Picture Perfect In Kochi

Le Meridien, Kochi perfectly combines quintessential Kerala with an unerring corporate culture, discovers Susan George.

The building rises majestically amidst the unrestrained beauty of palm trees and dusky backwaters. Le Meridien, Kochi spiritedly embraces Kerala in its architecture and ambience. Positioned as a resort cum convention centre, Le Meridien knows exactly how to brew an unrivalled concoction of business and pleasure.

The lobby breathes an intangible cheeriness that's far removed from the cliched image of staid and stuffy business hotels. Glass pannelled walls envelop the sprawling lounge and a large wooden and brass trunk, a typical Kerala artifact, embellished with poinsettias and diyas greet guests entering the hotel. Vibrant masks, almost grotesque in appearance, stare from a wall. The lounge overlooks immaculately manicured lawns, stretching into backwaters that quietly winds its way around the gardens. Yet, it’s not simply about the hotel’s architectural beauty, reminiscent of the Kerala ‘tharavadu’ that one can write sheaves about.

Simply put, Le Meridien makes perfect business sense. Take, for instance, the simple lines of the executive suite, with a convenient living room area for hosting business guests. Or the attached Gulfar convention centre which is the largest of its kind in south India. The centre can accommodate 4,000 people and has played host to bigwig international conferences, the likes of Intel, Microsoft and WHO. A total of 52,000 square feet of air-conditioned area, embedded with audio-visual facilities makes the Gulfar convention centre the hub of the state’s corporate conferences. If you would like to pep up conferences with a dash of the exotic, the hotel’s open-air amphitheatre could be the ideal venue.

If you’re not carried away by the impeccable corporate ambience, the honeymoon suite will sweep you off your feet. You can slip into a never-never land, the optic fibre lighting on the ceiling lending a surreal quality to the room. And it simply gets more exotic - the restroom with its perfect-for-two bathtub cum jacuzzi overlooks lusciously green surroundings. The hotel’s 151 rooms are functional, yet classy, the wooden flooring complemented by the earthy furnishing, and, of course, spectacular views. The Kerala ambience wouldn’t be complete without ‘Le Revive’, the KTDC-certified ayurveda centre, run by a qualified doctor whose family has been in the business for over a century.

While there is a distinct likelihood that you’d like to wallow in the opulence of the hotel, Le Meridien offers guests the opportunity to explore Kochi. Houseboat cruises are on the top of the list, while another high-on-the-agenda activity is the sightseeing tour arranged by the hotel, where visitors can take in everything from the famed Chinese fishing nets to the quaint streets of Jew Town. Unquestionably, Le Meridien transports the guest to a world of make believe.