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This monsoon a small boutique hotel off Kerala’s Cherai Beach offers you an eco-friendly escape from congested city life. So, instead of staring at imobile traffic this rain filled season, enjoy a long weekend at Les 3 Elephants and take in picturesque views of Kerala’s tranquil backwaters from any one of their eleven Bungalows, placed a tasteful 150 metres away from the river’s banks.
Kerala is well-known for being India’s epicentre of relaxing and mesmerising getaways, so what makes this boutique retreat so special, you may ask? Well, Les 3 Elephants believes in offering a high level of comfort along with an equal level of environmental commitment. By using simple and effective techniques that not only immensely decrease their environmental footprint, but add to the quality of the stay, this hotel has found the perfect niche a boutique retreat needs. And the cerise on top is the varying French menu offered by the Parisian owners of this Vypin Island establishment. Reclining on a veranda with views of a sunset shimmering in the ambling backwaters and an ample fare of haute cuisine sounds like the kind of rest and recovery we all need.
The hotel’s structure is drawn from local Keralan modes of architecture, making guests’ time at Les 3 Elephants both aesthetically and environmentally pleasing. The roofs are constructed out of the wood, fibre and leaves of coconut trees along with bamboo pillars for support. This thatch-style roof not only pays tribute to sustainable architecture techniques, but is an ideal option for locations that face lots of rain and humidity. With minimal heat gain this woven coconut roofing is a lifesaver in Kerala’s toasty, tropical climate. Moreover, the bungalows are cross ventilated and orientated in a manner that maximises air flow, thus making them naturally cool.
The hotel’s red and black oxide flooring is based off a flooring style introduced to Kerala by Portuguese and Italian traders ages ago, and is a durable yet elegant flooring option. Given that this style of flooring is cool to the touch, it is an ideal counterpart of any bungalow placed in a tropical area. In addition, solar water heating, low consumption bulbs and five stars electrical devices add to the environmentally friendly dynamic of this backwaters retreat.
Out of the many amenities Les Elephants provides, we find the simplest offering the best. Guests can rent fishing rods from the hotel and soak in the beauty of the backwaters while reclining on the river’s soft banks, enjoying one of Kerala’s most peaceful and time honoured traditions. Don’t fret if that’s not what you had in mind for your backwaters vacation, as Les 3 Elephants offers: ayurvedic massages, yoga classes, kayaking and a country boat backwater tour. Now’s the time to book, as off season rates dip to roughly half the price during the off season.
[Note: tv and wifi are not provided in guests’ rooms. There is wifi in select areas of the property]
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