Aster Bay Retreat
2025
Location
Alibag, India
Area
9,800 m²
Client
Aster Hospitality
Services
Architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture.
A retreat that lets the coast do the talking. Low pavilions of lime-washed masonry and timber step down toward the bay, framed by water courts and planted terraces, so every guest room feels open to breeze, shade, and sea.
Context
Aster Hospitality wanted a coastal retreat south of Mumbai that felt rooted in the landscape rather than dropped onto it. The site is a sloping coconut grove above a tidal bay, with strong sun, salt air, and monsoon rain to design for.
The existing palms and a seasonal stream had to stay, and the resort needed to feel intimate at sixty keys, not like a hotel complex.
Concept
We broke the program into small pavilions that follow the contour of the slope, leaving the grove and stream intact. Walls of lime-washed laterite and teak louvers handle sun and rain, and every guest room opens onto a shaded veranda and a private water court.
A chain of shared courtyards connects the restaurant, spa, and pool, drawing the sea breeze through the plan. At night the resort reads as a scatter of lanterns among the palms, quiet enough to hear the tide.
Materials & Sustainability
Lime-washed laterite, local teak, and woven cane are used throughout, so the resort feels like part of the coast rather than a visitor to it. Most materials were sourced within 150 kilometers of the site, supporting regional craftspeople.
Rainwater is stored in the water courts for irrigation, and a solar array and biogas unit power the kitchens and spa. The coconut grove was kept intact, and every pavilion is raised on piers to protect the soil and the seasonal stream.
Credits
Client: Aster Hospitality
Design Team: Otlo Architecture Studio, Mumbai
Landscape Architect: Konkan Landscapes
Hospitality Interiors: Studio Lotus
Photography: [Photographer Name]
Every Great Space Starts Somewhere.
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