Surya Samudra Beach Garden, Trivandrum, Kerala.

A First Class Heritage / Bungalow hotel, with beautiful surroundings and hand carved traditional wooden houses spread over 9 acres of land is situated at one of the finest beaches, amidst coconut plantations 8 kms south of Kovalam Beach. There are totally 26 rooms in 21 houses, several of them original Kerala wooden houses, transplanted to Surya samudra.

"Situated on a rocky promontory between two deserted beaches, Surya Samudra is the kind of place you could easily imagine Hemingway or Somerset Maugham retreating to for weeks at a time to bash away at a typewriter in splendid isolation. It's that kind of place."
Herbert Ypma, HIP HOTELS ESCAPE, Thames & Hudson

Welcome to Surya Samudra- Kerala's spacious, lush resort! Here one can get enough of Surya, the Sun or Samudra, the sea.

"This place, Surya Samudra is like a setting in a James Bond film," said a friend.  Quite so: exotic wooden cottages, coconut trees, a fine beach…This is a place for dreaming, in the silence and the sun and the roar of the waves… Kerala has no beach resort like it.'INSIDE OUTSIDE, August 1993.

"Resort living is not the usual image that springs to mind when thinking of India. But in Trivandrum…the Surya Samudra Beach Resort rates up there with the worlds most charming escapes"
Jill Mullens, THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN, 25.04.1998

Surya Samudra began as a single octagonal stone house thirty miles from the tip of India and just a few minutes from the historic Vizhinjam harbour (pronounced as Virinyam) Today, it has grown into an eco-friendly beach resort with 23 houses spread over nearly 20 acres of private space and each house comes with a luxuriant foliage of coconut, palm, bamboo, banana, wild shrubs, flowers and the chirping of birds.

"Surya Samudra projects a new trend in ecofriendly beach resorts"
TOURISM INDIA, April 1999

Individual cottages or houses make up the resort, call bells at the door have been avoided since the sound is jarring and each terrace has a granite-topped table and stools cut from granite pillars where one can sit and watch the waves lash against the cliff throwing little water beads against the azure sky.

The Swimming Pool

"We spent days lolling by the pool created from an old quarry where sculptors from Mamallapuram have carved underwater artworks in the original rock."
 Jill Mullens, THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN, 25.04.1998

"The swimming pool here has a line-up of balikkallu, small granite usually seen in the inner courtyard of temples which add to the rustic ambience of the resort."
TOURISM INDIA, April 1999

Perfectly in tune with nature, the swimming pool is a natural rock pool without any tiles on the floor.

"Waves lash against the shores, the wind murmurs as it rustles the bamboo clusters and caresses the rustic wooden walls of the houses which are a hundred or more years old. Surya Samudra, the first heritage hotel in Kerala, stretches out across two beaches facing the Arabian Sea with a cliff anchored in between."
TOURISM INDIA, April 1999

An impressive line-up of 21 antique granite sculptures of lions welcomes every visitor into the reception area of Surya Samudra. They are positioned against the backdrop of an unpolished granite wall. A pathway laid with rectangular granite slabs, reminiscent of the outer courtyard of traditional Kerala temples, ends in front of a pair of carved granite pillars. From there, steps lead towards houses so positioned, that each house offers an unrestricted view of the sea and the beaches. Further, sand paths couched in rich foliage, link the houses. The land is terraced to prevent erosion and the cottages are placed at different levels hidden from each other by vegetation.

"Guests are accommodated, not in mere rooms or suites but a choice of modern or traditional houses, the former built of stone with soaring roofs…the others are traditional Kerala wooden residences, transplanted from their original sites."
THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN, 25.04.1998

Whole tharawads  (traditional Kerala houses) have been purchased and reassembled here as cottages. They have been converted into elevated structures, keeping in mind the need for free flow of space to facilitate unhindered movement and natural ventilation. Windows serve as doors while writing desks face the sea. Bathroom-cum-toilets or 'bath gardens' are open air, protected by the slopes on all sides and each house has an open-air cafeteria.

"More than 100 years old, with intricate carvings and heavy shutters…these cottages have outdoor garden showers, wide verandas and, like all the accommodation, are surrounded by terraced tropical gardens. Bliss. Recommended: the Ibis or Myna rooms furnished with squatter chairs, bamboo beds and mind-blowing views of the ocean."
Jill Mullens, THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN, 25.04.1998.\

The Octopus which specialises in sea food, boasts of excellent Indian and European cuisine."
Adarsh Saxena, EXPRESS HOTELIER & CATERER , 08.05.1995

The Octopus, the resorts restaurant, specialises in and offers various sea-food ranging from lobsters and tiger prawns to octopus and shark; from barracuda puttu and sea urchins to baked crab and Japanese tuna salad.

"Lobster Crème de la Mer (cream of the ocean), a creamy sauce with lobster, delicately spiced, is one of the specialities of Octopus."
TOURISM INDIA, April 1999

Local dishes (vegetables and fish) too are prepared and can be savoured on plantain leaves. With the exception of jam, cream and pickles no preserved food is used in the resort. Fresh fish from the sea, vegetables and fruits grown in the resort garden are used to avoid pollution in food materials.

"There's no doubt that food contributes towards completing the total ambience of Surya Samudra. Dishes are homemade with no tastemakers added. And more than the presentation of food, Surya Samudra focuses on its essence."
SAVVY COOK BOOK, Sept-Oct 1998

Bread, cakes and ice creams are prepared here on a daily basis. Such is the taste of the preparations that a regular customer once made a long distance call just to ensure that she got banana cake and mango ice-cream when she would visit them shortly!

The restaurant is semi-circular in shape and can seat up to a 40 people. The sea-sand flooring and the Kerala roof offer an out-of-this-world ambience. Each table has a granite pepper crusher specially made to order from Mahaballipuram. A bronze bell is placed on each table, to call for the waiter. One can also call for sustenance by the pool or down on the beaches.

"A teak shack on the beach, Italian cooking in the tropics and good karma- what more could any sensible human being want?"
Herbert Ypma, HIP HOTELS OF THE WORLD, Thames & Hudson

"Ayurveda here is on a luxurious scale…My rejuvenation massage was an hour and a half of nirvanic bliss. I felt as if I'd been on holiday a month, instead of just arriving."
Hallie Campbell

Surya Samudra has an ayurvedic massage centre and a yoga centre whose treatments customers swear by.

The word Ayurveda is composed of two terms. 'Ayus' means 'life' and 'Veda' means the knowledge or 'Science'. Thus, Ayurveda means the science of life. Ayurveda lays a great deal of emphasis upon the maintenance of positive health of an individual.

Ayurveda evolved around 600 BC in India. Ayurveda has been practiced ever since. Today, it is a unique, indispensable branch of medicine - a complete natural system that depends on the diagnosis of the body's systems, to achieve the right balance.

Ayurveda believes in the treatment of not just the affected part, but also of the individual as a whole. It is a natural way to refresh oneself, to eliminate all toxic substances from the body and thus to regain resistance and good health.

Kerala's equable climate, natural abundance of forests (with a wealth of herbs and medicinal plants), and the cool monsoon season (June - November) are best suited for Ayurveda's curative and restorative packages. Traditional texts reveal that the monsoon is the best season for rejuvenation programmes. The atmosphere remains dust-free and cool, opening the pores of the body to the maximum, making it most receptive to herbal oils and therapy.

"Exclusive features at the beach resort include an ayurvedic centre and a cultural centre."
Radha Radhakrishnan, THE BUSINESS LINE, 04.03.1996

Surya Samudra keeps Kerala's ayurvedic medicine alive in an uninterrupted tradition on a luxurious scale. After a consultation with the doctor, one can choose from a variety of soothing treatments. An expert massage using traditional medicinal oils prepared from natural ingredients by the masseur can be enjoyed. Excellent results with all types of pains in the joints and the muscles, and with prophylactics and relief from rheumatism and arthrosis have been seen.

Yoga and Meditation

Mental and physical exercises meant to isolate the ego from the body and mind - designed to hone your concentration, improve health and help attain peace of mind through eight stages of training:

• Disciplined behaviour (yama)
• Self purification (niyama)
• Bodily postures such as the lotus position (asana)
• Control of breathing (pranayama)
• Control of the senses (pratyahara)
• Fixing of the mind on a chosen object (dharana)
• Meditation (dhyana)
• Samadhi - a state of being where you experience absolute tranquillity and well-being.

In Surya Samudra, yoga is offered for beginners and advanced persons, both for individuals and for small groups.