Kerala Memories

DAY 1: ARRIVE IN COCHIN

Arrive in Cochin and transfer to the hotel. Check into the hotel and enjoy rest of the day at leisure. Late in the afternoon, take a sightseeing tour of Cochin visiting the Dutch Palace, St. Francis Church, Jewish Synagogue and the Chinese fishing nets at the harbour. Stay overnight at the hotel.

Meals:

DAY 2: COCHIN - MUNNAR (135 KM / 4 HOUR DRIVE)

After breakfast, check out of the hotel. Drive to Munnar and reach by the afternoon. Check into the hotel and enjoy rest of the day at leisure. Stay overnight at the hotel.

Meals:

DAY 3: MUNNAR

After breakfast, take a sightseeing tour of Munnar visiting the Eravikulam National Park, Mattupetty Dam & Dairy Farm, Old Munnar Town and the town market. Enjoy rest of the day at leisure. Stay overnight at the hotel.

Meals:

DAY 4: MUNNAR- THEKKADY (110 KM / 3.5 HOUR DRIVE)

After breakfast, check out of the hotel. Drive to Thekkady and reach by afternoon. Check into the hotel and enjoy rest of the day at leisure or take an optional boat cruise into Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. Stay overnight at the hotel.

Meals:

DAY 5: THEKKADY-KUMARAKOM/ALLEPPEY (130 KM / 4 HOUR DRIVE)

After breakfast, check out of the hotel. Drive to Kumarakom/Alleppey and reach by afternoon. Check into the hotel and enjoy rest of the day at leisure. Stay overnight at the hotel.

Meals:

DAY 6: KUMARAKOM/ALLEPPEY - KOVALAM (190 KM / 5 HOUR DRIVE)

After breakfast, check out of the hotel. Drive to Kovalam and reach by afternoon. Check into the hotel and enjoy rest of the day at leisure. Stay overnight at the hotel.

Meals:

DAY 7: KOVALAM

After breakfast, enjoy rest of the day at leisure. Stay overnight at the hotel.

Meals:

DAY 8: KOVALAM-TRIVANDRUM

After breakfast, enjoy rest of the day at leisure. Late in the afternoon, check out of the hotel. Drive to Trivandrum and transfer to railway station/airport for onward journey.

Meals:

THE BACKWATER RESORT

City: Kumarakom

Location
The Backwater Resort is located in Kumarakom about 140 km away from the Cochin airport.

Living up to its name, The Backwater Resort is one of the sought after resorts in Kumarakom. Keeping pace with the laid back lifestyle of the village, this retreat promises an ideal vacation in the backwaters of Kumarakom. Located inwards, and close to the Vembanad Lake, the resort's open lobby and reception is in tune with the vast expanse of the Lake visible from here. Surrounded by coconut and jackfruit trees and aromatic flowers, this is the best possible place for an idyllic vacation.

Rooms
The resort has 20 rooms in total divided into 12 Deluxe rooms and 8 Family Cottages. Of the total, 2 rooms from each category are lake facing, while the rest open to the resort's lawns. The Family Cottage rooms are like an apartment with a separate seating and bedroom. The structure here is however different from the regular rooms, with the wash basin and bathroom located immediately upon entrance with the living and bedroom following later. The living room has a sofa unit with a study table and luggage rack. the bedroom is compact with facilities like satellite television, cupboard, dressing table, double bed, phone etc. The bathroom is compact too with a shower area and amenities like shower cap, soap, shampoo, comb etc. there rooms have an attached balcony to it, with unfaltering view of the vast Vembanad Lake in the distance and the resort's lawn and other block close by. The Deluxe room is one compact room, ok in size with amenities like double bed, telephone, sofa chairs, air-conditioner, satellite television with a cabinet, luggage rack, dressing table and cupboard. The bathroom has a shower area, soap, shampoo and shower cap. Though the bathrooms here are clean, it has a musky smell to it and the hote and coldwater supply is limited to timings from 5:30 to 10:30 in the morning and evening. All the rooms here are beautiful, but the wear and tear of the place is clearly visible.

Dining
The resort has an air conditioned multi cuisine restaurant called Waves with huge glass windows and cheerful cane furniture grouped into clusters of four and eight. There is a separate buffet area as well. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and has the capacity to accommodate at least 30 people.

Facilities
The hotel has an activity centre called B-Active with huge windows and terracotta flooring with games like carom boards, table tennis, chess etc. Besides this, the resort has an Ayurvedic massage centre where trained masseurs give you a rejuvenating massage on appointment only, a swimming pool open from 6:00 am till 8:00 pm, cyber cafe with broad band connection charges @Rs. 30/- per hour, travel desk, outdoor facilities like boating and cruises, huge parking area, room service (8:00 am - 11:30 pm), laundry service and housekeeping service.

Don't Miss
The view of the swimming pool and the Vembanad Lake beyond that - where you see just water everywhere and a few boats and ships in the distance.

SAGARA BEACH RESORTS

City: Kovalam and Poovar

Sagara Beach Resort is a small hotel located in front of the light house beach of Kovalam. It is well facilitated with contemporary amenities and the staff is friendly and courteous.

Room Amenities
It has 30 air conditioned rooms, each with twin beds, en-suite washroom and shower and running hot and cold water. All the rooms have balcony with a view of the Arabian Sea. The rooms are appointed with telephone, television and CTV and have room service.

Dining
Dining facilities include a roof top multi cuisine restaurant that serves a variety of delicacies.

Hotel Facilities
Recreational facilities comprise an Ayurvedic centre and a swimming pool. Other facilities available at the resort include an internet cafe, safe deposit lockers, car rental service, airport transfers, currency exchange, doctor on call and laundry service. The hotel arranges cultural performances and provides tour and travel assistance.

Location
The nearest airport is in Thiruvanathapuram, 14 km away. The hotel is located on the light house beach.

MICHAEL'S INN

City: Thekkady

The hotel is well facilitated for a comfortable stay.

Room Amenities
The hotel has 25 well furnished rooms with modern amenities such as direct dial telephone, television with satellite connection and round the clock hot and cold water. The rooms are in the categories of 20 air conditioned and non air conditioned Deluxe double rooms and 5 air conditioned and non air conditioned Executive rooms.

Dining
The multi-cuisine restaurant serves a variety of Kerala, Indian, Chinese and Continental fare.

Hotel Facilities
The hotel's conference hall has a capacity of 100 guests. A swimming pool and a business centre adorn the premises, as do a spice garden and cultural performance on request. Other facilities include laundry service, doctor on call, travel desk, doctor on call, round the clock security, safety deposit lockers, taxi on call, currency exchange, car and bicycle rental, car park. The hotel accepts credit cards.

Location
The nearest airport is Kottayam airport, 110 km away. The hotel is situated on the Kumily - Thekkady road. The Kumily Bus Station is just half a kilometer away.

IGLOO NATURE RESORT

City: Munnar

Igloo Nature Resort abounds in natural beauty and offers comfortable accommodation to the guests. The resort offers efficient services for a memorable stay.

Rooms
The resort has Two-Bedroom Cottages, Executive rooms, VIP Suite rooms, an Executive dormitory and an ordinary room. The rooms are well facilitated with satellite television, telephone, study table, dressing table, cupboard and a luggage rack. There is an attached bathroom with a shower area and basic amenities like soap and linen.

Dining
Dewdrop, a multi cuisine restaurant offers a wide range of Indian, Chinese and local delicacies. The hotel also has Naadan Thattukada, a Keralite dhaba offering authentic local food.

Services & Facilities
The hotel has the Green Carpet conference hall, a business centre, kid's play area, travel desk, doctor on call and an Ayurvedic treatment centre. The hotel also organises camp fires and barbeques, stage programmes and conducted tours for the guests. The hotel accepts all major credit cards as well.

Location
Igloo Nature Resort is located in Munnar, providing easy access to all places of tourist interest in and around the city.

ABAD, FORT COCHIN

City: Cochin

This hotel offers 3 star facilities and is a quaint building with 3 floors. It stands in a busy corner in Fort Cochin and is a completely white, serene looking building that stands out amidst the flurry of excitement around.

Lobby
The white tiles offer a cool aura to the lobby and the floor is populated with a small seating space of cane armchairs in pastel shades of blue and peach. The brown marble reception table stands directly in front of the entrance and the staff will be ever willing to give you a warm welcome. Beside the lobby is the hotel's restaurant which exudes a lively atmosphere that filters into the lobby itself. Ample natural light filters in though the windows during the day. There is also a computer in the lobby which offers internet connections at no extra charge and is solely for in house guests.

Rooms
A total of 19 rooms are divided into 18 Executive rooms and 1 Suite - the Suite being the superior category. The rooms are a mixture of carpeted and tiled flooring and only the Suite washroom has a bathtub while the other rooms' washrooms enjoy shower spaces. All the Executive rooms come in twin bed categories. The facilities common to all the rooms are cable television, refrigerator, direct dial telephones STD/ISD telephones, hot & cold running water, room service from 6:00 am to 12:00 midnight, air conditioning and a minibar on request. The Suites are larger with a dining table, seating arrangement and the bed. These rooms are smart and well furnished and they all come at economical costs.

Services & Facilities
Added services offered by the hotel are banquet and conferencing facilities, laundry, money exchange, boat rental, travel assistance, doctor on call and Ayurvedic rejuvenation facilities.

Dining
The dining facility includes Pavilion the multi cuisine restaurant which can accommodate 56 persons and offers an a la carte menu for lunch (11:00 am to 3:00 pm) and dinner (7:00 pm to 11:00 pm). It also specializes in sea food and a lunch specialty includes the Abad Thali which comes as a non vegetarian and vegetarian dish with 8 vegetable curries and an optional non vegetarian dish. There is another very lively and a delightful space called Cafe Mattancherry which can accommodate 54 persons and is open from 6:00 am to 12:00 midnight. Snacks and quick meals are the highlights of the menu.

Banquets & Conferences
The hotel is home to a mini conference hall which can accommodate 25 persons and is located on the 2nd floor. It is completely soundproofed. There are Banquet Halls 1 & 2 which have a collapsible partition between them and can together accommodate 250 persons. These are fully carpeted and have a wall of windows. There is also the sheltered rooftop to hold 120 persons and is a lovely place for formal and informal gatherings. The hotel supplies the guests with all conferencing equipment at an extra charge.

With these facilities and comfortable rooms at economical prices, you can't go wrong. This hotel would be perfect on business or leisure.

Location
The hotel is located 35 kilometres from the airport, 6 kilometres from the South Railway Station, 8 kilometres from the bus stand and MG Road.

An aerial view of the lush green coast of Cochin