The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts is an Indian luxury hospitality group founded in 1986 by Captain C. P.

Krishnan Nair,[1] who named it after his wife. Currently The Leela, as it is commonly referred to, is a group of seven luxury palaces and hotels, located in Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Kovalam, Gurgaon, Udaipur, New Delhi and Chennai. The group has plans to open new hotels in Coimbatore, Agra, Lake Ashtamudi (Kollam, Kerala) and Jaipur. The company has marketing alliances with US-based Preferred Hotels and Resorts and is member of Global Hotel Alliance, based in Geneva, Switzerland.[2][3]

Contents
1 Foundation 2 Expansion 3 Properties 4 References 5 External links

Foundation
Born in an agricultural family in a village near Kannur in north Kerala, Captain Chittarath Poovakkatt Krishnan Nair began his career with the Indian Army in the Maratha Light Infantry (post independence). Years later, he married the daughter of a handloom businessman. With the support of his in-laws, he started his first business as a textile exporter from Madras, under the brand name Leela Scottish Lace. In 1958, he joined hands with Brooks Brothers to announce "Bleeding Madras", which later had clients like Tommy Hilfiger, Wal-Mart, Liz Claiborne and Macy's. Later that year, he started his lace-weaving unit in Mumbai's Sahar area. In 2007, he sold Leela Scottish Lace. By this time, he was 65 years old and a multi-millionaire.[4]

Expansion
In 1986, the first hotel, The Leela Mumbai was built in Mumbai. In 1991, the second hotel was built in Goa. The Leela Goa was designed keeping the overall architecture of the state in mind. The luxury seaside resort has taken its inspiration from Portuguese heritage and is in South Goa by the Cavelossim Beach. In 1997, the group's first modern hotel was built in Bangalore, inspired by the Mysore Palace and the architecture of the 13th century Vijayanagara empire. In 2005, the second resort called The Leela Kovalam opened in Thiruvananthapuram. By 2009, the group added two more properties in Udaipur (Rajasthan) and Gurgaon. The Leela Kempinski Gurgaon is the group's first non-owned, managed property. In 2011 The Leela Palace in New Delhi opened. It was inspired by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Properties
Palaces The Leela Palace Bangalore The Leela Palace Udaipur

 The Leela Palace New Delhi The Leela Palace Chennai Hotels The Leela Mumbai The Leela Kempinski Gurgaon Resorts The Leela Goa The Leela Kovalam Residences The Leela Kempinski Gurgaon Residences