INDeco Resort Hotel, Mamallapuram, South India

Living here in Chennai, we’ve been down to Mamallapuram any number of times. I’ve written about it in previous blogs. Each time we go there’s more to discover. One of my titles reads ‘GRT Temple Bay Resort’ which rightly deserves much more than a mention (even if it is way too expensive for us retired folk).

We did actually overnight at Mamallapuram some years ago in a place that calls itself ‘Sea Breeze’. The location couldn’t be better. It’s directly on the beach right next to the town’s main attraction, the Shore Temple. The compound is at the end of a wonderfully neat dead end lane. It contains both cottages and rooms, a pool, a restaurant, and gift shop. ‘Sea Breeze’ is relatively new, but lacks the attention to detail and sophistication of the Radisson GRT complex. There’s a certain charm in that though. Whereas ‘Temple Bay' consists of a template that is recognizable anywhere in the world, ‘Sea Breeze’ retains a distinct Indian flavor.

Last weekend we made still another intriguing discovery: The ‘INDeco Hotel’ just south of the World Heritage site. It bills itself as the hotel that is also a museum and is run by the Indian government (that owns some of the best real estate in the country). INDeco too has a restaurant and a pool but it’s a bit of a distance to the ocean - about 5 minutes walk.

INDeco is wonderfully lush, green and shaded. That’s saying a lot for the east coast of India that tends to be arid apart from monsoon season. INDeco - like ‘Sea Breeze’ - is totally Indian. There’s a touch of the exotic here that’s missing at ‘Sea Breeze’ which seeks to be modern. No such pretensions here. INDeco is proud to be old (colonial) school.

I never actually stayed there. Neither did I eat at their multi-cuisine restaurant, ‘Pongamiya’ (named after the Pongamiya Glabra trees that shade the grounds). But from what I’ve seen so far, I wouldn’t mind checking it out. It has, of course the added advantage of its government affiliation which in my experience has always served us well throughout India.

GRT Temple Bay Resort; Mahabalipuram, India

Back in the early seventies when I traveled these parts I remember coming back from Sri Lanka where I had gone to extend my Indian visa. While there, I befriended a young woman - the wife of an American airline pilot - who was traveling alone with her six year old son. At some point, we left this island (pre-Tamil Tiger) paradise and took the ferry back to India. The landing in the middle of night at what amounted to little more than a bleak, out-of-the-way fishing village brought the woman to tears. “There is nothing to buy here,” she wailed, adding, “I must get back to Delhi straight away.”

She was right. India offered very little in those days to keep the consumer-oriented Westerner happy. Going from Lanka to India was like going from India to Burma. At least India had Coca Cola (while Burma did not).

Things have since changed quite dramatically, of course. It now has become possible to spend a boatload of money even in India. Some years back, I remember reading somewhere that Bombay had made the list as one of the most expensive cities in the world. I never believed it, thinking whoever was charged with compiling the data for India was being had.

The GRT Temple Bay Resort in the historic town of Mahabalipuram is one of the places where you can spend dollars in style. The accommodations, food and facilities are first class. There are tiny bungalows with porches from where you can watch the waves rolling in while gently rocking in a hammock. Western style drinks cost around $7.

We went there for Mother’s Day this year, just for the food at the Warf, a thatched roof restaurant right on the water. Looking out at the beach from under a beach umbrella, you are witness to a gentle but steady procession of beach combers, Western and Indian alike. Looking south, you can see the famed Shore Temple in the distance and the jetty that fortifies it against the sea.

From my previous visits to GRT, I remember the beach as having been considerably wider than it is now. It may well be that what has been built to protect the Shore Temple is now washing away sandy beaches elsewhere.

Still, the point is that India is now prepared to take your dollars and give you top notch accommodations and facilities in return. My friend from my Sri Lankan travels would have been pleased. There are other resorts now springing up all along the coast south of Chennai. As with all things, some are better than others; some cater to Indians, some to Westerners. Often the food and cost is the only difference.

GRT is one of the best I’ve seen. The location itself is unassailable. Ocean swimming is often dangerous due to riptides. The outdoor pool, however, looks wonderfully inviting. The way it’s situated it appears almost seamlessly connected with the Bay of Bengal.