December 21, 2018: Hotelier Kapil Chopra, a former Oberoi Hotels president, has launche his latest hospitality venture – The Postcard Hotel – a brand of intimate luxury hotels in India and the world. The hotel brand, which will be found in unique destinations by the sea, the mountains or in jungles, is beginning with Goa as the first location.
Transformative experiences and local community are at the heart of The Postcard Hotel’s offering. Each hotel will offer unique experiences that honour its surroundings, giving guests a sense of the neighbourhood and the destination in a distinctive way. Redefining the rules of hospitality, there will be no set breakfast hours, no buffets, and no sugary welcome drinks at The Postcard Hotels. Instead, importance will be given to authentic local experiences, from food, to design, to artisanal welcome cocktails, to defining your own check in and check out hours and immersions with the local community.
Opening with quite a large impact, The Postcard Hotel opened the doors of three luxury hotels on the opening day. The three hotels are spread across unique areas in Goa. The Postcard Moira, nestled in one of the four heritage villages of Goa; The Postcard Velha, surrounded by 300 acres of virgin coconut plantations in old Goa; and further south, in keeping with its proposition of taking travellers back in time, The Postcard Cuelim, that houses a 350 year old chapel.
The brand aims to build and operate 50 hotels in the next five years. In the next 12 to 18 months, The Postcard Hotel will be present in Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Dhauladhar Mountain Range, Sikkim, Darjeeling, Sundarbans and Kanha.
All the partners chosen by The Postcard Hotel combine forces to present a rare, beautiful story behind the hotel brand. Ambuja Neotia Group and The Postcard Hotel will jointly deliver three hotels in Eastern and North Eastern India. Architect, Akshat Bhatt of Architecture Discipline, an award winning and internationally acclaimed studio was tasked with creating the spaces with sustainability at its core. Jas Arora, actor and designer, has created interesting uniforms for the staff by giving traditional Goan motifs a modern touch. The interiors of all The Postcard Hotels in Goa will have new photographs taken by Indian courtier and photographer JJ Valaya.
Wellness plays a crucial role in The Postcard experience, taking Mr. Chopra to the Coimbatore-based Purnarnava Ayurveda, who will create a healing program in the Goa properties, offering on site ayurvedic consultation and treatments for guests. Taking their wellness approach further, The hotels will be placing amenities by the Indian skincare brand, Forest Essentials.