A Phased Expansion

The IHCL SeleQtions Athirapilly will be developed in two phases. The first will incorporate 37 existing operational rooms, with the remaining inventory to be added through subsequent expansion, eventually taking the property to 100 keys.

The hotel’s hospitality offering will include an all-day dining restaurant, wine and beer lounge and rooftop dining experience. Banquet venues and meeting rooms will cater to social celebrations and smaller business gatherings, while a swimming pool, fitness centre and multi-treatment-room spa will form part of its recreational and wellness offering.

For IHCL, the conversion-and-expansion model also provides a route to establish a branded presence in the destination while progressively building the property's overall inventory and offering.

Suma Venkatesh, Executive Vice President–Real Estate & Development, IHCL, described Kerala as a key leisure market for the company, highlighting Athirapilly’s connectivity, natural setting and proximity to Kochi as factors behind the signing.

Partnership perspective

The development is also consistent with IHCL’s strategy of expanding across distinctive leisure destinations where location and local character can play a central role in the guest experience.

The property is being developed in partnership with Kshema Group. According to Abhinand Basant, Director, Kshema Group, the partnership represents an important milestone in the group’s hospitality journey, with an emphasis on creating a property connected to its location and surroundings.

That positioning aligns naturally with SeleQtions, IHCL’s collection of hotels built around distinctive identities, locations and individual narratives rather than a completely standardised hospitality format.

For Athirapilly, the arrival of an established hospitality brand could further strengthen the destination’s position within Kerala’s broader tourism circuit.

Kerala Remains a Strategic Leisure Market

Kerala’s combination of nature, culture, wellness and established tourism infrastructure has long made it one of India’s important leisure markets. Athirapilly adds another dimension to this landscape.

Its proximity to Cochin International Airport gives the destination accessibility while its position within itineraries connecting Kochi and Munnar creates the potential for it to become part of a wider multi-destination Kerala journey.

Located beside the Chalakudy River and adjacent to Athirapilly Falls, the destination already possesses significant leisure appeal. Its accessibility from Kochi creates an additional advantage as travellers increasingly combine established gateways with nature, wellness and experience-led destinations.

The signing therefore represents more than an addition to room inventory. It points to the continuing expansion of branded hospitality into India’s destination-led leisure markets, where connectivity, natural assets and differentiated experiences are increasingly shaping development decisions.

Property Highlights:

• 100 keys
• All-day dining restaurant
• Wine and beer lounge
• Rooftop dining
• Banquet venues and meeting rooms
• Swimming pool, fitness centre & multi-treatment-room spa