Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The Old Courtyard Hotel

On our recent vacation to Fort Kochi, Kerala, we stayed at an old Portuguese heritage hotel called The Old Courtyard Hotel on Princess Street.
As we entered the huge wooden door, we were immediately transported to the elegance and beauty of a by-gone era.
This restored heritage building now offers 8 rooms, that overlook a charming courtyard.
You can enjoy a cup of cardamom tea sitting under a huge mango tree in the center of the courtyard, or dig into their wide variety of desserts that are so very popular!
The white-washed walls, the arches, antique furniture, the old switchboards and the attention to details makes this quaint place very special.The dining area faces the courtyard. We were torn between enjoying the view and devouring their delicious breakfast:-)
View from the first floor balcony.
The terracotta tiled roof and the fresh green leaves of the mango tree make a lovely combination.
Top view of the Old Courtyard Hotel
Magical light filtering in through the window as we were shown our room.The patina of the seasoned wooden floor with my cup of tea:-)
The owners have retained the original floor and I am so glad they did, the feel of the smooth wood against the feet is something else.The rain-gods decided to shower their blessings on us that evening and the Old Courtyard took on a magical feel.We just stood there watching the rain beat down while sipping our Masala Chai this time;-)
If we traveled to Fort Cochin again, we would surely return to this charming 17th century abode.

27 comments:

Gill said...

I have to visit you more often.
This was a mini-vacation for me. Thanks Arch, so gorgeous all of it.
xo

pRiyA said...

very, very beautiful arch. thanks for sharing glimpses of your holiday with us. i am definitely going to visit fort kochi one day after your recommendation.

Komal-Nishka said...

If and when I visit Kerela, this is so going to be one of the places I wanna stay at.. Beautiful pictures Arch as always :)

robyn said...

Arch~ this is lovely : )

Anonymous said...

oh lovely Arch!! Am definitely going to save this one.. and will go and stay here some day!

Rajee Sood said...

Hey so ,my guess was right, you did go to Cochin.Did you also go to the Jew town and see all those gorgeous antique stores.
There is something soooo magical about our heritage places... isn't there ...I wonder if this passion for heritage and design stems from our very sauve cantonment lives :)
Enjoyed your pictures.Reminds me of the British bunglows.

~mE said...

lovely place arch

Unknown said...

Yes this is a beautiful place . The whole of Fort Kochi is. I love it .

trueblue said...

Thanks Archana,
It is beautiful :) I think i will defenitely go there on my next trip.. did u get to go the Jew Street while you were there.. i have heard it is a collector's paradise !!

love ur "chai" photo !

Britt-Arnhild said...

I visited a hotel in Mysore which reminds me of these photos. I have such lovey memories from there.

Anu said...

The rains do make it look magical.

Prem said...

after the rain shower, it's truly magical.. saved it as my desktop background.. refreshing for my eyes

Shalini said...

Fantastic shots Arch. One really gets a sense of the place. We had lunch here....at the table at the far end of the verandah and it was fabulous! I'll definitely keep this place in mind to stay as well!

Paavani said...

very nice and cozy & green place! Would love to go to backwaters in near future and might try out this place too :)

Vineeta said...

Wow, beautiful place & its great to see a place through your eyes. I especially agree about the old wooden floor and how special it makes the place. And as usual- great pictures :)

My Dream Canvas said...

What a lovely place Makes me want to pack my bags and leave right away.A lovely post Archana!

Sunita Mohan said...

I'm beginning to wonder whether I know you in another avatar(even if its in the friend-of-a cousin-of-a neighbour-of-a- ... form) ! This is perhaps the second (or third? ) time you've posted about a place owned by someone I know. I'm glad you did because I've never been there inspite of that. Definitely incentive enough to make sure I do the next time I go to Kochi.

Sri Pillai said...

This is lovely :) Enjoyed the photographs.

Nidhi said...

love love love the pics...I sooo want to run away from this city and hide myself in under one of those tress ..sigh! On an aside do u know of any such place to stay in Coorg? I could not find any posts on Coorg on your blog..I'm plannign a trip there sometime soon so I thought I'll turn to the expert for help ;) Even Chickmagalur would do actually

Harish Krishnan said...

Hey,

It is one of my favorite hotels in Cochin. You have captured it beautifully ma'am. After visiting your blog, I'm sure the hotel will receive more customers and will tell them whom to thank when I visit there next :)

Vasudha Narasimhan said...

hi Arch

the describing of Fort cochi is so beautifully done in this article. I simple loved it.....

Unknown said...

looks awesome! thanks for sharing!

Chinchu said...

gorgeous, looks exactly the same as I remember it during my visit many moons ago in 2002.Fort cochin is beautiful.

Anonymous said...

hmm.. i like the switch :) ..
thanks for the post Archana!

Kaberi said...

Wow... I need to remember to visit this place next time when I am in that vicinity...what a wonderful place full of nostalgia! Love that switch board, wood floor, arches and court yard with mango tree! I wish more buildings like this one can be saved in other places too!

Ani said...

wow!!! Archana thanks a lot.very beautiful place. never knew about this. will definitely visit one day.

Shannon Fricke said...

What a beautiful place! One day, I hope I will make it to this divine part of the world - the architecture in itself is enough of a reason.
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