Java Rain Resort

Fifty feet up in the treetops, with the Mullayanagiri range filling the horizon, sits Crimson Peak, the bar Java Rain calls the highest in Karnataka. It is a fair summary of the whole resort: 25 architecturally distinctive villas strung across a working coffee estate on the foothills of Mullayanagiri, above the town of Chikmagalur, the region the site calls the original home of coffee in India.

Villas that open to the sky

Each villa category takes its name from coffee's travels. Kaffa villas pair plantation-view decks with the signature open-to-sky shower, taking two adults and two children per room. Qahva twins sit amid the coffee trees with a private indoor jacuzzi apiece and the option to interconnect for a group. Fika, the three-bedroom presidential villa, sleeps six to eight and comes in a with-pool or with-a-view variant above the town. At the top is the Shambhala Suite, with a temperature-controlled private pool, outdoor jacuzzi and butler service on request for up to six guests. Jacuzzis here get chromotherapy lighting and mountain views; this is a resort that has thought hard about bathing.

Conceived by the hospitality duo behind Bengaluru's The 100ft. Boutique Bar Restaurant and Bayleaf, and now managed by Sila Leisure.

That founding pedigree shows in the food and drink. Mirra, the restaurant, moves between regional favourites and global classics, indoors or on an al fresco deck with Chikmagalur town spread out below, while an infinity pool hangs over the rolling hills and a spa blends Ayurvedic treatments with modern therapies.

Coffee country on the doorstep

A resident expert walks guests through the plantations from bean to brew. Beyond the gate, Mullayanagiri itself, Karnataka's highest peak at 6,330 ft, is a short drive for a summit trek; Baba Budangiri, which the site calls both a spiritual landmark and a trekking paradise, the two-stage Hebbe Falls and the 490 sq km Bhadra reserve with its elephants, tigers and 250-plus bird species round out the excursion list. Check-in is 2pm, and the hills do the rest.