Old Harbour Hotel

Old Harbour Hotel is a 300-year-old building in the middle of Fort Cochin. It was built in the Dutch style of architecture with hints of Portuguese influence, and it was the first hotel of old Cochin. Later it became a residential home for employees of the English tea-broking firms, and after that it stood unused for a period. The family who restored it were raised in Fort Cochin, left their original business to take up the preservation of Old Harbour House, and reopened it as a boutique hotel.

The interiors were designed and decorated by Karl Damschen as a mix of dated furniture and varied art. Expect teak cabinets with old ceramics and a typewriter, carved wooden deities on the cupboards, cane chairs around a marble-topped dining table, and a rusted iron boiler standing in the grounds. The facade is white with a tiled roof and a large rain tree in front, and the upper floor windows glow at dusk.

There are thirteen rooms, each named after one of the old streets of Fort Cochin. All have high ceilings and look either into a courtyard with a fountain or out over the Chinese fishing nets. The site lists four categories: Superior Double rooms, Double rooms with garden view and a balcony, Suites with a balcony and views, and the garden cottages. The cottages were added to give a feel of Kerala; each has an open-to-the-sky shower, a veranda, a patio and a private pond, and looks over the garden and pool. Every room comes with air conditioning, wifi, a TV on demand, a tea and coffee maker, a minibar and two bottles of mineral water, with organic soaps and lotions, robes and slippers in the bathrooms.

Outside, a large garden holds the swimming pool and a stage for cultural performances, all set among plenty of green. There is an Ayurvedic spa, a library and a large open-air terrace. The restaurant's speciality is seafood. The hotel takes guests via its own site, by email and on WhatsApp, and the Fort Cochin fishing nets and the town's old monuments are the immediate neighbourhood.

The hotel publishes seasonal tariffs on its own site, with an off season from April to September, a peak season from October to April and a higher rate over Christmas and New Year; we contract directly with the hotel and quote on enquiry.