French Colonial Style Meets South Indian Hospitality at Palais de Mahe

(To open the embedded Facebook posts fully for the recipes and details, just click on the date/time under the heading Food and Travel Secrets.)

First time visitors to India, or those winding down from a busy work life will welcome the ease and familiarity of French Colonial styled Pondicherry on the East coast of Southern India. 

Here you can find quiet streets full of cafes, galleries and boutiques. The coffee, baguettes and croissants are good and restaurants do great fusion dishes. Pondicherry has only recently been under Indian rule for the last fifty years. The 500 years before that it was ruled by the Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, British and half the time by the French, changing hands a dozen times. It was at one stage home to the French East India Trading Company.

And the place to stay in the French Quarter is absolutely CGH Earth’s Palais de Mahe. Located just a block from the beach, its French Colonial style is beautiful. It’s perfect central location means you can walk anywhere. Perhaps even best of all (especially in the warmer weather) it is one of the few (if only) French Quarter hotels with a pool! It’s a fabulous pool with buoyant, clear and smooth water, at a perfect temperature, one of the nicest I’ve enjoyed. 

Its roof top Les Alize restaurant serves the most delicious food and having shopped around I would also argue that it’s the best food in Pondicherry. The menu features dishes from the Mahe coast in Kerala (also governed by Pondicherry) as well as wonderful fusion dishes. The Parmesan Baked Pomfret, being trailed for the new menu is one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.

But what makes Palais de Mahe a truly great place to stay is the wonderful CGH Earth hospitality of the team.

They all went completely out of their way to make sure my visit was absolutely perfect. Knowing I was interested in food and cooking, they organised for me to visit the kitchen…

…..shop for fish for my dinner at the local Goubert Market

….and learn some local recipes.

Pondicherry is just 3 hours drive from Chennai and Palais de Mahe can organise a driver to pick you up at competitive prices. I do recommended staying overnight at Chennai Airport (try Radisson Blue) if you arrive late in the day and then travelling down the next morning, stopping for lunch at Mamallapuram, famous for its ancient monuments. It’s so much better to arrive in the day and enjoy a proper Palais de Mahe welcome.

While in Pondicherry do…

Stroll the Promenade in the evening and have a 60 cent Arun kulfi icecream on a stick from the shop next to Ajantha Hotel at the southern end of the beach.

Book an in-house no cost cooking demonstration at Palais de Mahe and learn some local recipes

Take a bike tour, rickshaw tour or heritage walk to explore the many personalities of Pondicherry, the French, Tamil, Muslim, Christian and Auroville Ashram Fisherman communities. The team at Palais de Mahe can help you as can CGH Earth’s sister hotel Maison Perumal in the Tamil Quarter and Sita Cultural Centre.

Linger over breakfast (included in the room tariff)…

….And do try a $3 lunch thali at Surguru Spot (and check out the Auroville shop nearby).

Speaking of shopping, I do love Anoukhi (especially for men’s shirts), just a couple of blocks from Palais de Mahe (but isn’t everything!).

Even if you’re not sure whether India will be your thing, Palais de Mahe will change your mind!

(To open the embedded Facebook posts fully for the recipes and details, just click on the date/time under Food and Travel Secrets.)