"Four cottages on a private island in Lake Vembanad, reached only by rowboat, and the one Indian entry in Nat Geo's Best 24 Hours on Earth"
Kayal is a four cottage boutique property on the shores of a private island in Kerala's Lake Vembanad, just off Kochi. The only way to reach it is by traditional rowboat, which sets the pace of everything that follows.
The island is the whole proposition: centuries old traditions, backwaters, and Ayurveda, with life running roughly as it did a hundred years ago. There is not a great deal to do beyond slow down, which is the point.
The retreat makes a particular claim for its evenings. National Geographic Traveler called this the best dusk on earth, and Kayal notes it is the only place in India to feature in the magazine's Best 24 Hours on Earth. It has also been picked out as one of twelve incredible boutique hotels in India.
A CGH Earth property in Fort Kochi that wears its Dutch East India Company history lightly: think spice-trail dinners, a shipwreck story at reception, and a genuine effort to tread softly on the town around it.
Rates on request, usually back within the hour
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New A villa hotel on Lake Vembanad at its widest point, by the Malabar House family, with the Purity Kitchen, an Ayurveda spa and cruises on the group's own houseboat.
Rates on request, usually back within the hour
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