Ajinkya Rahane Just Opened His 5-Bedroom Igatpuri Villa to Guests – Inside RAAYA Estate
For years, Ajinkya Rahane’s Igatpuri retreat was where he switched off between Test tours — private, off-limits, tucked into the misty hills 130 km from Mumbai. From today, you can actually stay there. The Ajinkya Rahane villa in Igatpuri, called RAAYA Estate, has opened to guests through StayVista, joining the platform’s uber-luxury Vieda collection.
So what’s it actually like inside? What does a former India Test captain do to a family holiday home? Here’s a full look at RAAYA Estate: the cricket memorabilia room, the infinity pool, the Vieda service, why Rahane picked Igatpuri, and how to book.
Former India Test captain Ajinkya Rahane’s private holiday villa in Igatpuri, RAAYA Estate, is now bookable on StayVista. Part of StayVista’s uber-luxury Vieda collection, the 5-bedroom estate sleeps up to 15 guests and features an infinity pool overlooking a lake, manicured gardens, an in-house bar, and — the standout — Rahane’s personal cricket memorabilia room. It sits close to Kalsubai Peak (Maharashtra’s highest point at 1,646 m), Tringalwadi Fort and Camel Valley’s waterfalls, roughly 3 hours by road from Mumbai.
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What is RAAYA Estate? Ajinkya Rahane’s Family Retreat, Now Open to Guests
RAAYA Estate is Ajinkya Rahane’s private five-bedroom holiday villa in Igatpuri, Maharashtra. It is available for public booking exclusively on StayVista as part of the brand’s uber-luxury Vieda collection. The property accommodates up to 15 guests, sits close to Kalsubai Peak and Camel Valley’s waterfalls, and is a roughly three-hour drive from Mumbai.
Rahane, the KKR captain for IPL 2026, built the villa as a personal sanctuary, a place for his wife Radhika and their children to slow down between international series. It has served as the family’s private retreat for years. Opening it to StayVista guests is the first time anyone outside their circle can spend a night here.
RAAYA Estate at a Glance
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ajinkya Rahane (former India Test captain, current KKR captain) |
| Location | Igatpuri, Nashik district, Maharashtra |
| Bedrooms | 5 king-size |
| Sleeps | Up to 15 guests |
| Standout feature | Rahane’s personal cricket memorabilia room |
| Pool | Infinity pool overlooking the lake and hills |
| Distance from Mumbai | ~130 km · ~3 hours by road via NH160 |
| Distance from Pune | ~200 km · ~4 hours |
| Distance from Nashik | ~45 km · ~1 hour |
| Nearest airport | Mumbai (BOM), ~130 km |
| Nearest railway | Igatpuri (IGP), on the Mumbai–Nashik line |
| Ideal for | Family reunions, close-friend groups, milestone birthdays, small offsites |
| Bookable from | 11 September 2026 |
| Platform | StayVista (Vieda collection) — not listed elsewhere |
| Best time to visit | Late October – February (crisp, dry) · June – September (dramatic monsoon) |
Getting to the property is straightforward. Most guests drive from Mumbai on the Mumbai–Nashik Expressway (NH160), a stretch that runs cleanly for the first 90 km and then climbs into the ghats as you approach Kasara. For a step-by-step route breakdown, see our how to reach Igatpuri guide. Trains stop at Igatpuri station, which is on the Central Line and served by most Mumbai–Nashik expresses.
What’s Inside RAAYA Estate?
RAAYA Estate features five king-size bedrooms, an infinity pool overlooking the surrounding hills and lake, a gazebo, manicured gardens, a dedicated children’s play area, an in-house bar, and — most uniquely — Ajinkya Rahane’s personal cricket memorabilia room. It sleeps up to 15 guests and is designed for intimate family gatherings rather than large events.
The bedrooms
Five king-size rooms, each generously proportioned, spread across the property so that families or groups get real privacy. The layout suits multi-generational travel; grandparents, parents, and kids can each claim a corner and still gather easily for meals. Bedrooms open onto views of the surrounding landscape rather than into shared corridors.
The infinity pool and the lake view
This is the villa’s Instagram moment. The infinity pool sits on the edge of the plot, its horizon line dissolving into the lake and hills beyond. On misty monsoon mornings, you can’t tell where the pool ends and the water below begins. Sunrise here is the best time to have the pool to yourself — and the light does something soft to the Sahyadri ridges that photos never fully catch.
The gardens, gazebo and outdoor spaces
Landscaped lawns, a shaded gazebo for evening cocktails, and open lounging spaces around the pool. This is where most guests end up spending their evenings — the gazebo is set up for long dinners, board games, or a bonfire on cooler nights. The gardens are manicured but not overworked; you get the sense of a home that’s actually lived in, not staged.
The kids’ zone and the in-house bar
A dedicated children’s play area sits within eyeshot of the main living zone, which matters if you’re travelling with young kids and want actually to relax while they play. The in-house bar handles the adult side of that equation. Together, they’re a small design decision that turns RAAYA into a real family villa, not just a photogenic one.
For readers comparing options, our shortlist of places to visit in Igatpuri pairs well with an itinerary planned around the villa’s location.
The Cricket Memorabilia Room — Rahane’s Personal Museum
At the heart of RAAYA Estate is a private cricket memorabilia room featuring items from Ajinkya Rahane’s international career. It is, effectively, a personal museum inside a bookable home, and to our knowledge, the only celebrity-owned rental in India with such a dedicated space. For guests who grew up watching Rahane bat, this room alone justifies the trip.
In Rahane’s own words: “The cricket room holds memories of some of the most important moments of my career, while the rest of the home is filled with memories of my family and me. It will always be a special place for us.”
A quick reminder of what shaped that career. Rahane played 85 Test matches for India, scoring 5,077 runs and 12 centuries (ESPNCricinfo). But the moment most fans return to is Australia, 2020–21. India was bowled out for 36 in Adelaide. Virat Kohli flew home. Rahane took charge for the rest of the series, and India won 2–1. It remains one of the great Test comebacks. He is currently captain of Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL 2026.
Guests can expect signed bats, framed jerseys, and memorabilia tracing that journey. The room is deliberately intimate — this is a family home, not a stadium exhibit — but for cricket fans, it’s the kind of space where you’ll spend longer than you expected.
RAAYA Estate isn’t the first celebrity home in India to open its doors. Yuvraj Singh’s Goa home appeared on Airbnb’s Icons list in 2024, complete with career memorabilia. Shah Rukh Khan opened his Panchsheel Park property in Delhi in 2020. Janhvi Kapoor followed with a Chennai home. What makes RAAYA distinctive: it’s a working family home, not a one-off headline stay. And it’s tied into a full-service hospitality operation, not a self-check-in booking.
Why Ajinkya Rahane Chose Igatpuri
Rahane already owns homes in Mumbai, Lonavala and Pune. So why did he pick Igatpuri for the family retreat?
He answered it plainly in a statement: “I built this home as a place for my family and me to slow down, switch off from cricket, and spend quality time together. For me, it is about the simple things — being with my wife and kids, enjoying the surroundings and creating memories away from the game.”
Igatpuri is the quieter cousin in Maharashtra’s weekend-getaway lineup. Lonavala is closer to Pune and busier year-round. Nashik is a bigger town with wine-tour foot traffic. Igatpuri sits between them — a small hill town in the Sahyadri range at roughly 1,900 ft, cooled by a lake, ringed by ancient ghats, and short enough from Mumbai that you can drive down on a Friday evening and be inside your villa before dinner. It’s earned the informal title of “Mother Nature’s Hill Station” for a reason.
The weather does the rest. Igatpuri stays meaningfully cooler than Mumbai for most of the year. Monsoon turns the surrounding hills the kind of green you usually associate with Kerala or Himachal. Mist rolls off the ridges, waterfalls tumble out of the ghats, and the lake sits in soft focus. Winter (November–February) is the crisp-and-clear window. Nights get down to 12–14°C — ideal for the bonfire that RAAYA’s gazebo is built around. For a full weather breakdown, see our best time to visit Igatpuri guide.
If you’re deciding between Igatpuri and a bunch of other Sahyadri towns, our roundup of weekend getaways near Mumbai covers the trade-offs.
What’s Around RAAYA Estate? Kalsubai, Tringalwadi and Camel Valley
Part of what makes the property location work is what’s on its doorstep. RAAYA sits within a short drive of three of the most rewarding day trips in the Igatpuri belt. Below is a practical breakdown of each — distances, timings, fees, and the tips locals actually use.
1. Kalsubai Peak — Maharashtra’s highest point (1,646 m)
- Distance from RAAYA Estate: ~30 km / ~1 hour by road to Bari village (base)
- Entry fee: Free (no forest permit needed for the standard route)
- Timings: Trek starts best between 4:00 AM and 5:00 AM for a sunrise summit; expect 3–4 hours up, 2–3 hours down
- Best time to visit: October–February (dry, safe grip); the monsoon route (June–September) is dramatic but slippery and only for experienced trekkers
- How to reach: Drive Igatpuri → Ghoti → Bari via NH160 and local roads; the trailhead starts from Bari village
- Time required: A full-day trip from the villa (leave 3:30 AM, back by 1:00 PM)
- Ideal for: Reasonably fit adults, adventurous families with kids aged 10 and above
- Pro tip: The final ascent has iron ladders that get crowded on weekends — go on a weekday if you can. Carry at least 2 litres of water per person; there’s one small tea stall midway but nothing reliable higher up.
Our guide to monsoon treks in Maharashtra covers Kalsubai in the wet season if you’re up for it.
2. Tringalwadi Fort
- Distance from RAAYA Estate: ~10 km / ~25 minutes
- Entry fee: Free
- Timings: Sunrise to sunset; morning light is best for photography
- Best time to visit: June–February; avoid the harshest post-monsoon afternoon sun in April–May
- How to reach: Short drive to Tringalwadi village, then a 45-minute trek to the fort itself
- Time required: 3–4 hours round trip including the ascent, exploring the fort and photos
- Ideal for: Easy history-and-view trek; families with kids aged 8 and above, first-time trekkers
- Pro tip: The rock-cut Jain caves near the base of the trail often get skipped in the rush to reach the top — spend the extra 20 minutes on them; they’re older than most of the visitors realise.
3. Camel Valley Waterfalls
- Distance from RAAYA Estate: ~7 km / ~20 minutes
- Entry fee: Free at the main viewpoints; some vantage points charge a small parking fee (₹20–₹50)
- Timings: Best experienced between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM; avoid late-evening travel back on ghat roads during monsoon
- Best time to visit: June–September (peak monsoon flow); by February the falls slow to a trickle
- How to reach: Drive from the villa toward Vaitarna Dam road; multiple viewpoints line the ghat
- Time required: Roughly 2 hours for a comfortable visit to two or three viewpoints
- Ideal for: Photography, families with young kids, low-effort scenic outing that doesn’t require trekking
- Pro tip: Off-monsoon (from about February onwards), the falls thin dramatically — go in the June–early October window or don’t plan the trip around the waterfalls at all.
For a full monsoon-season plan of the region — Kalsubai base, Bhatsa Valley, and where to stay — read our Igatpuri in monsoon guide.
What’s Included in the Vieda Experience at RAAYA?
Booking RAAYA Estate includes the full Vieda experience, StayVista’s uber-luxury tier featuring a personalised butler service, tailored on-property activities, and all-day dining prepared by an on-site chef. Vieda is the top rung of our portfolio, home to some of India’s most distinctive private villas and holiday homes.
Concretely, here’s what “Vieda” translates to during a stay at RAAYA:
- On-site chef and all-day dining. Guests share dietary preferences before arrival — vegetarian, Jain, vegan, allergies — and the kitchen builds menus around them. Breakfast, lunch, evening tea, and dinner are all cooked on property. Regional Maharashtrian food is on the menu if you want it; so is continental if the group is mixed.
- Personalised butler service. Someone who knows the property inside out is on hand throughout the day to arrange breakfast timings, coordinate a chef’s tasting menu, brief you on the treks nearby, or simply keep things running without you having to think about it.
- Curated activities. Bonfire setups on cool evenings, in-villa mixology sessions, a private lakeside picnic, or a guide for the Kalsubai trek if you’re up for the 4 AM start. Nothing is a fixed menu — the team tailors it to the group.
- End-to-end management. One point of contact from booking through check-out. If a route is compromised on your travel day, someone calls you. If a group member is arriving separately, someone coordinates the pickup.
StayVista has 1,200 handpicked holiday homes across 85 destinations and a consistent 4.7 guest rating across the network. Vieda sits at the top of that pyramid. RAAYA Estate joining it puts a genuine celebrity-owned home into that same tier.
How Do You Book RAAYA Estate?
RAAYA Estate is bookable exclusively via StayVista. It is not listed on Airbnb, Booking.com, or any other platform. Nightly rates vary by season, weekday versus weekend, and group size. Check the property page for live availability.
A few practical notes for anyone planning a booking:
- Group size sweet spot: 8–15 guests. Below eight, the per-person economics are steep given the villa’s scale. Between 10 and 15, it becomes a genuinely competitive proposition against a comparable luxury resort.
- Best-value windows: Weekdays year-round, plus early November to mid-December and late January to February (post-Diwali holiday lull and post-New-Year quiet).
- Peak windows: Long weekends, Christmas–New Year, and monsoon Saturdays (June–August) tend to book out earliest. If you’re aiming for one of these, book 4–6 weeks ahead.
- Ideal trip length: Two nights minimum. One night doesn’t do justice to the drive or the property; three nights let you fit in one trek, one waterfall day, and one full day of doing nothing.
- For other properties in the region: Compare with other luxury villas in Igatpuri on the StayVista collection page.
Availability calendar: Live on the property page. Check RAAYA Estate availability on StayVista →
Frequently Asked Questions
Cricketer Ajinkya Rahane, former India Test captain and current Kolkata Knight Riders captain, owns RAAYA Estate. It is his family’s private holiday retreat in Igatpuri, Maharashtra, now available for guest bookings through StayVista’s Vieda uber-luxury collection.
Yes. RAAYA Estate is bookable to the public through StayVista as part of its Vieda collection. It sleeps up to 15 guests across 5 king-size bedrooms and is managed end-to-end by StayVista’s on-ground team.
RAAYA Estate is in Igatpuri, in Maharashtra’s Nashik district — roughly 130 km (about 3 hours by road) from Mumbai, 45 minutes from Nashik city, and 200 km from Pune. The nearest airport is Mumbai (BOM); the nearest railway station is Igatpuri (IGP), on the Mumbai–Nashik line.
Nightly rates vary by season, day of the week, and group size. Check live availability and current pricing on the RAAYA Estate property page on StayVista. Rates include the full Vieda service, butler, on-site chef, and curated activities.
The room houses items from Rahane’s international cricket career — signed bats, jerseys, and mementos tracing key moments, including his 85-Test career and the historic 2020–21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy win in Australia. Guests staying at RAAYA Estate can view the room during their stay.
The estate sits close to Kalsubai Peak (about 30 km — Maharashtra’s highest point at 1,646 m), Tringalwadi Fort (about 10 km — an easy trek with rock-cut Jain caves), and Camel Valley waterfalls (about 7 km — best in monsoon, June to September). Or simply stay in and enjoy the villa’s infinity pool overlooking the lake.
The Bottom Line
Celebrity-owned homes you can genuinely book — not just admire in a paparazzi shot — remain a small category in Indian hospitality. RAAYA Estate joins Yuvraj Singh’s Goa home in that space, and it does so with a distinctive twist: a working family villa with a private cricket museum inside, in a hill town that most weekenders drive past on their way somewhere busier.
Key takeaways:
- RAAYA Estate is Ajinkya Rahane’s 5-bedroom holiday villa in Igatpuri, sleeping up to 15 guests
- Standout features: infinity pool with lake view, Rahane’s personal cricket memorabilia room, in-house bar, kids’ zone
- Close to Kalsubai Peak, Tringalwadi Fort, and Camel Valley waterfalls — full trekking and monsoon-waterfall potential on the doorstep
- Best for family reunions, close-friend groups, and small offsites; ideal group size 8–15
