Hotel Casino, Cochin

ACCOMMODATION : Tharavadu, incidentally means traditional cottage (the 'u' is almost, but not quite, silent. But don't worry too much! Only a home grown Keralite can bend his tongue around the intricacies of Malayalam pronounciation.)

RESTAURANTS : The restaurants at the Casino hotel have become institutions for Cochin's food lovers. If you feel a need to temper the exotic with the familiar, The 'Tharavadu' is the place to begin. It serves an extensive buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Your first breakfast in Kerala could be good ol' scrambled eggs, your lunch roast chicken and a shrimp salad, your dinner a fiery squid curry and appams ( fluffy rounds of fermented rice and pulses, the traditional accompaniment to Kerala meals). The range of Indian and Continental cuisine is vast.The speciality seafood restaurant, Fort Cochin, is our pride and joy, perpetually popular, though it is open only in the evenings. Good Housekeeping called Fort Cochin "one of the most renowned seafood restaurants in India". Eating here is like diving off a springboard into the flavours and textures of food throughout Kerala.

FACILITIES : Swimming pool, Gift Shop, Ayurveda Centre Regular doctors on call