From₹28,000/night
Backwater Suite
A teak-floored room that opens straight onto the lagoon.
- Room size
- 62 m²
- Bed
- One king
- View
- Lagoon
- Occupancy
- 2 adults · 1 child
- Breakfast
- Included
- Smoking
- Not permitted
Most bookedKayal
EN / ML
Kumarakom, Kerala · since 1998
kayal
the backwaters
Twenty-eight rooms, water on three sides, and a spa that treats slowness as the point.
On the lagoon
Twelve minutes by boat from Kumarakom jetty.
Twenty-eight rooms
Small enough that the staff learn your name by day two.
Ayurvedic spa
Two resident physicians and a fourteen-day programme.
All meals included
Three kitchens, one of them entirely vegetarian.
about us
backwaterretreat
We keep a small retreat on the Vembanad lagoon
The house was a spice merchant's, built in the thirties. We restored what was standing, added twenty rooms along the water, and left the rest to the mangroves.
Everything is cooked from what the boats bring that morning, and the spa runs to the same rhythm. Nothing here is designed to be rushed.
- 4.9/5Exceptional1,840 reviews on Booking
- 4.8/5Excellent1,120 reviews on Tripadvisor
- 4.9/5Excellent460 reviews on Google
Rooms and villas
Where you will actually sleep
Five kinds of room across the old house and the water's edge. Every rate includes all meals, the spa's morning session, and the boat.
Most bookedFrom₹34,000/night
Garden Villa
A walled garden, a plunge pool and nobody overlooking either.
- Room size
- 78 m² + garden
- Bed
- One king
- View
- Private garden
- Occupancy
- 2 adults · 2 children
- Breakfast
- Included
- Smoking
- Garden only
From₹18,500/night₹21,000
Heritage Room
The oldest wing, restored rather than replaced.
- Room size
- 42 m²
- Bed
- One queen
- View
- Courtyard
- Occupancy
- 2 adults
- Breakfast
- Included
- Smoking
- Not permitted
OfferFrom₹52,000/night
Lagoon Pavilion
Two bedrooms, a private deck, and the whole of the far shore.
- Room size
- 110 m²
- Bed
- One king · one twin
- View
- Open lagoon
- Occupancy
- 4 adults
- Breakfast
- Included
- Smoking
- Deck only
From₹22,000/night
Palm Court Room
Bright, simple and the easiest room in the house to book.
- Room size
- 48 m²
- Bed
- King or twin
- View
- Palm court
- Occupancy
- 2 adults · 1 child
- Breakfast
- Included
- Smoking
- Not permitted
What is included
Everything, quietly
all inclusive
Stay01
Twenty-eight rooms and villas across the heritage house and the lagoon edge, turned down each evening.
Dining02
Three kitchens — Kerala coastal, a vegetarian kitchen, and one that answers to whatever the boats bring.
Wellness & spa03
Ayurvedic consultation on arrival, daily treatment, and a fourteen-day panchakarma if you have the time.
The water04
Kayaks, a sunset ferry to the spice jetty, and a houseboat that sleeps four if you want a night adrift.
why kayal
and not the next one
A retreat that stays relevant beyond a season
Twenty-eight rooms, so nothing is ever queued for.
Two resident Ayurvedic physicians, not a treatment menu.
Every meal grown, caught or landed within the district.
The same staff, most of them, for over a decade.
Built in 1998 and restored twice — never rebuilt.
On the property
Facilities and amenities
Ayurvedic spa
Six treatment rooms and a steam pavilion.
Two pools
One heated for the monsoon, one for the sun.
Three kitchens
Coastal, vegetarian, and the day's catch.
Wi-Fi throughout
Though we would rather you did not.
Airport transfer
Ninety minutes from Kochi, included.
Nine acres
Mangrove, spice garden and a paddy edge.
For the body
The spa
put the week down
Two resident physicians, a consultation on the day you arrive, and a treatment every day after that. Panchakarma runs to fourteen days; most people come for four and wish they had not.
A short film
Three minutes on the lagoon
The property
Look around
