends to become part of Samthar’s local economy while introducing the destination to more travellers “without taking away the character that makes it worth discovering.”
The Samthar signing reinforces Summit’s strategy of moving beyond established tourism centres and building inventory across smaller destinations in the Eastern Himalayas.
It also comes as the hospitality company develops its portfolio around three propositions—Offbeat, Signature and Mandir—spanning emerging leisure destinations, premium destination hospitality and spiritual tourism.
For Samthar, the arrival of branded hospitality could provide greater visibility among leisure travellers while creating another stop within the wider North Bengal circuit. For Summit, the 24-key retreat represents a hospitality opportunity in the Himalayas that may increasingly lie beyond the destinations travellers already know.
Property Highlights:
- 24 Kanchenjunga-facing rooms
- Restaurant, private lawn, tea garden
- Children’s play area,sitting spaces and outdoor areas
Sumit Mitruka, Founder & CEO, Summit Hotels & Resorts.
