Hotel Leela Venture
Encyclopedia
The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts is an India
n luxury hospitality group founded in 1986 by Captain C. P. Krishnan Nair, who named it after his wife. Currently The Leela - as it is commonly referred to, is a group of seven luxury palaces and hotels, located in Mumbai
, Goa
, Bangalore
, Trivandrum, Gurgaon
, Udaipur
and New Delhi
. The group has plans to open new hotels in Chennai
(2011) and later in Coimbatore
and Agra
, Lake Ashtamudi (Kollam
, Kerala
) and Jaipur
. The company has marketing alliances with Germany-based Kempinski
; US-based Preferred Hotels and Resorts and is member of Global Hotel Alliance based in Geneva, Switzerland.
, Captain Chittarath Poovakkatt Krishnan Nair began his career with the Indian Army
in the Maratha Light Infantry (post independence). Years later, he married daughter of a handloom businessman. With the support of his in-laws, he started his first business as a textile exporter from Madras, under the brand name Leela Scottish Lace.
In 1958, he joined hands with Brooks Brothers
to announce "Bleeding Madras", which later had clients like Tommy Hilfiger
, Wal-Mart
, Liz Claiborne
and Macy's
. Later that year, he started his lace-weaving unit in Mumbai
's Sahar area. In 2007, he sold Leela Scottish Lace. By this time, he was 65 years old and a multi-millionaire.
to build his first hotel, The Leela Mumbai in 1986. It was the first luxury
hotel near the present Sahar International Airport.
In 1991, Captain Nair opened his second hotel in Goa
. The Leela Goa was designed keeping the overall architecture of the state in mind. The luxury seaside resort has taken its inspiration from Portuguese
heritage and is spread over 75 acres of land in South Goa
.
In 1997, Captain Nair went on to built the group's first modern hotel with 357 rooms, inspired by the Mysore Palace
and the architecture of the 13th century Vijayanagara
empire and is surrounded by seven acres of gardens.
The Leela Group opened its second resort in 2005 - The Leela Kovalam in Trivandrum.
By 2009, Nair added two more properties to his portfolio in Udaipur
(Rajasthan
) and Gurgaon
. The Leela Kempinski Gurgaon
is the group's first non-owned, managed property.
The Leela Palace New Delhi opened in April 2011. The palace is inspired by Sir Edwin Lutyens' Delhi.
Hotels
Resorts
Residences
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n luxury hospitality group founded in 1986 by Captain C. P. Krishnan Nair, who named it after his wife. Currently The Leela - as it is commonly referred to, is a group of seven luxury palaces and hotels, located in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, Trivandrum, Gurgaon
Gurgaon
Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...
, Udaipur
Udaipur
Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...
and New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. The group has plans to open new hotels in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
(2011) and later in Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
and Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
, Lake Ashtamudi (Kollam
Kollam
Kollam , often anglicized as ', is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city lies on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake on the Arabian sea coast and is situated about north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram...
, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
) and Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
. The company has marketing alliances with Germany-based Kempinski
Kempinski
Kempinski Hotels S.A. is a luxury hotel group. Kempinski Hotels, the trading name for Kempinski Hotels S.A., is an independent Swiss delisted S.A., which is involved in a number of luxury hotel and hospitality related businesses, including conference, catering and hotel supplies.Kempinski Hotels...
; US-based Preferred Hotels and Resorts and is member of Global Hotel Alliance based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Foundation
Born in an agricultural family in a village near Kannur in north KeralaKerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, Captain Chittarath Poovakkatt Krishnan Nair began his career with the Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
in the Maratha Light Infantry (post independence). Years later, he married daughter of a handloom businessman. With the support of his in-laws, he started his first business as a textile exporter from Madras, under the brand name Leela Scottish Lace.
In 1958, he joined hands with Brooks Brothers
Brooks Brothers
Brooks Brothers is the oldest men's clothier chain in the United States. Founded in 1818 as a family business, the privately owned company is now owned by Retail Brand Alliance, also features clothing for women, and is headquartered on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, New York City.-History:On April 7,...
to announce "Bleeding Madras", which later had clients like Tommy Hilfiger
Tommy Hilfiger
Thomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and founder of the premium lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger.-Early life:...
, Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
, Liz Claiborne
Liz Claiborne
Anne Elisabeth Jane "Liz" Claiborne was a Belgian-born American fashion designer and entrepreneur. Claiborne is best known for founding Liz Claiborne Inc. which in 1986 became the first company founded by a woman to make the Fortune 500...
and Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
. Later that year, he started his lace-weaving unit in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
's Sahar area. In 2007, he sold Leela Scottish Lace. By this time, he was 65 years old and a multi-millionaire.
Expansion
Founder and chairman, Captain C P Krishnan Nair bought 11 acres of land near his house in Sahar, MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
to build his first hotel, The Leela Mumbai in 1986. It was the first luxury
Luxury resorts
A luxury resort is an expensive vacation facility which is fully staffed and has been rated with five stars. Luxury resorts often boast many visitor activities and attractions such as golf, watersports, spa and beauty facilities, skiing, natural ecology and tranquility. Because of the extent of...
hotel near the present Sahar International Airport.
In 1991, Captain Nair opened his second hotel in Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
. The Leela Goa was designed keeping the overall architecture of the state in mind. The luxury seaside resort has taken its inspiration from Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
heritage and is spread over 75 acres of land in South Goa
South Goa
South Goa is one of the two districts that comprise the state of Goa, India. The district has an area of 1,966 km² and a population of 586,591...
.
In 1997, Captain Nair went on to built the group's first modern hotel with 357 rooms, inspired by the Mysore Palace
Mysore Palace
The Palace of Mysore is a palace situated in the city of Mysore in southern India. It is the official residence of the Wodeyars - the erstwhile royal family of Mysore, and also houses two durbar halls ....
and the architecture of the 13th century Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara is in Bellary District, northern Karnataka. It is the name of the now-ruined capital city "which was regarded as the second Rome" that surrounds modern-day Hampi, of the historic Vijayanagara empire which extended over the southern part of India....
empire and is surrounded by seven acres of gardens.
The Leela Group opened its second resort in 2005 - The Leela Kovalam in Trivandrum.
By 2009, Nair added two more properties to his portfolio in Udaipur
Udaipur
Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...
(Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
) and Gurgaon
Gurgaon
Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...
. The Leela Kempinski Gurgaon
Gurgaon
Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...
is the group's first non-owned, managed property.
The Leela Palace New Delhi opened in April 2011. The palace is inspired by Sir Edwin Lutyens' Delhi.
Properties
Palaces- The Leela Palace Bangalore
- The Leela Palace Udaipur
- The Leela Palace New Delhi
- The Leela Palace Chennai (opening late 2011)
Hotels
- The Leela Mumbai
- The Leela Kempinski Gurgaon
Resorts
- The Leela Goa
- The Leela Raviz (Formerly Leela Kempinski) at KovalamKovalamKovalam is a beach town on the Arabian Sea in Thiruvananthapuram city, Kerala, India. It is located around 13 km from the down town of Trivandrum.-Etymology:...
, Trivandrum
Residences
- The Leela Kempinski Gurgaon Residences