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The first Tulah wellness facility will open in Chelembra, in Kerala, India / Photo: KEF Holdings
Kerala, India, has been selected as the location for the first Tulah property – the new clinical wellness brand spearheaded by UAE-based KEF Holdings (KEF).
The brand’s inaugural 30-acre facility will open in Chelembra and will offer a comprehensive healthcare programme that will provide access to a hospital, clinical wellness, spa services, fitness activities, wellness education and healthy cuisine.
Set in the unexplored region of Malabar, Tulah will provide guests with a clinical wellness experience that will integrate modern and traditional medicine – drawn from both local and global communities.
Medical expertise from Meitra – KEF’s flagship hospital, based in the Indian city of Kozhikode – will be at the heart of Tulah’s offering, while traditional Ayurvedic practices, yoga, Tibetan medical rituals, sound healing, sports, rehabilitation, healthy nutrition and a holistic living academy will round out the offering.
The modern medical expertise from Meitra will help to guide the offering at Tulah, where specialists will conduct orthopaedic and cosmetic, rehabilitation and physiotherapy services.
Wellness consultancy The Wellness Dubai has also been brought on board to help realise the 8bn rupee (US$100.3m, £84.6m, €99.5m) project.
The Kerala retreat is being built in a phased approach and will feature 130 rooms once complete, with 60 of those rooms expected to be operational by March 2023.
Looking ahead, KEF has also outlined aspirations to launch similar clinical wellness destinations in the UAE and South East Asia, and hopes the first retreat in Kerala will strengthen state tourism by attracting visitors from the GCC, Europe and South Asia.
“The purpose of Tulah is to realise a unified life,” explained Faizal E. Kottikollon, founder of KEF.
“By integrating a multi-disciplinary approach to wellness, the first Tulah property will combine traditional healing practices and medical science, fitness and movement experiences, healthy cuisine and recreational activities, within a breathtaking 360-degree view of misty hills and lush greenery.”
International architects and designers – including KEF Designs, Kinnersley Kent Design, LAMI Architects and SquareM – are conceiving the space.
Sustainability will be cemented firmly within Tulah’s philosophy as KEF plans to kit out the first property with a solar power farm, tree plantations, high-tech organic farming, water technology, composting and radiant cooling instead of air-conditioning. Tulah will also work with the local community by providing training and employment opportunities.
Tulah’s Kerala outpost will also be home to a 44,000sq m swimming pool and a farm-to-table restaurant.
Photo: KEF Holdings
"The first Tulah property will combine
traditional healing practices and
medical science, fitness and movement
experiences with healthy cuisine
and recreational activities" – Faizal Kottikollon
About KEF Holdings
Self-described as an ‘industry agnostic company’, KEF Holdings is a privately held family-owned diversified business conglomerate headquartered in Dubai.
The business is split into three branches; wellness, investments and healthcare. In 2017, KEF Healthcare was created to make premium healthcare more accessible, which led to the opening of Meitra Hospital.
KEF founder, Faizal Kottikollon, started a scrap metal business in the UAE in 1995, then set up a foundry for industrial valves and steel castings in 1997. This was bought by US corporation Tyco 15 years’ later for US$400m (€403.3m, £347.9m).
This led to the formation of KEF Investments and later KEF Infra which was merged with Softbank-funded Silicon Valley company, Katerra, in 2018. Since then, KEF has set its sights on ‘redefining healthcare in India and across the world’.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2022 issue 3
Editor's letter: Salus per natura
Although great buildings lie at the heart of the spa and wellness experience, operators are turning to nature to deliver healing journeys, says Liz Terry
Spa People: Thierry Malleret
We talk to the economist behind Monthly Barometer about key trends emerging in the wellness sector, such as a greater connection with nature
Spa People: Verena Lasvigne
The founder of VLF Spa Consulting shares her learnings from a career running spas on three continents
Spa People: Kim Weller
The wellbeing director of Banyan Tree tells us about the rollout of the company's new brand, Veya – for mind/body wellness
New opening: Loisium Spa
A look at the new luxurious spa situated at the heart of France's celebrated Champagne region
Interview: Neil Jacobs
The CEO of Six Senses talks about creating an eco-system around the brand to deliver hotels, clubs, residential, offices and resorts
Project preview: Next generation wellness
We take our first look at Tulah, the new clinical wellness retreat brand about to make its debut in Kerala, India, and speak to its CEO
ISPA Research: Rate of recovery
Russell Donaldson digs deeper into ISPA's 2022 US Spa Industry Study and considers the industry's resurgence since the end of pandemic lockdowns
Sponsored: Gharieni: Delivering results
Innovation is the hallmark of Gharieni experiences, meeting the rapidly
evolving needs of wellness seekers within the spa and wellness environment
New opening: Lanserhof Sylt
Lisa Starr reports on the industry's eagerly awaited wellness experience – nestled within sand dunes on the German island of Sylt
Healing: Emotional rescue
As people increasingly seek support for their emotional wellbeing, Jane Kitchen talks to the operators who are digging deeper to deliver genuine transformation
Promotion: TechnoAlpin: Powerful contrast
Spa clients can enjoy super-cool relaxation and pain-relief at Sächsische Staatsbäder in Bad Brambach thanks to a TechnoAlpin SnowRoom
Concept: Soneva Soul
The CEO and co-founder of Soneva, Sonu Shivdasani, talks about the philosophy behind the company's new wellness concept, Soneva Soul
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The first Tulah wellness facility will open in Chelembra, in Kerala, India / Photo: KEF Holdings
Kerala, India, has been selected as the location for the first Tulah property – the new clinical wellness brand spearheaded by UAE-based KEF Holdings (KEF).
The brand’s inaugural 30-acre facility will open in Chelembra and will offer a comprehensive healthcare programme that will provide access to a hospital, clinical wellness, spa services, fitness activities, wellness education and healthy cuisine.
Set in the unexplored region of Malabar, Tulah will provide guests with a clinical wellness experience that will integrate modern and traditional medicine – drawn from both local and global communities.
Medical expertise from Meitra – KEF’s flagship hospital, based in the Indian city of Kozhikode – will be at the heart of Tulah’s offering, while traditional Ayurvedic practices, yoga, Tibetan medical rituals, sound healing, sports, rehabilitation, healthy nutrition and a holistic living academy will round out the offering.
The modern medical expertise from Meitra will help to guide the offering at Tulah, where specialists will conduct orthopaedic and cosmetic, rehabilitation and physiotherapy services.
Wellness consultancy The Wellness Dubai has also been brought on board to help realise the 8bn rupee (US$100.3m, £84.6m, €99.5m) project.
The Kerala retreat is being built in a phased approach and will feature 130 rooms once complete, with 60 of those rooms expected to be operational by March 2023.
Looking ahead, KEF has also outlined aspirations to launch similar clinical wellness destinations in the UAE and South East Asia, and hopes the first retreat in Kerala will strengthen state tourism by attracting visitors from the GCC, Europe and South Asia.
“The purpose of Tulah is to realise a unified life,” explained Faizal E. Kottikollon, founder of KEF.
“By integrating a multi-disciplinary approach to wellness, the first Tulah property will combine traditional healing practices and medical science, fitness and movement experiences, healthy cuisine and recreational activities, within a breathtaking 360-degree view of misty hills and lush greenery.”
International architects and designers – including KEF Designs, Kinnersley Kent Design, LAMI Architects and SquareM – are conceiving the space.
Sustainability will be cemented firmly within Tulah’s philosophy as KEF plans to kit out the first property with a solar power farm, tree plantations, high-tech organic farming, water technology, composting and radiant cooling instead of air-conditioning. Tulah will also work with the local community by providing training and employment opportunities.
Tulah’s Kerala outpost will also be home to a 44,000sq m swimming pool and a farm-to-table restaurant.
Photo: KEF Holdings
"The first Tulah property will combine
traditional healing practices and
medical science, fitness and movement
experiences with healthy cuisine
and recreational activities" – Faizal Kottikollon
About KEF Holdings
Self-described as an ‘industry agnostic company’, KEF Holdings is a privately held family-owned diversified business conglomerate headquartered in Dubai.
The business is split into three branches; wellness, investments and healthcare. In 2017, KEF Healthcare was created to make premium healthcare more accessible, which led to the opening of Meitra Hospital.
KEF founder, Faizal Kottikollon, started a scrap metal business in the UAE in 1995, then set up a foundry for industrial valves and steel castings in 1997. This was bought by US corporation Tyco 15 years’ later for US$400m (€403.3m, £347.9m).
This led to the formation of KEF Investments and later KEF Infra which was merged with Softbank-funded Silicon Valley company, Katerra, in 2018. Since then, KEF has set its sights on ‘redefining healthcare in India and across the world’.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2022 issue 3
Editor's letter: Salus per natura
Although great buildings lie at the heart of the spa and wellness experience, operators are turning to nature to deliver healing journeys, says Liz Terry
Spa People: Thierry Malleret
We talk to the economist behind Monthly Barometer about key trends emerging in the wellness sector, such as a greater connection with nature
Spa People: Verena Lasvigne
The founder of VLF Spa Consulting shares her learnings from a career running spas on three continents
Spa People: Kim Weller
The wellbeing director of Banyan Tree tells us about the rollout of the company's new brand, Veya – for mind/body wellness
New opening: Loisium Spa
A look at the new luxurious spa situated at the heart of France's celebrated Champagne region
Interview: Neil Jacobs
The CEO of Six Senses talks about creating an eco-system around the brand to deliver hotels, clubs, residential, offices and resorts
Project preview: Next generation wellness
We take our first look at Tulah, the new clinical wellness retreat brand about to make its debut in Kerala, India, and speak to its CEO
ISPA Research: Rate of recovery
Russell Donaldson digs deeper into ISPA's 2022 US Spa Industry Study and considers the industry's resurgence since the end of pandemic lockdowns
Sponsored: Gharieni: Delivering results
Innovation is the hallmark of Gharieni experiences, meeting the rapidly
evolving needs of wellness seekers within the spa and wellness environment
New opening: Lanserhof Sylt
Lisa Starr reports on the industry's eagerly awaited wellness experience – nestled within sand dunes on the German island of Sylt
Healing: Emotional rescue
As people increasingly seek support for their emotional wellbeing, Jane Kitchen talks to the operators who are digging deeper to deliver genuine transformation
Promotion: TechnoAlpin: Powerful contrast
Spa clients can enjoy super-cool relaxation and pain-relief at Sächsische Staatsbäder in Bad Brambach thanks to a TechnoAlpin SnowRoom
Concept: Soneva Soul
The CEO and co-founder of Soneva, Sonu Shivdasani, talks about the philosophy behind the company's new wellness concept, Soneva Soul
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
Global luxury hospitality brand, Six Senses, has partnered with longevity healthcare provider,
HUM2N, to launch a clinic at Six Senses London, at The Whiteley.
As part of its first hotel partnership, Mayrlife – the medical health resort company known for its
site in Altaussee, Austria – has launched a day clinic at the Rosewood Vienna.
Premium London health club, KX Chelsea, will imminently unveil its most significant
redevelopment since its launch in 2002 to create an integrated wellness model combining
training, recovery and relaxation.
In today’s premium spa environment, every detail shapes the guest experience – right down to
the softness of towels and the freshness of linens. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
UK Spa Association Our mission is to raise awareness of our industry within schools, colleges, society and crucially at [more...]
