Eyeing to Match up to the Level of Some Fine Hotels in Shimla Region: Amit Lal

By Neha Kirpal

The newly built juSTa Cliffend Resort & Spa in Mashobra is a combination of both old and new world architecture. The latest offering from the juSTa Group of Hotels, the 5 Star luxury hotel started its operation on 16th April, when it welcomed its first guest.

In this exclusive interview, Amit Lal, the General Manager of the juSTa Cliffend Resort & Spa, Mashobra, spoke to us among other things about the hotel’s primary features, its varied clientele and what sets it apart from competition.

The hotel has unique heritage and is one of the quintessential five-star luxury resorts in Mashobra. What is your competition in this area, and what sets you apart from the competition?
We are eyeing to match up to the level of some fine hotels in the Shimla region, such as the Cecil Oberoi Shimla, WelcomHotel Shimla, Radisson Jass Shimla, Regenta Mashobra or Marigold Sarovar Portico Shimla.

As a five-star luxury resort with top-class product and services, several features set us apart from our competition:

• As our name suggests, we enjoy spectacular, uninterrupted and breathtaking views of the hills and valleys around.

• We offer large, spacious room sizes with individual private balconies.

• Our rooms are a mix of 12 concrete buildings and 16 wooden structured villas. The building rooms are centrally heated with centrally running hot water facility, and the villas have individual units for hot and cold air conditioning, individual geysers for hot running water.

• Our open-air infinity view heated swimming pool is the hotel’s main USP, and is the only one in all of Mashobra.

• We have ample outdoor seating space as well as the Kaafal café serving guests in the open lawns delicacies like pizzas, barbecues, smoothies and more.

• Given that car parking space is scarce in Shimla, we have enough parking space (both underground and open) for guest cars.

Tell us a little about the hotel’s 28 luxury rooms, spa, fine dining areas and other important features.
The hotel’s 28 rooms are divided into four categories: Deluxe room (8), Executive suite (6), Villa cottage (14) and Villa cottage suite (2). The hotel’s villas are completely made up of pinewood imported from Finland.The rooms are all equipped with modern fixtures and amenities from Kama Ayurveda products, giving it a fine touch.

Also, to keep the Himachali culture intact, we have added Kullvi Patti in our bed runners, cushions and headboards in the villa cottages. The paintings displayed in the resort are the original artworks of artist from across India and 10 other countries,which participated in the Chitrashala workshop organized by juSTa Hotels & Resorts.

At our spa, we are committed to providing unique treatments by blending ancient Ayurvedic healing techniques, exquisite treatments and exceptional customer service, while ensuring that our company standards are maintained. Further, we aim to curate fine dining experiences for couples or families, in the form of sky dining, dip&dine, candlelight dinners, apple orchard picnics and jungle picnics.

Tell us a little about the mix of the hotel’s clientele. Which all states do most guests visit from?
Since the presence of juSTa Hotels extends to almost 20 cities, our guests come from all over India. Under the strong leadership and guidance of  Ashish Vohra, the Founder & CEO of juSTa Hotels & Resorts,as well as our sales team headed by Rohit Katyal, we have been successful in achieving our sales target. The majority of our guests come from Delhi, Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Mumbai, Gujarat and Karnataka.

What are some challenges that the hotel currently faces?
We are all facing post-Covid challenges that are being faced by most in our industry. Getting the right manpower is particularly challenging. While we are becoming more tech savvy in terms of increased efficiency, POS and inventory management,at the same time we are at a bigger risk of cyber breach. Even though we are in the recovery mode, revenue per available room still remains a challenge.

The hotel is also a wedding destination. Tell us more about what it offers on this front.
We are not just an ordinary wedding destination;we are a niche/boutique offbeat wedding destination—a prime location away from the hustle and bustle of the city with clean,pollution-free air. For exclusive wedding groups of about 70 to 100 guests,the hotel is available with complete buyout facility.

What are juSTa Hotels & Resorts’ plans for the future?
Under the guidance of Mr Vohra, juSTa Hotels & Resorts has gradually grown to a number that is recognizable in the hospitality world. We are now aggressively looking to gain more reach in the expansion of the group in India. We are coming up with many more properties in different locations in the hills, Rajasthan and thesouth.