The scion of the Kamat family, Vishal Kamat was handed a legacy to hold and nurture, India’s first eco-friendly five-star hotel property, the Orchid. Vishal also led the restoration of the Fort Jadhavgadh into a hotel, a structure built in 1710 by a Maratha general in Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj’s service. Fort Jadhavgadh’s reincarnation has kept its history intact—the general manager is still called the killedar, the swimming pool is still the kund, and the rooms are kholis.
“Our culture has always been about sustainability and no wastage,” Vishal said. “We have moved away from our ethos and that’s why the world is what it is now.” He recollected growing up watching household items being reused, understanding thrift and savings. “Heritage and sustainability go hand in hand and this goes to our roots,” he said.
The ethos of the Kamat group has been what their tagline suggests, ‘friendly-ecofriendly’, and according to wildlife conservationist Aditya Dhanwatey, Vishal has kept alive the warmth associated with Asia’s first 5-star ecotel.
The idea of social consciousness and luxury with responsibility are now in everything they do, said Vishal, including a water conservation system at their Lotus properties, a flora-fauna revival through a wastewater treatment plant and a vermicomposting initiative in a drought-prone part of Maharashtra, and more.
“When you really want to do something, you will do it well,” said Vishal about the mantle being passed down to him, and added that the Kamat group tries to contribute and add something back into society through, for example, the post-Ganpati clean-up drives for 27 years now and a special initiative at their new property named Ira where 1 percent of all sales is donated to charitable institutions working for the welfare of India’s girl children.
In Jadhavgadh, the group supported a local school with construction of toilets, among other things. “It is not just a marketing pitch for us, it is a belief,” Vishal said.
