The queen of Kumarakom’s luxury accommodation is this 67-room Keralan-inspired beauty fronting Vembanad Lake, complete with ayurvedic spa, yoga, two restaurants, its own houseboats and idyllic tropical gardens. Most rooms open onto interconnecting palm-fringed pools or have their own plunge pools. Even the standard rooms are spacious, stylish and gloriously comfortable, with hot tubs in the bathroom.
Or splash out on one of the two presidential suites (with infinity pools overlooking the lake), where the UK's Prince Charles stayed in 2013.