Resort-themed living: 5-star homes that come with wave pools, restaurants
The pool bar and artificial waterfall at Purvankara’s Purva Palm Beach project in Bengaluru.
Gated communities coming up on the outskirts of India’s metros are positioning themselves as resort complexes that you can buy into.
“The concept has evolved tremendously, around the world and recently in India,” says Ashwinder Raj Singh, CEO for Residential Services at JLL India. “The second homes market per se is not doing too well currently. Generic luxury offerings have become quite commonplace. So, well-defined luxury offerings are aiming at HNIs, who expect the best that money can buy.”
Raheja Exotica at Madh Island offers restaurants, and housekeeping and laundry services.
Here’s what’s on offer then. Lodha’s Belmondo project in Pune has a 50,000-sq-ft clubhouse and a spa; Purvankara’s Purva Palm Beach project in Bengaluru has a faux rainforest compete with artificial waterfall atop the clubhouse, infinity pool below, and a lush no-footwear zone paved with pebbles and river sand; Raheja’s Exotica project at Madh Island has restaurants and housekeeping and laundry services; villas at Mantri Euphoria in Pune and Isprava’s Villa Lante project in Goa come with their own private pools.
“The weekend home or second home concept has been around for a long time, but in recent times there is a distinct shift towards having an exclusive space where one can get away from the urban strain and indulge themselves over the weekend,” says Prashant Bindal, chief sales officer of Lodha Group. “Growing disposable incomes and the aspiration to live a hassle-free life are fuelling the demand for such second homes.”
The resort feel extends into the living spaces too.
“People investing in luxury weekend homes are looking at more opening up of spaces, larger bathrooms, landscaping for outdoors,” says Mumbai-based interior designer Shabnam Gupta. “It’s not like going to a farmhouse on the weekends. The upper middle classes expect the kind of luxury ambience that used to be associated mainly with the rich and the famous, because they too see themselves as people who divide their time equally between working hard and partying hard.”
Most of this target group is also widely travelled and exposed to good living and good space design, and they want their weekend homes to meet those standards – with multiple water elements, yoga facilities, open-air bathrooms etc, Gupta adds.
says Kamini Shah, a 48-year-old textile designer from Mumbai who paid Rs 2 crore in 2012 for her three-bedroom bungalow in the Prakruti Resorts project at Kashid.
“It’s pure bliss to get away to a ‘taken care of weekend home’ where all I have to do is put my feet up and relax, and maybe entertain over the weekend with no stress on what to do, where to go.”
“The best part about my weekend home is that I don’t have to bother about cleaning up or stocking up on supplies for the stay. The facility management team takes care of everything,” says Shah, adding that it does come at a cost – which is Rs 15,000 per month.
“Homes in such projects obviously cost a lot more than the average luxury second home, because the associated facilities call for higher maintenance and more staff. However, for those with the appetite for such offerings, the price is worth it if the project truly meets their expectations,” says Singh of JLL.
- by Archana Rao
Source :- Hindustan Times
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