A new hotel in Calicut, Kerala -
Report
courtesy Rediff.com
... the Taj Residency, a five star business
hotel opens
Bian Lobo
The
Taj Group of Hotels has opened a new five star hotel -- the Taj
Residency -- in Calicut, Kerala. Located three kilometres from the
centre of Calicut city (also called Kozhikode) and 26 kms from the
airport, the hotel is situated hardly 10 kms away from Kappad beach,
where Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama first set foot in India. May 27,
1998 will mark the 500th anniversary of that day in 1498 when da Gama
landed on the sub-continent.
The Taj Residency Calicut is a business hotel. Its target customers,
says K B Vinodh, assistant sales manager, South India, for the Taj
Group, will be "buyers of spices, business executives, bank
executives, airline crews, transit passengers." Cardamom and pepper
are hot-sellers in the spice market on Court Road which is located ten
minutes away from the hotel.
The hotel has been constructed on the lines of a nalukettu
-- a traditional Kerala house which is built around open courtyards. Its
sloping roof of terracotta tiles and large central pillars on four sides
give the hotel an unusual appearance. Five acres of greenery and
palmgroves surround the hotel.
The
Taj Residency has three elaborate conference halls of varying seating
capacities to encourage usage of the hotel for business conferences and
meetings. While the Board Room seats a small group of 20 people, the
Beypore hall seats 175 people and the Vasco da Gama hall seats as many
as 500 people.
The hotel has 70 rooms that face the swimming pool and four 'half
suites' facing the sea. Half suites offer the same facilities as a suite
in any other Taj five star hotel. However, they are not as big. A single
room is priced at Rs 1,750 per day plus 20 per cent tax. A double room
is priced at Rs 1,950 per day plus 20 per cent tax and a suite is priced
at Rs 3,000 per day plus 20 per cent tax. "Because it is a business
hotel, it invites high luxury tax," explains Vinodh.
Foreign passport holders will be charged a dollar tariff . The tariff
for a single room is US $ 65 plus 20 per cent tax. The tariff for a
double room, on a twin sharing basis, is US $ 75 plus 20 per cent tax,
while the tariff for a suite is US $ 115 plus 20 per cent tax.
The
Coral Reef, the hotel's multicuisine restaurant that overlooks the pool
and garden, serves Chinese, continental, and Keralite meals. The
celebrated Malabar chicken curry and iddiappams -- also called
string hoppers -- are served with a glass of coconut milk.
Cape Comorin, the 24 hour coffee shop, serves light refreshments and
beverages. The hotel also has a bar, the Logan Lounge. Other facilities
include a pool, a business centre, a health club, laundry service, a
doctor on call, a currency exchange facility and a travel desk which
also arranges car rentals. The business centre is equipped with
computers, a fax machine and provides secretarial services. A shopping
arcade "is due to open shortly," says Vinodh.
Just five kilometres away is the Pazhassiraja Museum that possesses a
collection of coins, murals and bronzes. Next door to the museum is an
art gallery and the V K Krishna Menon Museum that houses memorabilia of
the controversial leader. The Tali Shiva temple -- which is open only to
Hindus -- is one of the ancient temples in the area. Worth a visit: The
bustling spice market on Court Road, where cardamom, arecanut and pepper
-- the famous Kerala pepper that put Calicut on the world map centuries
ago -- is sold.
There
are several interesting getaways in the vicinity of Calicut. Wynad,
coffee and pepper plantation country, is a two hour drive from Calicut.
One can experience the extravagance of nature in the fragrance of
flowering bushes and rows of towering trees. It is possible to visit a
pepper or coffee plantation. Nearby is the Wynad wildlife sanctuary
famous for its elephant herds, leopards and tigers. The sanctuary has a
wide variety of birds and is therefore a special haunt for bird
watchers.
Just 11 kilometres away from Calicut is the coastal town of Beypore.
Beypore is a famous ship building centre and large trading vessels,
known as urus, are manufactured here.
Beypore
is also famous as a centre of the Kerala martial art, the kalaripayattu.
Kalaripayttu teaches the arts of self defence and attack and
there are four disciplines -- the first is maithozhil which
comprises of exercises to develop fitness, health and stamina. The
second is kolethari which teaches one to use sticks skilfully,
the third is angathari which is the use of swords and finally, verumkai
which is training for unarmed combat. It is possible to witness a
demonstration of kalaripayttu at Beypore. And Beypore's
Comtrust weaving centre, with its range of cotton fabrics is a must see.
The Taj Residency Calicut,
P T Usha Road,
P O Box 1150,
Calicut,
tel #
0495-766448,
fax # 0495-766-448.
For bookings: it is also possible to contact the Taj reservation
offices in Bombay at 022-2022524.
