Heritage Madurai

The site began as the Madurai Club, and in the 1970s the Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa built its clubhouse on the grounds of the officer's bungalow, using honey coloured granite and artisans from within twenty miles. When Madura Coats went looking for a buyer, Grand Luxe Hotels took it on, having swum in the pool and learned badminton there as children. Restoration went to Bawa's disciple Vinod Jayasinghe, who added private courtyards, an enclosed plunge pool in every villa, and an Olympic sized pool shaped like a temple tank.

There are 72 rooms including 34 villas. The 24 Deluxe rooms run to 600 square feet, with red tile flooring from the 1920s and verandas onto the lawns. The Luxury Plunge Pool Villas cover 1,000 square feet, and the Sky View Bungalow is a standalone 1,200 square feet under a 15 foot wooden roof and a glass ceiling.

The Banyan restaurant seats 90 in the main room and 25 in a semi private area. The Coffee Shop runs 24 hours, looking onto the banyan trees and the temple pool. Swig and Tee sits in part of the 1970s clubhouse beside one of the oldest banyans on the property.