Kerala, India, has been selected as the location for the first-ever Tulah property – the brand new clinical wellness brand spearheaded by UAE-based KEF Holdings (KEF)*.

The brand’s inaugural facility will open in Chelembra as a 30-acre facility offering a comprehensive healthcare programme that provides access to clinical wellness, spa services, fitness activities, wellness education and healthy cuisine.

Medical expertise from Meitra – KEF's flagship hospital – 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.

Wellness consultancy The Wellness Dubai has been brought on board to help realise the 8bn rupee (US$100.3m, £84.6m, €99.5m) project.

With a projected opening of March 2024, the Kerala resort is being built in a phased approach and will feature 130 rooms once complete. KEF says 50 rooms will be operational by March 2023.

Looking ahead, KEF has already outlined aspirations to launch similar clinical wellness resorts in the UAE and Southeast Asia. It hopes the initial resort 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. “It’s a grounded philosophy, which has to be lived circularly at every level. Each aspect of the space will serve another.

“By integrating a multi-disciplinary approach to wellness, the first Tulah property will marry traditional healing practices and medical science, fitness and movement experiences, healthy organic cuisines and recreational activities, over a breathtaking 360° view of misty hills and lush greenery.”

A team of international architects and designers – including KEF Designs, Kinnersley Kent Design, LAMI Architects and SquareM – is 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’s Kerala outpost will also be home to a 44,000sq m swimming pool and farm-to-table restaurant.

*More 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 born out of the vision to change the face of healthcare, and make premium healthcare accessible to each and everyone, which led to the opening of Meitra Hospital. The 400,000sq ft hospital was completed in 18 months using KEF Infra’s offsite manufacturing technology, making it the first-ever prefab hospital in India.

KEF founder, Kottikollon, is a US-educated Indian engineer by trade and started his first business – a scrap metal company named Al Ahamadi General Trading Company – in the UAE in 1995.

In 1997, Kottikollon set up an integrated foundry in the UAE, for industrial valves and steel castings, Emirates Techno Casting. 15 years later, Tyco, a US$20bn American corporation bought the company for US$400m.

This led to the formation of KEF Investments and later KEF Infra in 2014, before KEF Infra merged with Softbank-funded Silicon Valley company, Katerra, in 2018.

From that point on, KEF set its sights on 'redefining healthcare in India and across the world'.