Varkala, Kerala · luxury

Gateway Varkala – IHCL SeleQtions

★★★★★

Gateway Varkala stands on the cliff at the north end of the beach, an IHCL property with about thirty rooms. Every room and suite has a balcony, and the best of them look straight down the Arabian Sea. The grounds are small but well planted, built around a swimming pool with a sunken bar. The clifftop path, with its cafes and shops, starts at the gate, and the stairs to the beach are a few minutes' walk. The Ayurveda centre is Green Leaf certified, the Kerala government's mark for a serious treatment facility. Coastal Kitchen, the main restaurant, has run since 1995 and leans on Malabar seafood. It is a ten-minute drive from Varkala railway station and about an hour from Thiruvananthapuram airport.