Just a two hour’s drive from the ever-bustling and expanding sprawl of Mumbai– India’s 2nd city– the Sahyadris Hills unfold with a cooler and less humid climate. For decades now, the area– likewise noted for its ancient forts and Buddhist caves– has been a popular weekend location for city-dwellers searching for reprieve however, like the dense and congested metropolitan cores they’re escaping, it has actually likewise caught widespread and unregulated development. Ironically, much of the natural appeal here has come down with its fame. Such is the regrettable fate of numerous popular resort locations in beneficial distance to a major city or conurbation.
Wanting to keep what is left of the verdant landscape and make it readily available to guests in a more responsible way is the recently completed Radisson Resort and Medspa Lonavala.
Replete with numerous distinctive dining establishments, occasions places, and other premium features, the retreat embeds into its’hill station’surroundings through its innovative architectural massing, materiality, and the execution of climate-specific techniques motivated by the local architectural vernacular. The decidedly Brutalist yet emphatically site-responsive complex is a far cry from the antibacterial chain hotels that typically feel out-of-place and inauthentic.< img src= "https://design-milk.com/images/2026/03/Malik-Architecture-Radisson-Resort-10-810x540.jpg"alt="A contemporary corridor by Malik Architecture features wood slat
walls, black doors, and sunshine casting vibrant shadows throughout the floor and walls.”width=”810″ height=”540″/ >”The sense of open space of linking to nature is contested by the structure kinds that emerge through the recommended structural codes and densities,”states Kamal Malik, the creator the eponymously called, Mumbai-based company responsible for the hotel’s design”The architecture emerges from the site, topography, from the region’s material history– black basalt and wood– and adapts to both versatile and repaired– public and personal– programs.” Malik Architecture’s extensive intervention integrates reinterpreted architectural archetypes from the region: yards, verandahs, deep-shading, thick walls, and cross-ventilation. The primary focus nevertheless is the surrounding nature. Significant volumes pave the way to skyrocketing apertures noticeable for many semi-indoor and semi-outdoor vantage points. Completely, the plan accommodates optimal natural ventilation, safeguards versus heavy rain throughout Monsoon season, and secures versus extreme sun rays. Suites come with adjacent outdoor patios confined by operable slatted shading walls. The guest spaces occupy abstract-form structures hovering above the ground. Shafts of natural light piece across these angular volumes and light up atriums that appear in between. “The sensation of a multi-storey building has actually been avoided by establishing the ground as natural, complimentary type public spaces with split level topographical connections,”Malik adds.”Extant kinds– bastions and Large masonry walls– stepped courts, otherwise called kunds– animate the constructed landscape.”< img src= "https://design-milk.com/images/2026/03/Malik-Architecture-Radisson-Resort-19-810x942.jpg"alt="Outdoor terrace by Malik Architecture includes wood slatted walls and ceiling, lavish green plants in planters, and a table with 4 chairs, with big glass doors leading inside."width="810"height="942"/ > An abundant earth tone combination, specified by many of the same substrate products as the exterior, makes its way into the interiors but doesn’t overpower as the piece de resistance stays the thoroughly framed natural setting exterior. There’s no unnecessary design, just a sober deployment of ornamentation hinting at the local Maratha culture.
Spacious guest rooms and suites are pared back with a relaxing modernist visual only interrupted by fluted tambour-pattern function walls and traditional carpets representing the positioning of beds. Together with many sports facilities including everything from a fully-equipped gym and steam room to archery and badminton fields, Radisson Resort and Health club Lonavala’s dining options include the essential Indian style Hirkani– with stations that allow guest to see their food being prepared– and a series of pop-up haunts. Malhari is the go-to mixed drink bar. The historical Tungarli Town positions right out the resort.
< img src="https://design-milk.com/images/2026/03/Malik-Architecture-Radisson-Resort-31-810x540.jpg" alt="Covered sidewalk with metal roofing system panels and supports, surrounded by plant, leading towards a contemporary, multi-story building in the background-- showcasing the signature style of Malik Architecture." width="810" height="540"/ > What: Radisson Resort and Medical Spa Lonavala Where: Lonavala, India Just how much: Rooms beginning at $ 137 Style draws: A website accountable location ingrained within the popular getaway Sahyadris area of western India with materiality, proportions, food, and activities programmed in honor of the verdant nature in the immediate surroundings.
Go essentially on trip with more design destinations right here. Photography courtesy of Radisson Resort and Spa. < img src="https://design-milk.com/images/2024/07/Adrian-Madlener-Design-Milk-Headshot-100x100.jpg" width="100" height="100" alt =""/ > Adrian Madlener is a Brussels-born, New York-based writer specializing in collectible and sustainable design. With a specific focus on topics that exhibit the best in craft-led experimentation, he’s devoted to supporting skills that forge ahead in numerous disciplines.