- Otherland Galle will open near Galle Fort in Sri Lanka.
- The hotel targets travellers interested in surf culture.
- Emanuel Sidhartha joins as co-founder for the Sri Lanka expansion.
INDIA’S OTHERLAND HOTELS will open Otherland Galle in June, its first international oceanfront property. The 66-key hotel is near Galle Fort on Sri Lanka’s southern coast and targets travellers interested in surf culture and destination stays.
Otherland, founded in Bengaluru in 2023 by Rishi Sreedharan and Samarth Gowda, is an independent lifestyle collective in South Asia, according to the company. The expansion into Sri Lanka comes as the country’s hospitality sector has generated tourism revenues of hundreds of billions of rupees.
Gowda, the company’s chief operating officer, said entering the international market meant finding a location in their geographic region that amplifies the destination rather than reflecting it.
“The choice of Galle as our first location felt like the truest version of what Otherland could be—layered, alive and completely its own,” he said.
The collective operates on four pillars: fluid experiences, rooms as basecamps, human-centric hospitality and food and beverage offerings. It aims to build a portfolio of hotels, restaurants and beach clubs across the region.
“South Asia is loud, alive, dripping with culture and taste, and deserves a hospitality brand that can speak its language without putting on a costume,” said Sreedharan, Otherland founder and CEO. “Otherland is our vision to achieve this. We want to be unmistakable somewhere and then somewhere else and then again, each time earning our place with a distinctive lifestyle language built for the modern traveler who wants more than just accommodation. Galle, with its strong surf culture, evolving tourism landscape and creative subcultures, is exactly the kind of place where we want to be.”
For the Sri Lankan expansion, the founders are joined by Emanuel Sidhartha as co-founder, who brings experience from the local hospitality and cultural ecosystem, Otherland said.
Otherland Galle is the first in a development pipeline across South Asia, the statement said. Studio Camarada designed the hotel to open onto its coastal setting.
In July, Ventive Hospitality signed management contracts with Marriott International for seven hotels across India and Sri Lanka, totaling 1,548 rooms, scheduled to open by 2030.
