Experiential Luxury Is Moving Beyond Five-Star Amenities

Vishal Tony Vincent has carved a distinctive position at the intersection of architecture, real estate and hospitality, building a career around design excellence, innovation and responsible development. As Managing Director of Aratt Developers and Founder and Managing Director of Ayatana Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., he brings 11 years of experience to ventures that combine contemporary luxury with a strong emphasis on sustainability.

Inspired by his family’s architectural legacy and his grandfather’s work, Vincent has helped shape premium residential developments in Bengaluru while expanding Ayatana Resorts into sought-after destinations including Coorg, Ooty and Goa. A graduate of R.V. College of Engineering, Bengaluru, he is also pursuing a Leadership Development programme at Harvard Business School. From establishing Ayatana Coorg during his final year of architecture to driving Aratt Developers’ design-led transformation and advancing the integrated-use Aratt One project, Vincent continues to explore how architecture, hospitality and eco-conscious development can create distinctive experiences and lasting value.

India’s luxury hospitality landscape is entering a new phase, shaped by travellers seeking slower journeys, immersive experiences and stronger connections with nature.

For Vishal Vincent Tony, Managing Director of Ayatana Hospitality, this transformation presents an opportunity to redefine how luxury resorts engage with destinations and guests. From the misty landscapes of Coorg and Ooty to the coastal appeal of Goa, Ayatana is building a hospitality philosophy centred on responsible luxury, local culture and nature-led experiences.

Monsoon travel is emerging as a compelling example, with travellers increasingly embracing the season for its greenery, waterfalls, cooler temperatures and slower pace. At the same time, growing interest in wellness, short domestic breaks and experience-led holidays is creating new opportunities for resort brands. With expansion into Chikmagalur and a partnership with Marriott International, Ayatana is positioning its next phase of growth around distinctive destinations while seeking to preserve the environmental and cultural character that defines each property.

1. What specific factors are driving Indian travellers to favour monsoon travel, and how are resort brands capitalising on this seasonal shift?

Monsoon travel in India is increasingly moving from being an off-season proposition to becoming an experience in its own right. One of the biggest factors driving this change is the growing appetite for nature-led travel. The monsoon transforms destinations such as Coorg, Ooty, Wayanad and the Western Ghats into dramatically different landscapes, with mist-covered hills, waterfalls, dense greenery and cooler temperatures creating an experience that is difficult to replicate at other times of the year.

There is also a behavioural shift taking place. Travellers are increasingly looking for shorter, more meaningful breaks that allow them to disconnect from their routines without requiring extensive planning. The growing popularity of road trips and short-haul domestic getaways has made destinations within a few hours of major cities particularly attractive during the rains. At the same time, social media has played an important role in showcasing the visual and experiential appeal of monsoon destinations.

Recent travel data reflects the scale of this change. According to data reported this year, Munnar and Mussoorie witnessed nearly tenfold year-on-year growth in hotel bookings during the monsoon, while destinations including Coorg, Wayanad and Ooty recorded around sevenfold growth.

For resort brands, this creates an opportunity to reposition the monsoon around the destination’s natural character rather than simply relying on seasonal discounts. At Ayatana, for instance, Coorg becomes particularly immersive during the rains, with its rainforest landscape and private waterfall taking centre stage. The focus is on creating experiences around nature, local cuisine, wellness and the slower rhythm of the season. Ultimately, the opportunity lies in making the weather itself part of the holiday experience.

2. Beyond high-end amenities, how do you define “experiential luxury” for today’s eco-conscious traveller?

Experiential luxury today is increasingly about access, authenticity and personal connection rather than simply the accumulation of amenities. A luxury traveller can find a beautifully designed room, a spa or a fine-dining restaurant in many destinations. What is harder to replicate is the feeling of being deeply connected to a place.

For us, experiential luxury means creating an environment where the destination itself becomes part of the stay. It could be waking up to a forest landscape, experiencing a local culinary tradition, understanding the cultural heritage of a region, spending time outdoors or simply having the space and quiet to disconnect from the pace of everyday life.

This is particularly relevant to the eco-conscious traveller, who is becoming more discerning about how luxury is created. They increasingly want comfort without feeling that their experience comes at the cost of the environment or local communities. Therefore, responsible design, local sourcing, cultural sensitivity and minimal intervention are becoming integral to the luxury proposition rather than being separate sustainability initiatives.

We have always believed that the greatest luxury can come from allowing nature to remain the hero. At Ayatana, each property is designed around the character of its location. Coorg draws from its relationship with the Western Ghats and Kodava culture, while Ooty reflects the landscape and heritage of the Nilgiris. Our objective is to create a sense of place rather than impose a standardised resort experience.

This philosophy is also aligned with the larger evolution in Indian travel. A recent Thrillophilia index, based on more than 76,000 completed multi-day trips, found that travellers are increasingly choosing slower, better-paced and experience-led holidays over rushed, checklist-style itineraries.

3. How does Ayatana deliver immersive, nature-led guest experiences without disturbing the surrounding delicate ecosystems?

For us, responsible hospitality begins much before the guest arrives. It starts with identifying a location where the natural environment has a strong identity and then allowing that environment to influence the design and planning of the property, rather than treating nature as an element to be added later.

Ayatana’s philosophy has always been centred on minimal intervention and creating harmony between the built environment and its surroundings. Our properties are uniquely inspired by the natural landscapes and cultural heritage of their locations, and our stated mission is to foster synergy between people and the environment through responsible hospitality.

Ayatana Coorg is a good example of this approach. Spread across approximately 100 acres in the Western Ghats, the property is surrounded by rainforest vegetation and incorporates the natural character of the site into the guest experience. During the monsoon, for instance, the private waterfall and surrounding greenery become central to the experience rather than requiring elaborate man-made entertainment.

We also believe that responsible hospitality extends beyond architecture. It includes respecting local culture, drawing from regional culinary traditions and creating experiences that encourage guests to understand and appreciate the destination. At Ooty, for example, the property’s identity is closely connected to the Nilgiri landscape and local heritage.

The objective is not to create a resort that happens to be surrounded by nature, but one that is genuinely rooted in its environment. When the landscape, culture and architecture work together, the guest experience becomes richer while the need for excessive intervention is reduced.

4. What key shifts in Indian domestic travel preferences do you expect will dominate the hospitality landscape over the next 3–5 years?

I believe the next three to five years will see Indian domestic travel becoming more experience-led, more personalised and more geographically diverse.

First, travellers will increasingly prioritise the quality of the stay over the number of places they can cover. We are already seeing a move away from highly compressed itineraries towards fewer destinations, longer stays and more meaningful experiences. The accommodation itself is increasingly becoming part of the destination. This will benefit resorts and hotels that have a strong sense of place and can offer guests reasons to spend more time within the property.

Second, wellness and nature will move further into the mainstream. Wellness will not necessarily mean a formal retreat or spa programme. It will increasingly encompass sleep, food, outdoor experiences, mindfulness, digital disconnection and simply having access to natural surroundings. The Thrillophilia 2025 Multi-Day Travel Index recorded a 24% rise in wellness-led journeys, reinforcing this shift.

Third, domestic travellers will increasingly seek differentiated experiences. Local food, culture, wildlife, adventure, architecture and indigenous traditions can all become part of the hospitality proposition. This will create opportunities for destinations beyond India’s traditional tourism circuits.

Finally, I expect greater demand for short, high-quality breaks from metropolitan centres. Improved connectivity and the growth of premium domestic travel will make weekend and long-weekend leisure increasingly important. For hospitality companies, this means developing properties that are not only destinations in themselves but are also accessible enough to become part of the traveller’s regular lifestyle.

5. Following your expansion into leisure markets like Coorg, Ooty, and Goa, what is your vision for scaling the Ayatana brand across India?

Our vision for Ayatana is not simply to build a large portfolio of resorts; it is to build a recognisable hospitality philosophy that can be expressed differently across India’s diverse destinations.

Coorg, Ooty and Goa have each taught us that travellers respond to properties that have a strong sense of identity. Therefore, as we expand, we want each destination to retain its own personality while remaining connected to the larger Ayatana promise of responsible luxury, nature, culture and meaningful experiences.

Our expansion is also becoming more structured. A significant recent milestone was our partnership with Marriott International, which includes Ayatana Coorg and the upcoming Ayatana Chikmagalur under the Tribute Portfolio, alongside JW Marriott at Aratt One World. This gives us an opportunity to combine Ayatana’s destination-led approach with global hospitality standards and distribution.

Chikmagalur is particularly aligned with our nature-led philosophy. The upcoming property is positioned amid hilly terrain and dense vegetation, reinforcing our intent to choose locations where the landscape itself can shape the guest experience.

Going forward, we will look at destinations that have a compelling natural, cultural or experiential proposition rather than expanding simply for geographical coverage. The opportunity across India is enormous, from the Western Ghats and the Nilgiris to emerging leisure destinations.

Our ambition is to make Ayatana synonymous with a particular kind of Indian luxury hospitality — one that is deeply rooted in its destination, sensitive to its environment and capable of delivering experiences that guests remember long after they leave. Scale is important, but maintaining that sense of place as we scale will be the real measure of our success.