Maliekal Heritance, a beach and backwater resort in Cherai near Kochi, no longer measures its competition against hotels in the destination or even Kochi taking into account its premium setting and exclusive offerings to most discerning guests and event planners. According to Lenin Peter, Founder and Managing Director of Hiero Hospitality, which operates the resort, its competitive set today is the premium resort market in destinations such as Marari and Kumarakom.
“When a client goes into the INR 20,000 plus range, we are the only one in Kochi,” says Peter, describing the market position the resort has carved out over the past eight years. He believes Maliekal Heritance has moved beyond Cherai’s traditional image as a destination dominated by homestays and budget hotels to attract guests who would otherwise consider high-end resorts elsewhere in Kerala.
When Hiero Hospitality took over the sales, marketing and operations around eight years ago, it was operating more like a homestay, with a beach and a restaurant. Peter’s vision was to transform it into a premium resort, even though the viability of such a positioning in Cherai was questioned at the time.
“Cherai has the image that it has more of a homestay and budget hotel. Actually, we changed it,” he says.
Peter recalls that the decision to move into a room-rate bracket upwards of Rs 20,000 surprised many in the market. “Everybody was shocked. Nobody said this will succeed. Even online portals said it will not sell. We went to that upper market and proved ourselves right,” he said during a show around the property.
The resort was subsequently expanded and upgraded, with the owners investing in the property and Hiero Hospitality guiding its development and operations. Today, Maliekal Heritance has 17 cottages and villas across 14 categories, including three wooden cottages. All the villas feature individual jacuzzis. Room sizes start at around 450 sq ft and extend to 1,600–1,800 sq ft in the larger units.
Peter says the resort’s positioning rests on more than its rooms. Spacious accommodation, privacy and a peaceful setting are central to the experience it offers. The property combines a beachside on the front and a backwater view on the rear, giving guests access to two distinct settings within the same destination.
“If you go to Marari, you get the beach. If you go to Alappuzha, you get the backwater. We have both,” he says, pointing to Cherai’s combination of beach and backwater as a distinctive advantage. Conceding that Cherai has no houseboats to offer, he is hopeful that the vacuum will be filled sooner than later.
The resort also places considerable emphasis on exclusivity. Each accommodation category has its own identity, and guests receive the specific room they book rather than being assigned an alternative category at check-in. In-room music and Alexa-enabled features form part of the guest experience, while the pools are reserved exclusively for in-house guests.
“We offer complete privacy. Our pools are exclusive for in-house guests. No outsiders are allowed,” Peter says.
The property primarily targets FITs, although it also accommodates corporate groups and weddings. Corporate guests sometimes book the entire resort, while weddings are accepted through complete buyouts, allowing the property to maintain its exclusive character for the group.
Peter believes the resort has established a distinct position among premium leisure properties, attracting guests who value the experience and privacy over the convenience of staying in a conventional city hotel. He also sees scope for Cherai to move further upmarket, but feels that other operators have been hesitant to invest in a similar repositioning.
“Our problem we are facing is nobody has got the guts to go to the next level. We don’t have any option in the same level,” he says.
The resort has also received visibility through film shoots, with productions including Happy Sardar and Dhoomaketu among those mentioned by Peter. Such exposure has added to its recognition, although the core of its positioning remains the product itself and the experience offered to guests.
Maliekal Heritance is currently the most premium property in Hiero Hospitality’s portfolio. The Kochi-based hotel management company also operates Presidency Airport Hotel near Kochi International Airport and All Season, a backwater resort at Ashtamudi in Kollam.
“Boutique luxury resorts is our principal focus,” Peter stated, as they are expanding their footprint with a luxury resort in Gundumala in Munnar soon. A convention hotel in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram is also in the pipeline, he said.
