India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (137 page)

But for 100% luxury and genuflecting service from India’s best-trained hoteliers, the top-of-the-range choice is of course the
Vrinda;
see “Cruising Kerala on the World’s Smallest Luxury Liner,” above.

Lake Vembanad & Surroundings

A stay on the backwaters has become an essential stop on any Kerala itinerary; small wonder then that there has been a surge in development on the eastern shores of Vembanad Lake, with its spectacular sunset views to the west. In fact, there’s a daunting array of options hereabouts—spanning the gamut from bustling resorts to splendidly intimate, well-run homestays. In truth, there’s something to satisfy all tastes and budgets, and there are small, relatively untouristy spots far from the maelstrom, too.

Very Expensive

Green Lagoon Resort
Why have a room to yourself when you can have an island? If there’s one Backwater spot where you’ll feel the urge to totally bliss out, this is it. Initially a retirement project, Green Lagoon is a collection of beautiful reconstituted Kerala wooden houses on several small islands, all now linked with footbridges. Each luxury villa has its own large pool, a butler, and dizzyingly good food, most of it homegrown, fresh out of the water, or delivered by boat. Should you so desire, your only interaction with the outside world will be through your butler or at mealtimes—and as you watch villagers catching crabs and fish by hand in the water just beyond your large private garden. On the other hand, there’s a stylish private gallery (of art and traditional artifacts from the owner’s private collection) on one island, and a boat to whiz you off to the city or to explore nearby villages on other islands. At dusk, temple music drifts across the water and you can make out all kinds of domestic activity on nearby islands. It’s not exactly cheap, but if you can afford it, the Green Lagoon is the best deal on the backwaters—a unique combination of sultry-chic styling and immersion in an otherworldly waterscape.

Island House, Vettila Thuruthu, Eramalloor P.O. 688 537.
98-4605-1630,
98-4601-4911, or 0478/645-1811.
www.green-lagoon.com
. 4 units. Nov–Dec 23 and Mar–Apr 360€–400€ double; Dec 24–Jan 5 600€–640€ double; Jan 6–Feb 480€–520€; May–July 120€–160€; Aug–Oct 180€–220€; 10% more per each extra person. Rates include breakfast, driver’s accommodation, Internet, and mobile phone use; 15% tax extra. AE, MC, V.
Amenities:
Multiple dining venues; dedicated butler; gallery; 1 outdoor pool per villa. In room: A/C, TV/DVD w/movies, CD with discs, fridge, hair dryer, Wi-Fi (free).

Kumarakom Lake Resort
Like so many of its predecessors, this large award-winning resort comprises exquisite
tharavadu
-style carved teak and rosewood houses with curved terra-cotta tiled roofs, many of them reassembled originals salvaged from Kerala villages. The interiors are decidedly more luxurious than those of their neighbors, however, with rooms furnished to a very high standard; some feature expensive antiques and lovely examples of temple mural art. Each room (except the eight pavilion rooms in the new, characterless block at the back) has a tiny garden into which open granite-floored drench showers and basins have been installed. The main pool is at the water’s edge with a bar adjacent—perfect for sundowners—while in another section a second meandering pool snakes its way past the “pool villa” cottages, which means you can swim around the property directly from your back door. The best of these is no. 144, which is right on the edge of the lake, with fabulous views. Altogether more private are the heritage villas, which now all have large plunge pools alongside the outdoor bathroom; slightly more expensive villas also have lake views.

Kumarakom North P.O., Kottayam 686 566.
0481/252-4900
or
-4501. Fax 0481/252-4987.
www.thepaul.in
. [email protected]. 59 units, 3 houseboats. Mar–Nov Rs 14,000–Rs 17,000 luxury pavilion double and meandering pool villa double, Rs 17,000–Rs 24,500 heritage villa, Rs 42,000–Rs 62,000 presidential suite; Rs 3,000 extra bed; Dec––Feb Rs 22,000–Rs 30,000 luxury pavilion double and meandering pool villa double, Rs 30,500–Rs 42,500 heritage villa, Rs 72,000–Rs 85,000 presidential suite, from Rs 6,000 extra person. Rates include breakfast and local transfers; presidential suite rates include airport transfers; 15% tax extra. Minimum 2-night stay. Houseboats: Rs 15,000–Rs 22,500 1-bedroom, Rs 25,000–Rs 35,000 2-bedroom, Rs 2,000 extra person. Houseboat rates include all meals and access to resort facilities; 15% tax extra. AE, DC, MC, V.
Amenities:
2 restaurants, bar; free local railway station or boat jetty transfers; airport transfers (Rs 4,500); babysitting; bicycles; billiards; boat rides; children’s play area; cultural program; fishing; health club and Ayurvedic massage center; 2 large outdoor pools and Jacuzzi; room service; table tennis; Wi-Fi (in public areas and business center; free); yoga. In room: A/C, TV, hair dryer, minibar, Wi-Fi (in heritage villas; free).

The Zuri Kumarakom
Gleaming black lacquer-coated gods dot the fringes of a vast, overmanicured lawn; reception desks are miniature reproduction boats; golf carts zip guests between their rooms and the restaurants—it’s soon clear why staff at this, the former Radisson Plaza Resort, wears beige uniforms. It’s a resort that could be just about anywhere and, in fact, the design really pulls your attention away from the backwater action you came to witness. Sadly, unless you book one of the extremely pricey lake-view pool villas—which are indeed lovely, positioned as they are right on the shore of the lake, each very private and with its own generously sized plunge pool and a magical lake vista—you are paying a lot of money for a nice new room with a view of another nice new room. For some reason the architects saw fit to design the entire resort around a man-made “lagoon,” so most rooms circle what is really just a big pond. In its defense, The Zuri offers everything you’d expect from a five-star resort, with the exception of equitable service—some of the people working here are borderline hostile and, if you prefer the resort lifestyle, it’s hard to see why you wouldn’t rather opt for Kumarakom Lake Resort, where the architecture at least evokes some kind of local atmosphere.

Karottukayal, Kumarakom, Kottayam 686 563.
0481/252-7272.
Fax 0481/252-7282.
www.thezurihotels.com
. [email protected]. 72 units. Rs 17,000–Rs 18,000 Zuri double, Rs 18,500–Rs 22,000 deluxe double, Rs 23,000–Rs 30,000 cottage double, Rs 50,000–Rs 75,000 presidential pool villa. Rates include breakfast; tax extra. AE, MC, V.
Amenities:
2 restaurants, lounge, 2 bars, cigar bar; airport transfers (Rs 3,500); amphitheater for cultural performances; bicycles; billiards; fishing; health club and spa; large outdoor pool w/Jacuzzi; room service; yoga and meditation.
In room A/C, TV, butler (in pool villas), hair dryer, minibar.