Of Rains & Lakes..A Trip to Aquaserene Resort at Kollam, Kerala

[Mysticeyes]

Rain rain come again, li'l boy wants to play..this was my prayer for a long time since the summer had set in Kerala by february end. We were waiting for the almost one week break starting from 10th April and it was long time since we went for a trip after the trip to Kuttanad backwaters in October '08. The first trip we planned was to the Aquaserene Resort on the banks of the Paravur Lake at Kollam, which is about 70Kms drive from Trivandrum. There were signs of rain from 9th evening onwards due to the depression in the coast and by 10th morning, the sky had really opened up and pouring out. Yet, we decided to carry on with our backwater trip and started the memorable journey in rain. Being a public holiday, the highway was free and yet, to enjoy the rain (and to be cautious), we cruised at 60-70Km/hr mark.

One has to take a deviation from the NH 47 before reaching Kollam and has to travel almost 5 Kms through narrow winding roads. The final 3 Kms is through soil roads through the coconut farms running parallel to the lake. We checked in around 12pm and just about that time, the rain had stopped, but it was cloudy.

The resort is well appointed with independent cottages and traditional mansions. All the rooms have exquisite waterfront view and the landscaping is awesome.

View of the Paravur lake


View of the Reception Block from the parking lot. This is an artificial pond and runs through the entire resort




View of a heritage mansion. It comprises of 4 rooms. The other side got backwater frontage


Merging of the backwater and the artificial canal in the resort


Walkway and signboard


Walkway in front of the independent cottages


Independent Cottage..its impossible to get a snap without the leaves jumping in


view from the sitout of the cottage

After check-in, we had a sumptuous lunch with the spicy kerala menu and my click happy finger was begining to get itchy to take few snaps.

Restaurant..abode of the delicious Karimeen fry



window seats with a view to the lake


Soon after lunch, we were wandering around the resort, taking pics.

this was supposed to be the sunset point, rite behind the palms, but thanks to the rain and cloud cover, the sunset snaps didn't materialize


the "kadavu" or the dock near the resort


bridge inside the resort


sunset point


"members seat" at sunset point


walkway to the lake


the slopes


artificial pool


'hanging bridge' you can see the clouds slowly gathering by..



More to follow..

[mjothi]

The first pic is enough to tell about the beautiful landscape your eyes enjoyed. Thanks man, its wonderful.

More please...

[lohithrao]

Mystic eyes, this is a lovely place...reminds me of my hometown

Waiting to see and read more, bring them on
Love the pics esp the first one

Btw do share the url for this resort... thanks

[ASHISHPALLOD]

@mystic eyes,
pics are nice.
first pic is so beautiful that some like me want it as desktop pic.
please repost that pic with full resolution.

[Mysticeyes]

the "pathas" which wander along the resort



sighh..this is what we need more and more. lakes and breeze and light drizzle


giving an ethnic touch


Suddenly the sky started turning black (one of the best cloud formation I've ever seen) and pretty soon, it was dark and opened up ferociously. BY then, it was 2.30Pm and the combination of backwaters and rain was the one we were dying for. The beauty is beyond words and i tried to capture some of the magic. The rain didn't let off for more than 24 hours thereafter.Our boating trip didn't take place due to the rain. But who cares?as long as the unbelievable scenery of rain and backwater unfolds..

soon the sky was turning black


trying to be back home before the rain hits..



rain rain come again



you can sit and watch the rain for hours, accompanied by the sound of breeze and light waves


it poured on and on and on..


nostalgic feeling of monsoon season in kerala


the difference tiny droplets can make


soon, night fell




silent night..



the scene wasn't much different next day morning with the rain continuously lashing the scenery. But we had to move on, keeping some wonderful memories of the ambiance and a resolve to visit again

[greenhorn]

did you drive to the resort? the last mile getting there is damn narrow!

[snaronikar]

Very good pics and narration. The 1st pic (taken in panaromic view (?)) is great. BTW how to reach there and pls post some details about the rent, the food and the atmosphere there. It will be helpful.

[Mysticeyes]

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

@mystic eyes,
pics are nice.
first pic is so beautiful that some like me want it as desktop pic.
please repost that pic with full resolution.

the original pic size would be around 5mb. the upload limit is 1mb per pic

@ lohithrao, the website is Welcome to Tulip Star Hotels
or Aquaserene_index

@ greenhorn, welcome buddy, was planning to nudge you into a TBHP meet in TVM. we went to the resort in my cute fabia. the last bend just before the main gate of the resort is very narrow and bit dangerous with the "sand lorries" flying everywhere

@snaronikar, the 1st pic was taken in panorama mode. if you are travelling from bangalore, the best route would be to land at the trivandrum airport. from there, you can hire a car and drive down to the resort. Paravur is about 70 Km from trivandrum and you can reach by road in about 1-1.5 hours. More details about the rates is available in the 2 websites mentioned above. Since it is off-season now, we got the cottage for around Rs. 4250/day. The food was pretty good, but the 'karimeen' or Pear Spot fish is not as tasty as the type you get in Kuttanad backwaters. Since we wnt during the long weekend starting from 9th April, the resort was full to the brim

[narayan]

Originally Posted by snaronikar

Very good pics and narration. The 1st pic (taken in panaromic view (?)) is great. BTW how to reach there and pls post some details about the rent, the food and the atmosphere there. It will be helpful.

the resort has quite a good website. you get all the info from there and you can write in to them for a tailor made package. the place is quite close to QUILON - on the QUILON PARAVUR route

they are quite open to negotiation also what with the downturn in the economy now

i was at aquaserene this feb - its the season time in Kerala but still managed a very good rate and we were the ONLY family in the resort at that time !

amazing place, great food, excellent service

[greenhorn]

the best part I liked about the place was the bathrooms
Did you check them out ?

[Mysticeyes]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

the best part I liked about the place was the bathrooms
Did you check them out ?

that's my 1st destination whenever i check-in at a hotel/resort the concept is good, but i'm not a fan of the open air concept in rainy season

[snaronikar]

@ Mysticeyes & narayan: Thanks for the info.

However, I'am a veggie and hence the fishes/other meat stuff does not bother to me.

[netchef]

Originally Posted by Mysticeyes

Rain rain come again,
One has to take a






More to follow..

Mysticeyes: Super-duper-Fantastic-and-then-I-run-out-of-Superlatives!
Get me a job there. I could drink in that view and get pretty high just doing that.


Dear Santa...

[vito_parry]

Mysticeyes - the pics , place saying it all wow what a place to be and at the right time. you should have had a wonderful time. keep posting

[greenhorn]

a little contribution, shot from a phonecam of the same area

have got tons more, from 4 other cams as well

EDIT: cant upload some issue