A vineyard hotel is not entirely something you would expect to find in India, and certainly not one that approaches leisure with this much lightness and ease. Without leaning on any of the clichés that might define Indian heritage design, Hotel Irada's contemporary interiors offer a fresh take on wide-led travel in the region.
Grand tours come in many forms. Perhaps you're thrilled at the idea of scaling the seven summits, or ticking off the major museums of Europe. Others may be more leisurely in their approach, seeking the ultimate beaches or remotely located restaurants with Michelin stars. Perhaps you’re focused on the great wine lands, where rolling landscapes with immaculate vineyards offer hotels whose ambitions lie as much in their service as in their terroir. From the unbroken vistas across the valleys of Barossa or the Rhône to the rugged coastlines of Sonoma, great wine often goes hand-in-hand with deeply beautiful locations.
If the vineyards of Europe are collectively known as the Old World, and Australia and America the New, the search is still on for a term to describe the 66 acres of working vineyards near Baramati in India’s Pune region, which are home to Hotel Irada. What is clear is that Irada’s elevated aesthetic makes it worthy of inclusion in the pantheon of global must-visit hotels for those who have a passion for viticulture.
Designed by Kerala’s zeitgeisty studio Humming Tree, the vineyard hotel can be considered one of India’s first design-forward spaces, with a focus on colourful, clean style that steers clear of tired clichés (there are no mughal motifs or mandalas). This is a venue with a zippy playfulness, evidenced by the lobby’s custom 18-foot-long tapestry, developed with Jaipur Rugs. The handwoven piece is a tableau of the estate’s activities, with cartoon-like guests playing padel, taking a vineyard tour and picking grapes. “It is a literal map of the good life we want the guests to lead,” says Arun Shekar, co-founder and principal architect of Humming Tree (alongside his business partner Mohammed Afnan). “It sets the emotional and experiential tone of the stay from the moment guests enter the hotel.”
When the Humming Tree team first visited the house that became the hotel, it was closer to a relic than a retreat. Designed by renowned architect Navzer Irani, it was grand in scale with handsome proportions, but had been abandoned and left to ruin. “Being on site really helped us to understand what the spaces needed,” says Shekar. “We wanted to keep the essence of the architecture, but infuse it with a pop of colour and design elements that would blend in seamlessly.”
Local carpenters produced much of the furniture and joinery throughout the property, with the Humming Tree team focusing on creating a sense of enveloping comfort, accented by chic accessories sourced in the brocantes of Paris. In the bedrooms, marshmallow-plump mattresses sit against curvilinear fabric headboards, and polished-plaster walls are softened with framed artworks inspired by the estate’s 4,000 acres of protected forests. Lighting is elegant, with ironwork lamps offset by fabric shades, in line with the team’s desire for everything to “feel soft, not dramatic”. All the rooms contain memorable quirks, from freestanding brown resin bathtubs to vaulted ceilings and grand terraces.
While some may spend hours by the chequer-tiled pool under white-trimmed maroon parasols, there are multiple experiences to enjoy around the estate itself. From walking trails to mini-golf among the vines, forest-facing saunas and hot plunge pools, each activity makes best use of the land; hands-on wellness rituals are designed to slow the body to the pace of the estate. There’s also an originality to the food offering in Italian restaurant Rosso, a vision of chic upholstery and inlaid marble flooring. No tarka dal here, but rather modern twists on Mediterranean classics, including carrot tartare and hot-honey pizza.
As India’s first design hotel, the Irada has a homegrown boutique sensibility that charts an exciting new course for the subcontinent, and perhaps even for vineyard hoteliers across the world. @hotelirada, @humming_tree
This article was published in the AD Middle East print issue for February/March 2026.
