Marari Villas

Rooms

Hibiscus Pool Villa (sleeps 2 + 2 children) is a beautifully carved old wooden ‘heritage' cottage, that has been updated to give a more modern feel. There’s a semi open-air bathroom with a monsoon shower under banana palms. Off the main bedroom, there’s the kitchenette; French doors open onto a small shaded terrace and a perfect little walled garden with private pool.

Orchid Pool Villa (sleeps 2 + 1 child) sits next door. Whiter, brighter and more contemporary, there is a small kitchenette, a living space and a sky-view shower bathroom. The terracotta pool terrace leads to a pool and small tropical garden.

Both villas are equipped with emergency supplies of candles and mosquito repellent (we found both useful), a torch, and a mobile phone with Indian SIM card (so you can call staff at any time). The fridges are stocked with complimentary milk and mineral water, and there’s tea and coffee (the latter grown in the Keralan hills). All bedrooms are air-conditioned.

We're yet to see the third villa in person, but it looks just as delightful as its neighbours - fusing traditional architecture and modern comfort. Frangipani (sleeps up to 4) has a double master bedroom and a lounge, which can also be made up as a double or twin bedroom if needed. It's just a 300m walk to the beach, and has its own large private garden with hammocks, pool and sunbathing deck. There's even a shady pergola, ideal for yoga or dining.

Features include:

• Fan
• Hairdryer
• In-room treatments available
• Minibar
• Safe box
• WiFi

Eating

The villas share an in-house chef who is always on-hand to prepare your meals and snacks from breakfast to dinner. Specialities are local Keralan cuisine, but they can cater for continental palates, too (sandwiches, for example, soup or chips). Many of the dishes are a fusion of both.

For breakfast, there’s a choice of eggs to order, toast, fresh fruits and juices, muesli and other cereals, or you can go native and order idli (savoury cakes), hoppers, poori (wheat flour puff served with a spicy masala) or rice-flour dosas served with a light potato curry - all typical of South India.

To ensure freshly cooked seasonal food, the lunch/dinner menu changes daily, and offers a choice of a fish, prawns, meat or chicken dish, served with vegetable or salad dishes plus rice and/or breads (appams, chappatis). Typical dishes include: fish mollee (white fish cooked in mild spices with coconut milk), prawn malibari curry (cooked in tamarind) or snake gourd vizhiki (fried in coconut oil with Kashmiri chilli powder, mustard seeds and curry leaves) among a variety of vegetable dishes using beetroot, okra, aubergines, cashews nuts, tapioca, green lentils and yam. On Sundays, you can try a traditional Keralan Thali - various dishes served with red rice on a banana leaf.

The continental menus feature tiger prawns in a honey sauce, pasta with fresh tomato sauce or fish and chips (king fish, pomfret, karrimeen or tuna). Finish off with pineapple crumble, sautéed banana with homemade ice-cream, or steamed rice flour balls filled with coconut.

Orchid and Hibiscus villas have a kitchenette with sink, fridge and kettle, and a barbecue. On request, guests can also receive a guided tour of the local markets, Keralan recipes and a private cooking class with advice on preparing local dishes. If you want to eat out, there are a few resort restaurants within walking distance or a short auto-rickshaw ride.

Features include:

• Bar
• Barbecue
• Breakfast
• Dinner by arrangement
• Fridge
• In-house cook
• Kids' meals
• Kitchenette
• Lunch by arrangement
• Meal delivery service
• Restaurants nearby
• Room service
• Vegetarian options

Activities

• Hang out on Marari beach: a private area reserved for guests is 300m from the villas and furnished with sunbeds, parasols, hammocks, a shower, a shelter and a full-time attendant
  
• Borrow the bicycles and potter around the beaches and village backroads of Mararikulam (Marari village)
  
• Among various tailor-made activities, staff can organise Keralan cooking classes in an outdoor kitchen, visits to a local market, dance lessons, visits to spas, Ayurvedic treatments, and personal yoga sessions with a local teacher
  
• Explore the canals and lagoons of the region’s famous backwaters: you can travel from shore to shore on board a government ferry (like a floating bus), or you can rent a little country boat (with boatman) and do your own thing; staff can advise
  
• Take a tuk-tuk into nearby Alleppey (also called Alapuzzha, 20 minutes). Known as the Venice of the East (thanks to its complex network of canals), the little town offers temples, coir factories, a magnificent cathedral (St Mary’s), a departure point for boat trips, and a fine beach
  
• Take a day trip to Fort Cochin (it takes an hour - or longer if you take the scenic beach road) and visit the Bishop’s Palace, St Francis’s Church and the Matancherry’s Jew Town district with its 16th century Paradesi synagogue, spice and antique shops and heritage houses
  
• Take a ferry across Lake Vembanad to Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, 14 acres of waterfront ornithology (from storks and egrets to night herons and native kingfishers)

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Birdwatching
• Boat trips
• Cooking classes
• Cycling
• Fishing
• Historical sites
• Museums / galleries
• Plantlife / flora
• Private guided tours
• Shopping / markets
• Swimming
• Traditional cultures
• Well being
• Yoga

Kids

Marari Villas are great for families as you have the privacy of a villa plus room service and a chef to look after you. There are plenty of kids activities and heaps of equipment provided.

Travel items can be purchased with a little notice such as nappies, wipes, sun cream, mosquito repellent, toiletries etc. A mobile phone and local SIM card is available in each villa.

Best for:

All ages

Family friendly accommodation:

The villas all have fenced/walled private gardens, pools and rollaway beds for kids. Orchid and Hibiscus can accommodate a baby cot. Frangipani's lounge can be made up with double or twin beds and has an interconnecting door from the master bedroom (also fits an extra bed).

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available, Family Rooms

Distances:

• Airport: 1.5 hours by car (Cochin)
• Hospital: 15 minutes

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Marari Villas are set under coconut palms on Marari beach, close to Mararikulam and Alleppey in Kerala, southern India. They are 15km from Alleppey, and 50km from Cochin.

By Air
The closest airport is Cochin (Kochi) International Airport (70km), to which there is a direct flight from London (Air India 3 days per week), regular flights via the Gulf and internal flights from Mumbai, Madras and Goa. Kerala's other international airport Trivandrum (151km) and easily accessed by road or rail. The staff at Marari Villas can arrange pick-ups from the airport, by taxi - see Rates.

By Train
From Ernakulam railway station in Cochin, take a train to Alleppey/Trivandrum that stops at Mararikulam Station (3km from Marari). Alternatively, head to Alleppey (15km), which sits on the busy mainline route between Trivandrum (3 hrs) and Cochin (2 hrs). You can jump in a rickshaw from either station.

Getting Around
Staff can arrange a car and driver, or a rickshaw, for day or half-day hire and there are bikes available for guests’ use.

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.com.

More on getting to Kerala and getting around