CREDITS – All images sourced from Team Bill Bensley
He’s a rule-breaker with a blueprint, a storyteller who swaps words for walls. Known for his “the odder, the better” mantra, this Harvard-trained visionary has redefined design as an unapologetic celebration of whimsy and wonder.
With over 200 jaw-dropping properties across 30+ countries to his name, Bill Bensley has earned the title of the Willy Wonka of Design—not for crafting chocolates, but for conjuring spaces where imagination runs wild and convention takes a back seat.
But Bill Bensley isn’t just about creating spaces—he’s about creating possibilities. The kind of person who runs a paradigm-shifting architecture practice, where pencils—not computers—rule the day. A true visionary, he’s proof that playful thinking can be a powerful catalyst for change. At his core, Bill is a storyteller, deeply driven by nature and a love for all things wild and whimsical—especially his five dogs, who might just be the true architects of his creativity.
The design maverick, in a candid conversation with Sonam Poladia for The Peacock Magazine, talks about his design process, the vision he had for some of his most successful projects and his upcoming ventures.
Q) You’ve often mentioned your love for adventure and travel. What’s the most transformative journey you’ve ever taken, and why?
Bill Bensley (BB): That is a tough question, as we have taken many great trips. When I turned 50, we took a three-month-long trip to travel all of South America–where Peru, Easter Island, Galapagos, Columbia, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Antarctica, South Georgia Island and Brazil were some of the high points. We had not been to South America before that but we had been to pretty much everywhere else. So, it was transformative in terms of what we began to understand the world is all about.
Q) What’s one non-design-related book, film or song that has profoundly influenced your perspective on art or life?
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari set my head spinning with its unique perspective on us. The book taught me that nothing should ever be exempt from questioning.
Q) How do you decide whether an idea belongs on a canvas or in a blueprint?
If an image or an idea has the potential to make one laugh then it goes on my canvases. If an idea has the potential to teach someone something then it will be translated to a blueprint.
Q) Can you walk us through the creative process of deciding on a narrative for any of your projects?
I have no absolute recipe for deciding on a narrative. But being a naturally curious person about everything, when faced with a new project in a place I have never been before, I tend to scour that place for things I find unusual–starting with places of worship, where, historically, civilizations put their most strenuous artistic efforts. I shop. When I see something I have never seen before, I buy it. I read constantly. Since COVID-19, I’ve read some 325 books. I love discovering a new place by way of a novel, futuristic or historical, it does not matter. And I sketch. Sketching a place is far better than taking photos, as one must take time to understand a place in order to sketch it. It might be the deep understanding of the place that makes our projects noteworthy.
Q) Many of your properties, like Shinta Mani Wild and Shinta Mani Mustang, celebrate adventure and local culture. How do you ensure that luxury remains at the core of such experiential concepts?
I think we all have our own idea of what is luxurious. Luxury can be the ability to help others. Luxury can be enjoying a remote wilderness in privacy and safety. Luxury can be a place that does not have a telephone signal. Luxury, especially at the age of 65, can be learning something new. Therefore, I don’t agree that traditional hotel luxuries need to remain at the core of what we do. Pushing the boundaries of the guests’ comfort zone or the perception of luxury is the future of Shinta Mani and perhaps some of the hospitality industry. It is at the edge of the comfort zone where the magic happens and when guests remember and talk about that hotel experience. Next year, I plan to take Shinta Mani to the most remote parts of Mongolia. Last week, we visited Socotra, Yemen. We trekked with locals and camels over the Socotra Mountains from the south coast to the north coast. We had no idea the week-long trek of 45 kilometres would be so difficult (virtually straight up mountain faces at points), but we did it safely, and because of that, we are already planning our next trip next year.
Q) How do you consciously design a hotel to engage all the senses—sight, sound, touch, and smell—in ways that are not only seamless but emotionally evocative for the guest? Is there a specific sensory experience that you are particularly proud of in one of your designs?
Yes. I love our tented properties–Shinta Mani Wild, Four Seasons Tented Camp in the Golden Triangle, Rosewood Luang Prabang and Capella Ubud–in that a tent by definition, with its thin translucent walls allows guests to hear the waterfalls, the birds, the gibbons, to smell the rain, and to see the sunrise–senses that are blurred in a traditional hotel room.
Q) The upcycled train carriages at InterContinental Khao Yai are a masterstroke of reimagining history. What inspired you to merge the romance of train travel with luxury accommodation in this way?
Some years ago, I was driving along the elevated highway on the way to the old airport in Bangkok and passed by the defunct rail station where dozens of train carriages and engines were just sitting there rusting. I thought that was a real shame. We had just returned from a wonderful train trip around Scotland on the Royal Scotsman. That’s when the ‘Aha’ moment occurred.
Q) How do you view the dynamic between architecture and the environment, particularly in locations where human intervention would drastically alter natural landscapes?
For the most part, I strive to design our architecture to be subservient to the trees or lower than the trees, as a forest or even a mature garden only makes architecture look better. Trees that cast shade on the roof make a project feel natural. My point is that I like to create architecture that takes the back seat of Mother Nature. Full disclosure: I am designing a project now in Mumbai, 25 Downtown is the commercial name of the development. It is composed of five towers, Art Deco style (Mumbai has the greatest collection of Art Deco buildings in the world) and each tower is 80+ stories. No hope for trees to be higher than our towers!
Q) Can you recall a project where this dialogue with nature was a central challenge and what creative solution you discovered?
At Capella Ubud in Bali, we started the project with a local architect who proposed a 120-room Accor hotel. We were to design the interiors and landscape. His architecture would have taken up 90% of the site and rolled over much of the ancient forest. I spoke to my client and counter-proposed a scheme of 23 tents which tip-toed over the site, avoiding all of the trees. At the end of the day, the client spent less than half of his original budget and the camp is now the top hotel in Bali and consistently ranks among the top hotels in the world.
Q) How do you approach the question of ‘should we build here at all?’ when a site offers luxury potential but may be ecologically or culturally delicate?
We are currently building a Ritz Carlton on the shores of Lake Pichola, Udaipur, between our Udaivilas and our Leela Palace. I know from years of experience here that building here is culturally delicate. In such a circumstance, in such an important historical place, I have learnt not to go against the grain. Every inch of our new Ritz Carlton hotel screams traditional Merwari architecture and will appear as though it was built some 300+ years ago. Another case where the question arises (whether we should build here at all) is at Shinta Mani Wild. In the ideal world, I would have liked to have put a long Trumpian wall around our vast landholdings and let nature take her course in regenerating herself but alas we could not, so the next best thing was to build 15 tents (one tent per forty acres) to raise enough money to be able to fund a private army to protect the forest and wildlife.
Q) What is your view on exclusivity in luxury spaces? Is it always necessary, or can luxury be inclusive without losing its appeal?
I think a resort or camp that advertises being all-inclusive should be all-inclusive. Many are not. At our Shinta Mani Wild, I made it a point not to nickel and dime our guests. So, everything is included. Everything!
Q) You’ve championed minimal intervention and upcycling solutions in hotel design. What’s the most innovative solution you’ve implemented to merge sustainability with luxury?
Currently, we are designing a stilted camp in the French Congo Rainforest. It is the last true wilderness left on Earth, says David Attenborough–and with the largest population of gorillas in Africa. Unfortunately, this huge rainforest suffers from poaching and only paid law enforcement will ease the pressure. Our camp, Kamba, will be the new level of minimal intervention as it has only four keys, but with a cost of some $5000/person/night will be very effective in raising funds for the needed rangers. Of course, the camp–opening in 2026, will be an out-of-this-world BENSLEY must-do escape.
Q) The Shinta Mani Foundation stands as a testament to your belief in using hospitality as a vehicle for social impact. In a world where the lines between luxury and philanthropy often blur, how do you see the future of hospitality as a driver of social change?
I think of a hotel as a great opportunity to teach guests something–the more meaningful the better! Currently, the messaging that a guest in most hotels is bombarded with is banal ads like 2-for-1 and happy hour in the lobby lounge. What if that changed to the likes of “Visit our hospitality school downstairs and join the chef for foraging at 7am?” It’s a message that brings awareness of needed education and a chance for a guest to learn something new about what is edible in the wild.
Q) With your focus on blending the built environment with natural surroundings, how do you see the concept of “indoor-outdoor living” evolving in future luxury resorts?
Currently, we are designing a Marriott Luxury Collection in the Maldives. The weather there is consistently pleasant year-round while everything has to be imported. Personally, I love to use spaces that are half indoor and half outdoor. I call this the sweet spot in resort design. The place allows immersion in the gardens and nature while still within earshot of one’s favourite tunes. The major expense of any resort, especially in the Maldives, is the air-conditioning. In this new hotel, which will move to the ultimate in simplicity (long overdue), we will minimise the AC spaces in the bedroom and bathroom and rely on the sweet spot to be the place of congregation. I would LOVE to eliminate TV from all of our future hotel projects too, as they are a waste of resources.