After nearly three weeks of travelling around Southern India we finally arrived at our 11th & final place before catching the plane home from Cochin the next day.

All we needed at this stage was a quiet, relaxing place to recuperate and the Indian Summer House was absolutely the perfect hotel to do this. Right from the start with the warm welcome we received from Don, Albin and Rajesh, we knew we were in the right place.

The architecture is quite unique and very beautiful,with lots of tasteful features, lovely grounds and a fantastic pool. Our room was luxurious with a great outdoor rain water shower and our own lovely terrace to enjoy.

After exploring the grounds and a superb lunch made by Rajesh, we spent the afternoon by the pool before joining Don for an early evening drink on his terrace where he told us about the history of the ISH and his background, all of which was very enjoyable.

Following this we went down to the dining area where Rajesh produced another excellent meal for us, explaining how he'd made it and where the ingredients came from - he's a very good chef.

We were up very early the next morning and it was a lovely surprise to be waved off by Albin, the manager and the guard, despite the time (5:30am)!

All in all we had a lovely time with our only regret being that our stay was all too brief and we didn't get time to visit the tea house or the surrounding area that other guests have mentioned, or indeed stay longer to enjoy ISH further.

Thanks you to Don and his team

What a beautiful tastefully decorated Indian Summer House. Thank you Don, Albin, Rajesh, Bindu and all garden and security staff for taking such good care of us. The place is like a little paradise! We loved the outdoor shower and the pool very much.
We liked our little tour through the village, crossing the river by little wooden boat. The highlight was having tea with Mohanan at his traditional Tea Shop enjoying local delicacies with chai (pazham pori, bananas, tapioca chips and pappada vada). Great experience!

I had the most exquisite stay at Indian Summer House for the ISH Writer's Retreat. One thing that makes the hotel so special is it manages to be both intimate, boutique and spectacularly grand at the same time. I suppose if Raffles had only 4 rooms then it would probably want to look like Indian Summer House.

The hotel is built around a lovely garden which is home to exotic birds, butterflies, the occasional squirrel, stone-carvings and water features. It’s a real privilege to wake-up to this view and the perfect setting for yoga classes every morning.

I’ve been coming to India my whole life and never would I dream of drinking water straight from the tap. I don’t know how they manage it but not only do they have a great filtration process, everything is eco-friendly and sustainable. It’s wonderful how the hotel supports village artisans with gorgeous craft products perfectly positioned alongside high-end designer furnishing.

And someone needs to give Chef Rajesh a star or two because his cooking is just that good. His food is not only delicious, but it is also healthy, not too spicy and very nourishing. I love how he would ask us what we wanted for our meals and then just whip it up as if there is an entire market in the back garden. Talking about markets, we visited one with Rajesh and it was grand. He also took us to a coconut factory to see how oil is processed.

There were other tours, including a visit to a primary school, a boat ride and walk through the agricultural land featuring tapioca, rubber, bananas and more. We had tea with Mohanan at his traditional Tea Shop enjoying the most amazing banana fritters. No wonder his shop has been around for 100 years. We also tried breakfast at a small café with autorickshaw drivers followed by an adrenaline rush taking the bus back.

Time has this lovely pace in India. It seems to pass even more gently at Indian Summer House during our daily writer’s workshops with Caroline Van De Pol, readings and discussions to reflect and share our work with others or enjoying the outdoor showers, having a drink in the coconut lounge, jumping into the pool two, three times a day or relaxing at the spa. If you find yourself in Kerela this is the place to stay.