Chittoor Kottaram
A three-bedroom former palace of the Cochin royal family on the Kochi backwaters, let as a single house with its own staff, pool and boat.
- Neighbourhood
- Chittoor, on the Kochi backwaters
- Status
- Open
Why we recommend it
This is not a hotel in the usual sense. There is one key, and whoever holds it has the whole palace: the rooms, the garden, the pool, the cook and the boatman. For a couple, a family or a small group of friends it offers something that larger properties in Kerala cannot, which is privacy inside a house with a real history, in a village that carries on around it with its temple bells, its pond and its market.
It pairs well with a few days in the old port. CGH Earth’s hotel there is Brunton Boatyard, on the harbour front of Fort Kochi, and a stay at the palace is a quiet prelude or coda to the houseboat journey described in drifting through the Kerala backwaters on a kettuvallam.
Rooms & Suites
The palace has three bedrooms and is let only as a whole, to a single party of up to six. The rooms open onto pillared verandas, and the living room extends onto a large veranda of its own. A retinue of household staff looks after the guests throughout the stay.
Dining
There is no restaurant; a resident cook prepares the meals, which may be served in a gazebo in the garden. The kitchen is known for local vegetarian dishes and for recipes from the Cochin royal household, among them banana fritters laced with honey, homemade chutneys and rice dumplings. According to the operator’s factsheet, Kerala meat and seafood dishes and continental cooking are also available on request.
Design
The palace dates from the 18th century and is built in the traditional style of Kerala: whitewashed walls, a timber frame, a tiled roof and deep pillared verandas. CGH Earth presents it as little changed since the rajah’s time, and the approach reinforces the impression, by boat along a private canal to a shaded garden on the water.
Wellness & Spa
The house has a private swimming pool in the garden and a room for Ayurvedic massage, given by local therapists in the Keralan tradition. Those interested in a full programme of treatment should read Ayurveda in Kerala: How a Panchakarma Stay Works.
Location
Chittoor lies on the backwaters on the outskirts of Kochi, about 30 kilometres from Cochin International Airport. The palace boat is available for backwater cruises, fishing trips and sunset outings, and the village itself is worth a walk.
Excursions from the house take in the heritage of Fort Kochi, with St Francis Church and the galleries, the synagogue and old spice market of Mattancherry, and the Muziris archaeological site. Visitors in the art season should read The Kochi-Muziris Biennale: India’s Largest Art Exhibition, in an Old Spice Port. For the state as a whole, see the guide to Kerala for wellness and water.
- Address
- Behind Chittoor Temple, Chittoor P.O., Cochin 682027, Kerala, India
- Website
- Official website