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Kerala family holiday

We are just back from 2 weeks in Kerala organised by Jo Thomas/Wild about Travel. My wife and I were fairly seasoned travellers/back-packers when we were younger, but have become more conservative on the travel front since having children. As they are now aged 7 and 10 we thought the time was right to open a new chapter so far as family holidays was concerned, hence our decision to go to India.

We were looking for adventure and luxury in equal measure and we wanted a relaxing holiday with something in it for us and for the children. We chose to say in the CGH Hotels - Brunton Boatyard, Spice Village, Coconut Lagoon and Marari Beach, and we were delighted by our experience. CGH is an Indian chain (around 50% of the people staying at the hotels were Indian), and we felt this was a reasonably authentic introduction to India for everyone (we had in fact been to India briefly once before in 1994).

Kerala is a tropical paradise and relatively speaking, there are none of the problems of poverty, lack of food and poor hygeine found in some other parts of the country. It is quite westernised but that doesn't mean it has lost its soul and colour.

We certainly felt pampered - we stayed in fantastic rooms/bungalows, and on a beautiful house boat, and we travelled between the various hotels in an air-conditioned car. The hotel environments were superb with welcoming and helpful staff, nice gardens and great swimming pools. We met a lot of interesting people (both Indian and non Indian), and were bowled over by the Keralan culture, the friendliness, their genuine interest in us, and the lack of hassling and hassles generally. We ate very well (excellent fish and seafood in particular). No-one got ill, and generally our children really enjoyed the food which was well prepared and varied.

In terms of adventure, we went on safari in Peryar (on foot - forget about doing the noisy tourist boat trip in our opinion), and saw some amazing wildlife in the Backwaters (particularly bird-life). We also enjoyed wandering about in Kochi, shopping and visiting the sites.

We certainly had a relaxing time, did a lot of reading and swimming, and had some very good Ayuvedic massages, especially at Coconut Lagoon and Marari Beach. Our children loved it too, especially the swimming pools, the wildlife, chatting to the rangers, and generally being spoilt by the staff.

The only negative was a certain level of complacency in the staff attitudes and service at Coconut Lagoon. They have such an amazing location, and a very good Ayuvedic centre. It is a pity that they don't maximize the experience in other ways as we found in all the other hotels.

The highlight was definitely the houseboat trip/overnight. The crew were brilliant, their cooking was great, and it was interesting to talk to them about life in the Backwaters. To have supper alone and pass the night at anchor in the middle of this lake, and be woken by birdsong and fishermen going about their business was other-worldy. We wish we had done this for longer.

So thankyou Jo - a great holiday where everything ran smoothly - which isn't a 'given' in India - and one that we will remember for a long while !!
Jeremy White, France  January 2011