India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (126 page)

Moderate

Secret Garden
This 2-year-old guesthouse tucked away down the backstreets not far from the Dutch Cemetery is one of the most alluring options in Kochi. Your host, Thora, is an Icelandic architect who, together with a team of Kerala craftsmen, breathed new life into this sturdy old building, transforming it into a really cozy sanctuary that feels a million miles from the tourist hordes. There are currently just four rooms (two of them triples), and even once Thora has completed work on three more, this’ll still be a haven of tranquillity. The elegant rooms feature a mix of colonial and Kerala-style furniture, and are fine-tuned for a hassle free stay. Get up early for yoga under the mango tree before sitting down to a healthful breakfast at a table laden with homemade bread, organic jams, fruits, yogurt, and proper coffee. After a day of exploring (by bike, if you wish) and rummaging through antiques, you’ll be skipping home, longing for a dip in the luscious little pool—it’ll feel so much like your very own magical hideaway.

11/745 Bishop’s Garden Lane, Fort Kochi 682 001.
0484/221-6685,
99-4747-4050, or 98-9558-1489.
www.secretgarden.in
. 4 units (3 more planned). Oct–Mar Rs 5,500 double; Apr–Sept Rs 4,125 double. Rates include breakfast and taxes. MC, V.
Amenities:
Breakfast room, library-lounge with TV, CD library and computer; airport transfers (Rs 800–Rs 1,400); bicycles; small outdoor pool; morning yoga. In room A/C, hair dryer on request, no phone, Wi-Fi (free).

Tower House
Yet another new hotel (since 2009), this is a successful conversion by India’s prolific heritage-oriented Neemrana group—authentic digs and a boutique hotel experience at bargain rates. The sumptuous old two-level building (part of the old lighthouse tower) is a warren of scrupulously restored spaces, so it’s an adventure just getting to your room as you move through grand reception rooms and prissy-looking parlors, all the time enticing you to peek into the different rooms along the way. With a huge collection of carefully sourced antiques and rooms in a variety of shapes, sizes, and configurations, the ideal stay would commence with a tour of each one. Even the smallest doubles are spacious and elegantly furnished. While the rooms are excellent value, beware that some of the enormous suites (with a third bed included in the price) are beautiful but without windows. Service is well meaning (although not on par with Neemrana’s slicker Le Coloniale), and given how mediocre the competition is, you’d be crazy to stay anywhere else in this price category.

I/320 and 321 Tower St., Fort Cochin 682 001.
0484/221-6960
through -6962.
Fax: 0484/221-6963. Reservations: Neemrana Hotels, A-20/B, Feroze Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110 024.
011/4666-1666.
Fax 011/4666-1600.
www.neemranahotels.com
. [email protected]. 14 units, most with shower only, some with tub and shower. Oct–Apr Rs 3,750–Rs 5,000 double, Rs 4,500–Rs 6,000 grand double, Rs 6,000–Rs 8,000 luxury suite; May–Sept Rs 2,500 double, Rs 3,000 grand double, Rs 4,000 luxury suite. AE, MC, V.
Amenities:
Restaurant, 2 lounges, bar; airport transfers (Rs 900); Internet (broadband in the office; free for e-mail checking); outdoor pool (by 2010). In room A/C and fans.

Inexpensive

If you’re on a tight budget, make an advance booking (do make sure that it’s one of three that has a balcony) at the seven-room
Raintree Lodge
(1/618 Petercelli St.;
www.nivalink.com/raintreelodge
; [email protected]; Rs 2,000–Rs 2,300 double plus 15% tax). It’s located in the heart of the old town; guest rooms are no-frills, but clean and decorated with antiques and
objets,
and the beds are comfortable; tubs look worse for wear but overhead showers mean you don’t have to lie in them. Because it’s so small (although some rooms are disproportionately large) with no public amenities (bar a rooftop with a relatively nice view), it feels rather like renting a tiny flat, although you can rent bikes, arrange transfers and get guides through the friendly check-in clerk.

If you’re looking for a genuine homestay experience, there’s no beating
Delight
(reviewed below)—particularly if staying with warm and hospitable people is of any significance (what other reason would you have for choosing a homestay?). Alternatively, if you value comfort over personality, have a look at slightly more expensive
Bernard Bungalow
(1/297 Parade Rd.;
0984/742-7999,
0484/221-6162 or -6160;
www.bernardbungalow.com
; Rs 1,500–Rs 3,500 double, depending on room and season), run with an iron hand by Coral Bernard. She’s a bit of a battleaxe but her rooms are so clean you could practically eat off the floor. Pick a room upstairs and you’ll feel very much a part of the home she’s lived in for the past 30 years, without actually encroaching on her space (don’t bother with the rooms on the ground floor). Pick room 105 and you get to overlook The Malabar House next door; at press time, Coral was adding one or two new rooms, but its safe to say that she is retaining her homestay roots despite a more guesthouselike presentation—after all, she and husband, Bernard, lived here 32 years before opening up for guests. Also recommended is
Walton’s Home Stay
(Princess St.;
0484/221-5309;
www.waltonshomestay.com
), which has recently had a face-lift that has greatly improved its nine rooms (they all have private verandas and are air-conditioned; Rs 1,200–Rs 2,600 double); and the even better-value
Noah’s Ark Homestay
(see below).