Malabar House

Beautiful Malabar House provides a fantastic introduction to Southern India. Its 17 individually styled en-suite rooms and suites combine bright colours, heavy wooden furniture and unusual sculptures to create a sense of freshness and tradition at the same time. The roof garden suites are particularly lovely, and have outdoor terraces with a sitting area overlooking the courtyard.

The restaurant, Malabar Junction is one of the finest seafood restaurants in the south of India, and blends tradition and innovation, serving up superb gourmet food that ranges from a southern Indian thali to duck roasted with fennel and pineapple. There is also a wine lounge showcasing the emerging and mostly excellent Indian wines, and serving tapas dishes that combine eastern and western flavours.

The hotel makes a wonderful base for exploring Cochin. Visit some of the museums, browse through the antique markets and marvel at the array of exotic spices and fabrics on sale in Jewtown. For guests wanting to relax and do their own thing, the hotel has a swimming pool, a spa offering Ayurvedic massages and bikes which can be hired to explore the streets of the city.

When to go

Southern India’s tropical climate means the area isn’t as dry as much of India, though temperatures stay pretty consistent all year round. You can expect a light sprinkling of rain any time of year but the beaches are best visited during the months of November to February with warmer temperatures and minimal rainfall. The hot season between March to June brings high levels of humidity making it best to visit the hill stations which provide relief from the hotter lowlands. Monsoon season begins in July lasting until September, bringing marginally more rain than other times of the year. Once the monsoon subsides in September, the stunning emerald landscape marks an exceptional time for hiking or visiting hill stations.