Linda and I (Diplomatist publisher and managing editor) spent a relaxing weekend in Kerala in August. The resort where we relaxed, the Leela Kempinski Kovalam beach resort, also consist of ‘The Club’ which is indeed a resort within the overall resort, and in our opinion a destination in itself.

Perched on a rocky bluff alongside of Kovalam Beach, the Leela, Kovalam is just a 13 km scenic drive south of Thiruvanhapuram and 15 from Trivandrum International Airport. ‘The Club,’ the venue wherein we spent our weekend, is unique in the fact that one enters the lobby/reception and descends to the rooms and various restaurants, lounges and other facilities, all of which offer up splendid views and sounds of the breaking waves of the Arabian Sea, only metres below. A fascinating pastime is to observe the fishing boats not far offshore and the brave young men casting their lines from the slippery rocks below the resort.

We checked in at about 4:30 pm on a Friday afternoon. After settling in, we went back to the lobby where we asked a Leela team member to show us around the facilities. Believe it or not; the tour took over an hour. My Goodness! There was just so much to see!

We were accommodated in ‘The Club,’ the facilities of which include: 56 rooms and suites all with sundecks overlooking the sea; The Library, a place to go if one is looking for a place to unwind; The Livingroom, where one can find solitude; Divya, an Ayurvedic wellness spa; The Infinity Pool, so named because its edge seems to merge with the horizon; and, The Café, an exclusive restaurant under the supervision of award winning chef Mr. Thomas. And then of course there’s the Main Lobby, a masterpiece of architecture and comfort in itself.

The other resort within the resort, the ‘Leela Kempinski,’ is just a coconut’s throw away from ‘The Club,’ its companion-haven. Multi-cuisine restaurant, a couple of great bars, 130 luxurious rooms/suites1, conference and banquet facilities, Ayurvedic wellness spa – this consists of much more than we can describe herein, unless of course, we eliminated photos. That wouldn’t do; so let’s allow the photos to portray the thousand words that we could write.

In summing up: All-in-all, we had a delightful, peaceful and relaxing weekend. The facilities were ‘out of this world;’ the staff was more than friendly; the food was delicious, and guess what? The Club and the Leela Kempinski may be separate entities with separate check-in counters, but they are definitely not standalone. For instance residents of ‘The Club’ can simply sign for meals, drinks and services in the whole complex however, it is not visa versa. Full details can be found at the Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts website: www.theleela.com.

Obviously, we recommend the Leela, Kovalam to our readership.

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