Marari stays don't get better than this: four intimate, independent boutique villas dotted along or near the beachfront, washed in dusty reds, whites and turquoises, serving wonderful Keralan cooking and with honey-coloured sand gracing front gardens. Two-room Lotus shares its back-garden pool, yoga deck and ayurvedic massage rooms with Palm (three rooms) and one-room, private-pool Hibiscus and Orchid. Book ahead.
A fifth villa is due for September 2019.