
Night has fallen and we have entered the driveway in the dark. We ascend the slope and quickly find ourselves at the reception building. The light of the lamp welcomes us and we are greeted with ‘smiling eyes’ by the masked staff. We have arrived later than scheduled and we are politely requested to hurry if we do not want to miss the cultural events of the night. A quick visit to our cottages to freshen up and we are at the open air stage, witnessing the Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam artistes performing for our pleasure.
We are at the Carmelia Haven, a lush resort whose glory is now cloaked in the darkness of the night and it is only the morrow which will literally bring to light its several acres of undulating terrain, swathed in clusters of closely knit tea and cardamom shrubs. This verdant tapestry presents a tranquil façade that belies the enthusiasm that it can generate among its delighted visitors.
So push through the knotty stems and the dense network of leaves and follow me on a tour of this enchanting haven that lies in the village of Vandanmedu near the town of Thekkady in the Idukki district of Kerala, India.
Carmelia Haven was yet another luxury resort that we had the pleasure of experiencing during the pre-mart media tour organized by the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) Society at the KTM 2022 event that was held in Kochi from May 5th to 8th, 2022.
Unfortunately, our stay here was extremely short, almost a mere overnighter, hence I did not really get to capture the place in its entirety.
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