Travel
From Shoreditch to the Andaman Islands: the making of Jalakara
How husband and wife duo Mark Hill and Atalanta Weller turned their passion for food and design into a boutique hotel in the Indian Ocean
Mark Hill has enjoyed a long-standing love affair with India. The White City House Founder member spent six months travelling around India in his youth and it clearly left a lasting impression. ‘There’s something quite particular about the country and the way you can suddenly get “hooked” overnight’ he says. ‘It sweeps you along on its own magical path.’
Living in London, but always dreaming of owning a tropical beach pad, it was after winning a bet at a dinner party in 2007 about the geography of the Andaman Islands that the food entrepreneur decided ‘that’s it’ and visited the archipelago for the first time. Floating in the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean, and ringed with so many white sand beaches that half of them don’t even have names, the Andamans are no hard sell. But for Hill, his relationship with this remote Indian archipelago felt almost serendipitous. ‘I had read about these fabulous-sounding islands while backpacking but never made it there, although I always felt drawn [to them],’ he says. In 2009, he bit the bullet and bought a block of land there.
The next step for Hill, an early pioneer of healthy eating, was to sell his business, The Well Dressed Salad Company, in favour of this more alluring lifestyle. Together with his wife, shoe designer Atalanta Weller, he embarked on a seven-year project to build Jalakara in the Andaman Islands. ‘When I was younger, I had dreamt of running away from rainy London to live on an exotic tropical island, swimming with brightly coloured fish and eating coconuts every day,’ he says. ‘Jalakara is me making this dream come true.’
Living in London, but always dreaming of owning a tropical beach pad, it was after winning a bet at a dinner party in 2007 about the geography of the Andaman Islands that the food entrepreneur decided ‘that’s it’ and visited the archipelago for the first time. Floating in the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean, and ringed with so many white sand beaches that half of them don’t even have names, the Andamans are no hard sell. But for Hill, his relationship with this remote Indian archipelago felt almost serendipitous. ‘I had read about these fabulous-sounding islands while backpacking but never made it there, although I always felt drawn [to them],’ he says. In 2009, he bit the bullet and bought a block of land there.
The next step for Hill, an early pioneer of healthy eating, was to sell his business, The Well Dressed Salad Company, in favour of this more alluring lifestyle. Together with his wife, shoe designer Atalanta Weller, he embarked on a seven-year project to build Jalakara in the Andaman Islands. ‘When I was younger, I had dreamt of running away from rainy London to live on an exotic tropical island, swimming with brightly coloured fish and eating coconuts every day,’ he says. ‘Jalakara is me making this dream come true.’
Originally conceived as a private villa for their family, the couple soon realised that they wanted to share the experience of Jalakara with like-minded people and turning it into a small hotel was the best way to do that, opening for their first season in 2016. Teaming up with visionary architect Ajith Andagere, they created a modernist, tropical, seven-bedroom boutique hotel based on the architectural principles of wabi-sabi, where the building blends seamlessly with nature and the integrity of natural materials is celebrated. Interior and exterior spaces flow into one another, with water, sky and nature at every turn.
Together with Andagere, the couple designed half of the furniture at the property, with most of it crafted from raw tree trunks and bamboo from the Andamans. Everything else is sourced from years of travels around the world, from the copper taps bought in Fez to the one-of-a-kind peacock table picked up from a flea market. ‘Everything was either made by us or found by us,’ explains Hill. ‘Nothing in there came from a catalogue.’
With 18 years’ experience as a shoe designer, both for her eponymous label and the likes of Henry Holland and Lady Gaga, Weller’s design know-how came into play with Jalakara. ‘There’s a great deal of synergy between fashion and footwear design and interiors and architecture,’ she says. ‘Getting to grips with a new field and applying my ideas of form, shape, fabric and colour to the technical restraints of new areas was really exciting. As a designer, I think it’s crucial to step outside of your comfort zone, to keep learning, exploring and pushing your own boundaries.’
Together with Andagere, the couple designed half of the furniture at the property, with most of it crafted from raw tree trunks and bamboo from the Andamans. Everything else is sourced from years of travels around the world, from the copper taps bought in Fez to the one-of-a-kind peacock table picked up from a flea market. ‘Everything was either made by us or found by us,’ explains Hill. ‘Nothing in there came from a catalogue.’
With 18 years’ experience as a shoe designer, both for her eponymous label and the likes of Henry Holland and Lady Gaga, Weller’s design know-how came into play with Jalakara. ‘There’s a great deal of synergy between fashion and footwear design and interiors and architecture,’ she says. ‘Getting to grips with a new field and applying my ideas of form, shape, fabric and colour to the technical restraints of new areas was really exciting. As a designer, I think it’s crucial to step outside of your comfort zone, to keep learning, exploring and pushing your own boundaries.’
The couple applied a modern approach to old-world crafts such as block printing, indigo dyeing, mud printing and embroidery, allowing them to create a contemporary design aesthetic by using traditional techniques. The pillars in the main courtyard were hand-plastered then polished with coconut oil, while the tiles on the roof are architectural salvage from two villages in Karnataka in south India, and the curtains are fashioned out of old saris. ‘It was also a way to reuse materials that would normally end up in a landfill,’ Weller says. ‘Even the water is heated by wood fire.’ Without intentionally setting out to build an eco-conscious hotel, it happened organically, thanks to the couple’s shared love of local workmanship and old craft techniques.
Hill’s experience in hospitality paved the way for the guest experience. ‘I wanted it to feel like a house and to make our guests feel like active participants in the Jalakara experience. Our guests can barbecue dishes themselves with our table tandoors, go foraging with our head chef, take over the sound system on an open-mic hour, or set up a bespoke beach camp on a private beach.’
As for the food, it’s farm-to-table or boat-to-table. Without any form of chilled distribution to the island, most of the menu has to come from the island or from the surrounding seas. ‘We use banana flowers, honey from the rainforest, tropical fruit, spices from our farm, chickens and eggs from a local farmer…’ says Hill. ‘The main boon is the spectacularly good seafood available fresh from the sea, such as fresh tuna, lobster, crab and tiger prawns.’ There’s also a large communal kitchen with a full pantry to help guests mingle with one another. ‘In hotels, sometimes the fun gets lost in all the attention to detail and polish and ‘them and us’ style of service,’ says Hill. ‘It’s based on the idea that the best room at a party is always the kitchen.’
Hill’s experience in hospitality paved the way for the guest experience. ‘I wanted it to feel like a house and to make our guests feel like active participants in the Jalakara experience. Our guests can barbecue dishes themselves with our table tandoors, go foraging with our head chef, take over the sound system on an open-mic hour, or set up a bespoke beach camp on a private beach.’
As for the food, it’s farm-to-table or boat-to-table. Without any form of chilled distribution to the island, most of the menu has to come from the island or from the surrounding seas. ‘We use banana flowers, honey from the rainforest, tropical fruit, spices from our farm, chickens and eggs from a local farmer…’ says Hill. ‘The main boon is the spectacularly good seafood available fresh from the sea, such as fresh tuna, lobster, crab and tiger prawns.’ There’s also a large communal kitchen with a full pantry to help guests mingle with one another. ‘In hotels, sometimes the fun gets lost in all the attention to detail and polish and ‘them and us’ style of service,’ says Hill. ‘It’s based on the idea that the best room at a party is always the kitchen.’
After opening Jalakara for its first full season in October 2016, the couple expanded their hotel portfolio to include Jalakara Concierge Travel in 2018, helping guests travel and explore India the Jalakara-way, with the couple mapping out bespoke itineraries for clients. ‘India can deliver life-changing sublime moments and it’s the ambition of our travel concierge to light the path to one of these,’ explains Hill.
Most recently, the couple have taken over the running of Anopura, a small collection of cottages in the rolling hills just outside of Jaipur. ‘We were so excited when we first came across Anopura a few years ago; there’s such synergy with Jalakara,’ says Weller. Anopura has recently planted 60 acres of organic lemon groves around the property, as well as a huge flower garden and herbarium. ‘Our ambition is to create a wellness retreat with yoga shalas, natural pools, farm-to-table food, massages and treatments using home-grown ingredients,’ Hill explains.
Now living between London and India, the couple has succeeded in creating a travel brand that’s an antidote to an increasingly digital, fast-paced world. ‘Both Jalakara and Anopura are celebrations of the simple analogue pleasures of art, design, nature, cuisine and deep relaxation,’ concludes Hill.
Most recently, the couple have taken over the running of Anopura, a small collection of cottages in the rolling hills just outside of Jaipur. ‘We were so excited when we first came across Anopura a few years ago; there’s such synergy with Jalakara,’ says Weller. Anopura has recently planted 60 acres of organic lemon groves around the property, as well as a huge flower garden and herbarium. ‘Our ambition is to create a wellness retreat with yoga shalas, natural pools, farm-to-table food, massages and treatments using home-grown ingredients,’ Hill explains.
Now living between London and India, the couple has succeeded in creating a travel brand that’s an antidote to an increasingly digital, fast-paced world. ‘Both Jalakara and Anopura are celebrations of the simple analogue pleasures of art, design, nature, cuisine and deep relaxation,’ concludes Hill.