Imbibe the gorgeously designed heritage at The Malabar House. Experience luxury at Sujàn The Serai amidst the gilt-edged Jaisalmer desert; the spirit of a 1920s safari at SUJÁN Sher Bagh camp at Ranthambhore; the magic of the mountains at 8,200ft. above the Kullu Valley at Sitara Himalaya; the life of the erstwhile maharaja of Patiala at Ran Baas. Or savour the best of gastronomy at Masque. Jaipur-based Sarvato restaurant is the most recent addition to the portfolio, part of the nine new additions announced in July 2025. For decades, Relais & Châteaux has symbolised elegance imbued with luxury, and its outposts in India are no exception to this rule.
Room to grow in India: However, India’s presence in the global Relais & Châteaux portfolio is just about 10-odd in a global strength of 580. “We have room to grow,” says Laurent Gardinier, President, Relais & Châteaux, expressing optimism about the prospect of growth in India. “We are very optimistic that in the next five-odd years, we could double the number of properties in India.” India’s recent clout as a thriving economy has been mirrored in the leaps and bounds with which domestic and outbound tourism has grown in the post-Covid-19 period, points out Gardinier. “A lot of Indians have discovered Indian Relais & Châteaux properties, and this trend continues.”
Tracking the Indian traveller: Gardinier has been tracking the fast-growing Indian outbound market, which neared about 30 million in 2024, about half the population of Italy. “Regarding the destination market, the more properties we have, the more we will have foreigners, including Relais & Châteaux guests coming to India. For the source market, depending on the channel, Indians make up three to five per cent of travellers. The number of Indians travelling has increased post-Covid-19. Currently, most Indians go to France and Italy. They go to Paris, the south of France, along with Tuscany, Roma and Umbria. In our system, we have about four per cent Indians travelling. In comparison to the size of the country, this is quite low.”
