PARADISE SEARCH : MALABAR ESCAPES, PURITY, INDIA

The first time I went to India was maybe 6 years ago. If you have ever been there you know that being a tourist, and therefore being in need of any kind of “services” can be quite a challenge there. Things are going are at their own pace – charming up to the point when it’s not – and most of the time people have no clue about what you’re expecting of them. Despite all that, and because India is an impossibly mesmerizing place, I simply had to go back.

I actually have a very close friend who lives there, and she said to me : go to Kerala, this is like Paradise (how à-propos for this section).
With that, my research begins. I wanted to avoid 200 rooms hotels with “international” interiors, I was looking for small places with a lot of character and a good sense of service at the same time. I also had to plan an itinerary of some kind, to discover the region a bit. It looked like a lot of work to do until I stumbled upon the Malabar Escapes website. I was suddenly reading about a small collection of boutique hotels, scattered across Kerala, all different, but with the same art direction and the option of doing small circuits to discover all their properties. We weren’t married yet, but I thought to myself: let’s do the honeymoon first.

This the first part of a series of posts about these hotels. Our first stop is on the banks of Lake Vembanad and it’s called Purity.

The biggest star of the property is definitely the lake itself, it’s the most calming view and the colors at sunset with the ballet of fishermen on their wooden canoes are simply magical.

Swimming in the pool and feeling that everything is soothingly warm, your body, the air and the water.

The interiors are airy and clean with impressive local art displayed all-around the hotel. I was particularly fond of the printed fabric used for cushions in our rooms and sofas in the lobby, turns out it was custom-made: that’s one of the perks of India, there’s always a good craftsman around the corner.

Indians know a thing or two about staging: there were statues, small altars and basins here and there, all decorated with fresh flowers every morning.

Breakfast in the patio, lunch in the garden, dinner by the lake… it’s up to you! There’s even a small bell to call for help, we didn’t feel it was much useful since the staff is always here when you need them… and invisible when you don’t.