Our story

Wildlife Luxuries breaks the mould, both for wildlife destinations and luxury experiences.

“Too often we confuse luxury with standardisation, wildlife with safari and sustainability with austerity”

— Keyur Joshi, Founder

Different jungle, same experience — I could be in Wayanad or Ranthambore, but the minute I am back at the resort from my safari-punctuated day, I can’t tell the difference. As an avid traveler with a deep love for the wild, I felt we had been lulled into the familiarity of the safari-buffet-bed formula, with a pool thrown in.

I wanted to create an experience that embodies the joys of the jungle beyond wildlife sightings; that is built to conserve natural resources; that transforms the local communities who have for generations protected these lands. And most of all, an experience that sees each guest as an individual with distinct tastes, and different reasons for each holiday.

Beyond the standards of a 7 star stay, we intend to personalise every detail of your stay with us. With a dedicated concierge and a non-intrusive tech-enabled reservation-to-checkout experience, we fine tune every aspect of your experience — before you arrive, throughout your stay and till you visit again. And, every time you do, the experience will be crafted to your idea of luxury.

We’ve combined the best of design, technology and our idea of extreme personalisation to create something special — where no two experiences are ever the same.

“We weren’t building a resort, we were sustaining a community”

— Ariane Thakore Ginwala, Principal Designer

Usually you start with a plot of land. We began with a deeply held philosophy. Core to the design of WL is localisation — because without that, you can’t hope to be sustainable. Whether it was the techniques we used, the material we built with or the people who built with us — they were all of this land.

Working closely with the Institute of Village Sciences in the Gandhian town of Wardha (80 km from site), we researched various possibilities of low-impact construction. Instead of importing labour, we trained the neighbouring village folk in rammed earth construction and stone masonry. Our vaulted roofs are made of terracotta tiles made by local potters. Drawing on local resources wherever possible meant building not just Tipai but the community around it, who are now the heart of our staff.

Located in a drought-prone zone, water was a precious commodity. Working with a permaculturist, we rejuvenated the land with natural vegetation, strategically located water bodies and a robust rainwater harvesting system to reduce our impact on fragile ecosystems.

With no hospitality industry baggage, we were free to reimagine everything a sustainable luxury stay could be. Moving away from staple hotel furnishing, all our textiles have been handwoven by Magankhadi with organic natural fibres. From the tea to the toiletries in your room, every detail has been curated for Tipai with small batch boutique brands who share our value for sustainability, quality, and fairness.

“We let the land lead the landscaping”

— Parag, Permaculturist

The overarching vision was to create a design that cares for the earth, respects the people who live off the land, cares for the animals, and finds harmony in between all these forces through intelligent design.

It was the location next to a wildlife sanctuary that drew me to Tipai alongwith a team that believed in its own vision. My work is grounded in my training as a permaculturist.

The region had suffered from a long history of monoculture practice, started under the British. Over the last 5 years, we created a palette of 300 species of trees and shrubs, learning about them from local inhabitants. But before we could plant anything, we had to rejuvenate the ground water reserves. A series of percolation pits and checkdams were built to slow the flow of water. Trenches along contour were dug and filled with biomass to enrich soil life, and hold the water, letting it gently seep into the ground.

In the summer the Palash trees bloom defying the arid heat, and then the rains paint Tipai a lush green, that turns a lighter shade as winter falls. The scenery changes dramatically across the seasons, and so does the produce from our food forest — nourishing both humans and animals that call this quiet wildscape home. Frequent visits by deer and a surge in the variety of birds and insects tells us we are doing something right.

“The women in my kitchen often don’t realise that the everyday things they cook are worth serving in a restaurant — and I want to change that”

— Amninder Sandhu, F&B Founding Partner

The food at Tipai is hyperlocal. From the produce to the flavours and those who grow, cook and craft this experience —they are all of this land. At the heart of the three restaurants at Tipai is a deep desire to empower women; not just through employment, but by helping them see the beauty and power of the everyday things they do. The chutney they grind on a sil batta, the flatbreads they cook on coals, the instinctive understanding of flavour and fire they have honed from years of doing the most “simple” thing—feeding their family.

It’s not by accident that the kitchen at Palaash, our dinner only restaurant in Tipai, is almost entirely run by women. While Palaash reimagines regional cuisines from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, the menus at Perch and Wadi travel the world. Made with produce from our kitchen garden and organic farms within the region, F&B at Tipai is a true celebration of this land.

There’s something special about this place. I felt it the first time I came to Tipai. Cooking in a barbecue pit in a clearing in a forest; learning from each other over glowing embers of an open fire — with those who have called this land home for generations… it’s magic.