Marari Beach: Kerala’s best kept secret

Although we’re only a one-and-a-half-hour drive from Kochi city, Marari Beach still feels like a secret. We’re situated just off a long stretch of virgin beach in 36 acres of coconut grove where there’s so much space to just switch off and relax. On rare occasions you can hear the sound of dolphins chattering in the gentle waves.

Your accommodation is in a garden surrounded by fruit and palms trees as well as hibiscus and trumpet flowers. The cottages are modeled on a fisherman’s hut with thatched roofs made from coconut leaves. Paul McCartney, who’s a big fan of the CGH properties, stayed in one of our Deluxe Pool Villas with its own private swimming pool. Although I should mention all our cottages have access to one of the largest swimming pools in India so there’s no missing out.

We don’t have room service or televisions, the idea being you’re immersed into nature and can try our delicious local cuisine in one of the restaurants – mainly seafood since you’re on the coast. Our main restaurant, Chakara, serves the area’s signature fish curries. We also have a beach bar, complete with a pizza oven, and a dedicated seafood eatery.

You could easily spend the days relaxing in a hammock while the children feed the fish in the ponds and craft objects from coconut leaves, a favourite childhood pastime here. We have a team of naturalists who can take you around the butterfly garden, organic vegetable garden, and on a birding tour spotting the many species found around the property. People also come here especially for the Ayurveda experience with a dedicated specialist doctor and therapist tailoring wellness programmes to suit your needs.

Activities revolve around the local culture. There’s a fishing harbour nearby where in the early morning, you can watch as close to 100 fishermen haul baskets full of the morning catch including prawns and tuna we cook at the hotel. Or take a bicycle ride around Mararikulam village where local ladies expertly make doormats out of coir.

CGH properties are big on being sustainable and focus mainly on what we call the ‘backend’. We have our own bio gas plant, a strict waste management system and hire from the local community. Needless to say, there aren’t any plastic bottles to be seen and we make as much as we can from discarded material. Even our Christmas decorations were made from recycled products!