Infinity pool, Ayurveda spa, yoga, lakefront dining, chic rooms
Police Station, East of, Aryakara, Muhamma, Kerala 688525, India Get directions
"Florentine architect Maria Angela Fernhof built this Indo-Italianate villa with a waterfront garden back in 2003. All sun-washed white stucco and red terracotta, it was a real labour of love, bringing together bits of vintage Rajasthani palaces, antiques, temple carvings and a dash of Cochin's colonial cool, to create a wonderful patchwork atmosphere where India, tranquility and Europe meet. Since then the villa has been extended and refurbished by the Malabar Escapes collection who renamed it Purity. Stepping inside, after negotiating the bumpy track leading up to the hotel, you’ll be showered with attention by an ever-willing team of staff. Round, stepping-stone plinths lead you across the courtyard fishpond, on through the drawing room/art gallery – it showcases unique antiques and interpretations of modern India - to 14 sumptuous bedrooms and suites. These horseshoe round an idyllic lakeside garden where you’ll find a waterfront pavilion for arrival and departure by boat, a stunning pool, as well as an Ayurvedic spa and yoga space. Every inch of the garden is beautifully manicured whilst the décor promotes a healing sense of calm with clean lines and fuss-free furnishings. Laze and gaze, chill and thrill to the blissful serenity of this magical corner of Kerala. Highs Dreamy views across the lake to Kumarakom; watch out for kingfishers, cormorants, eagles and otters. And take a sikara ride across to the northern shore to the enchanting canals and lagoons of the Vembanad backwaters Lazing on sunbeds by the pool and beneath the palm trees in the garden Candlelit meals by the lake edge; wonderfully romantic, and the traditional Keralan food is good Staff really know the area and are happy to help organise activities - boat trips, backwater cruises, temple tours and day trips to Fort Cochin or Alleppey Sister hotel to the stylish Malabar House - ask about packages featuring both Lows You’re way off the beaten track but that’s what the essence of Purity is all about The approach to the hotel through the swampy back-end of a village might give a poor first impression though this will be immediately forgotten once you’re past the gates No restaurants within walking distance so you'll need to eat in-house or take a tuk-tuk When we last visited the pool tended to get a little cloudy in the afternoons With only 14 rooms it can get booked up" - Lesley Gillilan
"“Backwater” is typically meant as a metaphor, and not a particularly kind one. But the Kerala backwaters are among the world’s minor natural wonders — this network of inland waterways along the southwest Indian coast makes for, if nothing else, a marvelous place to get lost. It’s here, on the shores of the eponymous lake, that the Malabar House group, the South Indian boutique concern with a predilection for small hotels named for abstract concepts, has opened Purity at Lake Vembanad." - Tablet Hotels
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