Inside Gram’s: StayVista’s Lifestyle Hotel at Pawna Lake
It is a Friday evening at Pawna Lake. Strangers are painting at one table, three friends are arguing over a Scrabble board at another, someone is queuing for filter coffee at the canteen, and the pool is glowing soft blue against the Sahyadri sunset. Nothing about the scene announces itself as a hotel. That is the point.
This is Gram’s, StayVista’s newest brand — a “new-age lifestyle hotel and resort” concept launched between 2023 and 2025. The name is short for Grandma’s place. The flagship sits on the shores of Pawna Lake, an hour from Pune and three from Mumbai. And it is the cleanest example yet of what hospitality looks like when the brief is “experience” instead of “occupancy.”
This piece is a walk-through of what Gram’s actually is — the concept, the design language, the four stay formats, the social product — and what it tells us about where Indian hospitality is heading.
Gram’s is StayVista’s newest sub-brand — a “new-age lifestyle hotel” launched between 2023 and 2025, with its flagship at Pawna Lake near Lonavala. Short for grandma’s place, Gram’s pairs the social density of a community-stay (board games, co-working zones, communal canteen, dorm options) with the design intent of a boutique hotel across four stay formats: Glamping Suites, Cottages, Rooms, and Villas. It’s StayVista’s bet on what Deloitte’s 2026 Future of Hospitality report calls the shift from selling rooms to selling memorable, authentic interactions.
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The shift from “stay” to “experience” in Indian hospitality
Standing out in hospitality, the Deloitte 2026 Future of Hospitality report argues, “depends less on size and more on emotional resonance, authenticity, and a sharper value story.” Hotels that win the next decade, the report says, will deliver experiences that “resonate emotionally and create memorable, authentic interactions.” Gram’s is what that thesis looks like in practice, on the ground, in India.
McKinsey makes the structural version of the same argument. In its “Hotel of the Future” outlook, the firm describes rooms guests can “reconfigure at any time to make suitable for work, exercise, socializing, or sleep” — a vision of multipurpose space replacing the single-purpose hotel bedroom.
Indian travellers are pulling in the same direction. Solo travel out of Indian metros has risen sharply over the past three years. Digital nomads need WiFi and community, not minibars. Couples want spaces that double as backdrops, not just shelters. And friend groups want one property they can take over — not a hotel where they end up scattered across separate rooms.
Traditional five-star hotels are over-built for these needs. Traditional backpacker hostels are under-built. The gap, the one widening every year, is the lifestyle hotel — design-led, socially dense, format-flexible. That is the gap Gram’s is built to occupy.
What is Gram’s by StayVista?
Gram’s is StayVista’s new-age lifestyle hotel and resort brand, launched between 2023 and 2025. The name is short for “grandma’s place” — a deliberate nod, in StayVista’s own words, to “childhood vacations filled with warmth, comfort, and endless pampering.” It’s design-led, socially vibrant, and built for travellers the brand calls “the young at heart.”
Gram’s sits inside a larger StayVista House of Brands. StayVista itself runs over 1600+ handpicked homes across India and has served more than a million guests, with an average Google rating of 4.7 out of 5 from over 42,000 reviews. The parent business clocks ₹200 crore-plus in annual recurring revenue, with 70% of bookings coming through direct channels rather than aggregators.
Within that house, each brand plays a distinct role. Vaana handles ultra-luxury villa experiences. StayVista Residences covers boutique city apartments for corporate stays. Curated villas serve the broad mid-luxury group market. Boutique retreats focus on nature-led stillness. And Gram’s, the newest of the set, holds the lifestyle-and-community position.
The Gram’s brand promise is unusually specific for an Indian hospitality launch. “luxurious like a hotel, social like your favourite hangout, with a dash of nostalgia.”
None of this is accidental. The brand was built around a specific belief — that the room is no longer the product. The experience is.
The “grandma’s place” design philosophy, decoded
Gram’s is designed around nostalgia. Retro-cool decor, neo-vintage detailing, warm courtyards, and cosy nooks that recall childhood holiday homes — but engineered for today, with reliable WiFi, co-working pockets, and Instagrammable corners woven throughout the property. The brief, in StayVista’s own words: “old-school yet connected.”
Decode the design language and a clear set of choices appears. The interiors lean on cane, terracotta, and warm wood instead of polished marble. The colour palette is muted rust, sage, and creamy off-white — not the lobby beige of a chain hotel. Furniture skews lived-in. Lighting is layered and soft. There is at least one courtyard, and the courtyard is the social heart of the space, not an afterthought.
None of this is designed for its own sake. Every spatial choice — the board game area, the silent corner, the co-working pocket, the unique indoor and outdoor selfie spots — is built to encourage guests to linger, run into each other, and stay a third night instead of a second.
Why this works in India specifically is worth saying out loud. Grandma’s place is one of the few near-universal Indian emotional references — the slow afternoons, the courtyard, the food being kept warm, the cousins from out of town. Importing Scandinavian-minimalist hostel design or beach-shack tropical-modern would have been easier. Choosing a domestic emotional anchor was the more interesting decision, and probably the smarter one.
The deeper point is that India already has plenty of luxury villas and plenty of backpacker hostels. What it doesn’t have, in any organised form, is the middle — a stay that is social without being cheap, designed without being precious, and built for the way Indians actually travel in groups. That middle is the gap Gram’s is positioning itself to own.
The four stay formats: Glamping Suites, Cottages, Rooms, and Villas
Gram’s offers four distinct stay formats so groups, couples, solo travellers, and families can each find a fit at the same property. That’s an unusual mix for an Indian hospitality brand, where most properties pick a single format and stick with it. Gram’s deliberately blends them.
The four formats:
- Glamping Suites — luxury stays that blend comfort, privacy, and nature. Closer to a tented suite than a tent, with proper beds, ensuite bathrooms, and the kind of canvas-and-wood detailing that photographs well.
- Cottages — private retreats designed for warmth and quiet rejuvenation. Best for couples and small families who want their own four walls but still want to wander into the community space when they feel like it.
- Rooms — boutique rooms with refined comfort and minimalistic design. The most hotel-like format, and the most flexible — for solos, pairs, and the digital-nomad cohort doing three-night workations.
- Villas — spacious multi-bedroom homes designed for comfortable group stays. The format closest to StayVista’s traditional villa business, but interpreted through the Gram’s design lens.
At the Pawna flagship, there are also 4-bed and 8-bed dorm rooms available alongside the four formats above. The dorms are why Gram’s appears on hostel-booking platforms like Hostelworld — but the dorm is one option within a broader menu, not the headline.
“Grammable” experiences — the social product at Gram’s
Gram’s treats experiences as a product, not an amenity. Each property runs curated, on-property activities designed to give guests reasons to spend time, connect, and — yes — take a hundred selfies while they’re at it. The brand calls them “Grammable Experiences.” It’s a pun, but it’s also a strategy.
The full menu, drawn from the brand’s own product list:
- Board Games & Banter — dedicated game zones, evening sessions, the kind of low-stakes social glue that turns strangers into table-mates.
- Sip. Paint. Repeat. — guided creative sessions for guests who want their evening to be more than a phone screen.
- Prism Dining — themed dinner experiences at the canteen.
- Neon Pool Nights — late-evening pool sessions with lighting, music, and the kind of energy that doesn’t usually live at a villa resort.
- Make a Wish. Lock It. — a symbolic guest ritual built into the property.
- Co-working Zones — proper desks, proper WiFi, proper power points, built for digital nomads not pretending to be on holiday.
- Selfie Points — designed photo spots, treated as an explicit product rather than an accident.
- Community Gigs — live music, performances, the kind of small events that anchor a Saturday night.
- Read & Unwind — silent corners and reading nooks for guests who want the social density to back off for an hour.
- Recreational Games — outdoor lawn games and group activities.
What’s striking, taken together, is the choice to publish this list as a product. No Indian hospitality brand of comparable size has put its experience programming on the table this clearly. The list is also a signal — that the property is built to be programmed, not just decorated.
Food is Gram’s love language: inside Gram’s Canteen
Gram’s Canteen anchors every property. The menu, in the brand’s own description, “flips between comfort and creativity,” and every dish is meant to feel “familiar, yet delightfully unexpected.”
At the Pawna property, the canteen serves à la carte.
What’s worth noting is the role the canteen plays in the design. It isn’t tucked away as a “restaurant.” It’s positioned as the social heart of the property — the place everyone passes through, the place where a board game becomes a conversation and a conversation becomes a Saturday-night dinner with strangers. And it’s right by the PAWNA LAKE!
Who Gram’s is built for — and who it isn’t
Gram’s is explicit about its four target travellers, an unusually direct piece of audience segmentation for a hospitality brand. From the brand’s own positioning, these are: The Traveller, Friends & Families, Couples, and The Digital Nomad. Each gets a different combination of the four stay formats and the Grammable experiences.
The Traveller — the brand’s term for the solo or paired guest seeking meaningful stays, neighbourhood vibes, and spaces that “feel personal rather than transactional.” Gram’s is designed to give this guest social density without forcing it.
Friends & Families — small-to-mid-sized groups looking for shared moments and properties built for togetherness. The Villa format and the canteen are the natural fits here.
Couples — drawn to beautifully designed spaces and immersive experiences. The Cottages and Glamping Suites are positioned for this cohort.
The Digital Nomad — needs reliable WiFi, community energy, and flexibility to blend work and leisure. The Rooms format and the Co-working Zones are explicitly engineered for this group.
Worth being honest about who Gram’s isn’t for. Large multi-generational families travelling with very young children — Gram’s social density isn’t really built for prams and naps. Business travellers wanting formal five-star room service — the canteen is à la carte and the energy is communal, not corporate. Guests expecting a quiet, hotel-style stay with minimal interaction — the property is engineered for the opposite.
That clarity matters. The brands that try to be everything to everyone usually become nothing to anyone.
Gram’s at Shivom, Pawna — quick info
| Location | Village Gevande Apti, Pawna Lake, Lonavala, Maharashtra |
| From Mumbai | ~3 hours by road |
| From Pune | ~1 hour by road |
| Nearest station | Lonavala (~15 min drive) |
| Best time to visit | October–February (cool, dry, clear lake views); monsoon for greenery with road caveats |
| Stay formats | Glamping Suites, Cottages, Rooms, Villas, 4-bed dorm, 8-bed dorm |
| F&B | Gram’s Canteen — à la carte |
| Included | Pool, garden, free WiFi, daily housekeeping, private parking, full-day security |
| Ideal for | Solo travellers, couples, friend groups (4–8), digital nomads, small families |
Gram’s at Shivom, Pawna — quick info
| Location | Village Gevande Apti, Pawna Lake, Lonavala, Maharashtra |
| From Mumbai | ~3 hours by road |
| From Pune | ~1 hour by road |
| Nearest station | Lonavala (~15 min drive) |
| Best time to visit | October–February (cool, dry, clear lake views); monsoon for greenery with road caveats |
| Stay formats | Glamping Suites, Cottages, Rooms, Villas, 4-bed dorm, 8-bed dorm |
| F&B | Gram’s Canteen — à la carte |
| Included | Pool, garden, free WiFi, daily housekeeping, private parking, full-day security |
| Ideal for | Solo travellers, couples, friend groups (4–8), digital nomads, small families |
Frequently asked questions about Gram’s by StayVista
Gram’s is StayVista’s new-age lifestyle hotel and resort brand, launched between 2023 and 2025. Short for grandma’s place, it pairs design-led nostalgia with social, community-driven spaces. The flagship is at Pawna Lake in Lonavala, Maharashtra, and the brand operates as a sub-brand within StayVista’s broader House of Brands.
Gram’s is short for “grandma’s place” — a deliberate nod, in StayVista’s own brand language, to the warmth, comfort, and endless pampering of childhood vacations at a grandmother’s home, reimagined for contemporary travellers. The name signals nostalgia as a core design and emotional anchor.
Gram positions itself as a lifestyle hotel, not a hostel. It offers four distinct stay formats — Glamping Suites, Cottages, Rooms, and Villas — though 4-bed and 8-bed dorm rooms are also available at the Pawna flagship, which is why Gram’s also appears on hostel-booking platforms like Hostelworld.
Gram’s at Shivom, the flagship property, is in Village Gevande Apti on the shores of Pawna Lake in Lonavala, Maharashtra. It’s roughly 3 hours from Mumbai by road, about 1 hour from Pune, and approximately 15 minutes from Lonavala railway station.
Gram’s explicitly designs for four traveller types — The Traveller (solo or paired), Friends & Families, Couples, and The Digital Nomad. It’s less suited to large multi-generational families with very young children or guests expecting formal five-star hotel service with single-occupancy executive rooms.
Gram’s runs curated on-property “Grammable Experiences” including Board Games & Banter, Sip. Paint. Repeat. Prism Dining, Neon Pool Nights, Make a Wish Lock It, community gigs, co-working zones, designed selfie points, and outdoor recreational games. Food is served à la carte at Gram’s Canteen, which the brand calls its “love language.”
The bottom line on Gram’s by StayVista
Indian hospitality is in the middle of a real category shift. The Deloitte and McKinsey forecasts both say it. The traveller behaviour says it. And the smart money is moving toward stays that sell experience, not occupancy.
Gram’s is StayVista’s clearest expression of that shift. Take the key points together:
- It’s the newest sub-brand inside StayVista’s House of Brands, launched in 2023–2025.
- The concept is “grandma’s place” — nostalgia, community, design intent.
- Four stay formats (Glamping Suites, Cottages, Rooms, Villas) plus dorm options at Pawna let solos, couples, friend groups, and digital nomads all find a fit.
- Curated “Grammable” experiences — from Sip. Paint. Repeat. to Neon Pool Nights to co-working zones — are treated as the product, not amenities.
- The flagship sits on Pawna Lake, ~3 hours from Mumbai and 1 from Pune.
- It’s built for solo travellers, couples, small friend groups, and digital nomads — not large family groups or business-travel formality.
Whether the brand can deliver that consistently as it scales is the next year’s question. But the launch, the design vocabulary, and the way the experience product has been built suggest StayVista has taken the brief seriously.
If a lifestyle hotel sounds like the kind of place you’d actually want to wake up in, Pawna is where Gram’s is most ready to show you what it means.
