Heritage Madurai

Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India

A 17-acre resort which offers you a perfect cocktail of peace, greenery, and Madurai of distant past.

A resort, one hundred years in the making, in the heart of a city that grew from drops of nectar that flowed from the locks of Shiva, as legend would have us believe.

Enter the gates of the 17-acre resort, and experience the Madurai of distant past.

Heritage Story...
The story began with Madura Coats looking for a prospective buyer to take over the Madurai Club. When the news reached the ears of Mr. S. Thiagarajan*, CEO of the Indian Green Grid Group (formerly known as ETL Infrastructure Limited), he was immediately interested. Scion of a well-known business family that hailed from Madurai, he was only too aware of the property’s historical and architectural value. Unable to bear the thought of this venerable property being taken over by an insensitive developer and turned into soul-less high-rises, Mr. Thiagarajan decided to purchase the property and restore the Madurai Club to its former glory.

While the emphasis lay on building an environment-friendly ‘green’ Resort, he also ensured that the property’s historical value was carefully preserved. Thus, the first venture into the Hospitality sector was initiated through an association with Aitken Spence, Sri Lanka, and a separate company, ETL Hospitality Services Limited, which was formed. Later in the year 2010, the company was re-christened as Grand Luxe Hotels Limited to manage and market Heritage Madurai and accelerate the growth of the Hospitality Division.
...Rebuilding History...
Restoration of the Madurai Club was fittingly awarded to Bawa’s disciple, Sri Lankan architect, and prodigy Vinod Jayasinghe. Maintaining Bawa’s unique style and most of the material he had used, Jayasinghe restored the resort to its former glory, along with the addition of modern conveniences. Leaving his own personal stamp on the project, Jayasinghe, in addition to personal courtyards and enclosed plunge pools in every villa, added an Olympic-sized, temple tank styled pool.

“Today, Heritage Madurai comprises 72 rooms including 34 villas. The old colonial bungalows have been refurbished maintaining that traditional South Indian flavor, only found in Madurai”.