Le Colonial

Le Colonial has been lovingly restored to a veritable living museum. Art treasures from the colonial past now revive a scent of that era, making it a ''club'' for discerning travelers. If you wish for a holiday with art history, it’s right here. So romantic is the theme, the collection and the style. As you sit on a wicker chair and sip tea in the veranda, history sits along with you. Here the present halts and the past unfolds.

The seven suites at Le Colonial is named after the fabled Tippu Sultan theme. The Viceroy suite has sketches depicting the attire of the 1930 Royals, while the flora and fauna of the times, etched by “historical painters” to the “royal highness the Duke and Duchess of York” adorn the ADC room. The Vasco Da Gama suite has a bright, ruddy portrait print of the historic trader and a fantastic sketch of him done by Anjolie Ela Menon (1978). Another historic moment, Hyder Ali receiving Admiral De Suffren, completes the theme of this room. A touch of France is given to the Mahe de la Boudonnais room with 18th century French prints which have been with the Persenda family for four generations. The 500 years of history contained within its walls have now been restored and embellished with modern comfort.The enormous rain trees that line the streets of Fort Cochin have seen over 80 monsoons. Home to successive colonizers, the Portuguese, Dutch and then British, Le Colonial''s most distinguished occupant was the last Dutch governor, Jan Van Spall.