When you live in Kochi, you know that a day trip to Fort Kochi will always leave you with a discovery. That is the beauty of the locale - it is a place where history and modernity live together. Some of the most novel events in Kochi start here, but it is also where some of the oldest buildings in the city continue to be maintained with reverence. During Biennale time, it is teeming with artists and creatives. This is also why Fort Kochi is home to some of the most stunning and unique heritage properties.
But running a heritage property is not an easy gig. For Maneesha Panicker, who moved back home to Kerala from New York, her first venture was the tranquil Kayal Island Retreat, on the banks of the beloved Vembanad lake that Malayalam songs have been written about. But her latest venture is called 'Kara'. The literal nature of her boutique hotels’ names is something that I can’t help but love - Kayal translates to lake while Kara translates to both land and border; a befitting name for a boutique property on the land of Fort Kochi, that blurs the borders of old and new. After all, being on the nose is brilliant in its way at times.
After nearly a decade of running Kayal, Maneesha was ready for a new project when she stumbled upon an old building that had once been home to another boutique stay but was an erstwhile mint for the Dutch East India Company. Post-COVID, when Maneesha saw the building lay dormant, she took a chance to revive it. She shared how she reached out to the owner, and it all started from there. “I’d seen the building years ago, but the timing was never right,” says Maneesha. “Then everything aligned.” When the space became available, she began a slow process of reimagining it—not as a static hotel, but as something more fluid. What followed was over a year of quiet planning, experimenting, and understanding how the space could best be used.
But what sets Kara apart from other boutique hotels in the area is its deep entanglement with art. The art is from the private collector, who has amassed an impressive collection of modern Indian masters such as M.F. Hussain, Manjit Bawa and more. “Many of these pieces are usually tucked away in private homes,” Maneesha explains, “but here, they’re on display for the public to enjoy.” And enjoy what they do. While Kara is an eight-room boutique property, it also functions as a living gallery, with guests often drifting from their rooms to the downstairs gallery space, or vice versa, discovering art at every turn.
The property is divided into wings of sorts as well - the older wing retains much of its colonial architecture, with high ceilings, wooden beams, and its long history palpable. It also houses a selection of works by India’s modern masters, drawn from the private collection that includes those from. These are pieces you’d rarely see outside major museums or private homes - now placed in this curated yet lived-in setting. “It’s not just about showcasing the art,” says Maneesha, “It’s about how people experience it as they move through space.” The new wing is modern in architecture, as well as the curation of art works on display.
The transition from hotel to gallery isn’t a stark one - it’s fluid and intuitive. “We didn’t start out thinking it would become a gallery hotel,” Manisha says. “But it just unfolded that way. It felt right.” The gallery downstairs has already hosted shows by contemporary artists like Gayatri Gamuz, and performances that play with form, water, and movement. The space remains versatile—an evolving canvas that responds to the community around it.
Even as Fort Kochi grows increasingly cosmopolitan, Kara feels grounded. It draws from the layered textures of its past while staying open to the new. The interiors are minimally yet thoughtfully designed, allowing the artworks to breathe and the architecture to speak. Programming is also in the works, the women's day event hosted with the organisation Urbanaut - Women Who Wander - is just beginning according to Maneesha. “We want Kara to be a space where people come not just to stay, but to feel something - curiosity, inspiration, even quiet joy,” While the hotel currently doesn’t house a restaurant, plans are underway to develop one. They offer meals at the property for their in-house guests.
In a town known for its Art Biennale and culture-forward sensibility, Kara finds its place not by being loud, but by being present. It doesn’t shout for attention. Instead, it draws you in - softly, slowly - until you find yourself lingering in a hallway just a little longer, drawn to a painting you hadn’t noticed before. It is a space in flux, shaped by the art it houses, the people who pass through it and Maneesha herself as a Malayali who found her way back home in Kerala.
Follow Kara Hotel here.
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