Hotel Bharat Sarovaram

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A regular feature of this blog will be a review of each of the places where we are staying. Not only is it, we think, an interesting topic, but other travellers may find the information useful.

Our hotel in Ernakulam was Bharat Sarovaram. As described elsewhere, the hotel is built, partly at least, using the principles of Laurie Baker, an English architect who lives in Trivandrum, South Kerala.

Immediately upon arrival it was clear that this was a building we liked. The reception is stylish with nothing of the traditional Indian fussiness: it has terracotta floors, comfortable chairs, nice lighting, a swing and friendly people. The hotel is well guarded, which is common in India, and the guards are helpful and smiley.
To air con or not
When we booked the room at Sarovaram, from the UK, we clearly stated that we didn't want an air conditioned room. The reasons for not wanting air con are endless: first, we are going to be in a tropical climate for two and a half months which makes acclimatisation important. Had we only gone for a week it would be impossible to get used to the heat and humidity. However, it is generally perceived to take only two weeks to adjust to tropical conditions. Since the availability of air con in some of the other places we will be staying is limited, we decided we may as well get used to the heat sooner rather than later.

Second, air con is noisy. We don't mind noise as long as it is sporadic. The constant noise of a hard working air con system is unbelievably disturbing. Rooms without air con normally have a fan (if not you are stuffed), which generally provides more than enough air flow for the room to be comfortable, and the sound of a spinning fan is much less unpleasant (assuming it is not falling apart) than the sound of air con.

Third, having air con limits your freedom at this hotel because the air conditioned rooms don't have mosquito screens in front of the doors. Of course mosquitoes will still want to enter the room if the doors are left open (which is what you want if you have a balcony). Therefore, having air con actively encourages having the air con on in a sealed room.

Fourth, air con is not energy efficient at all. The amount of energy an air con system uses is appalling. The alternative, fans, are much more efficient; one fan uses the same amount of energy as a light bulb.

Fifth, it is expensive. The price for a non a/c room is Rs. 1300 (£14) per night. The price for an a/c room is Rs. 2200 (£24). Spending an extra Rs. 900 a day on something where the only benefit is that it will keep you cool, is not that clever; especially when a fan will do the same job.

When we arrived at the hotel we emphasized that we would like a non a/c room. The hotel receptionist looked as if she didn't believe her own ears, but agreed and said that we could always change rooms if the heat was too overwhelming. So, we went to our room, unpacked, had a power nap (much needed after 30 hours without sleep). At some point we noticed that the room was rather cold. And yes, it turned out that we were in actual fact in an air conditioned room. Consequently, we asked to be moved to a non a/c room, which wasn't a problem. Even better, the new room was much nicer than the first one. When we eventually checked out we weren't charged extra for the night in the a/c room.

Room 003
When we saw the room we were shocked. It was incredibly nice by any standards, but considering that we were only paying Rs. 1300 per night this was clearly good value. The bedroom was big, there was a good sized dressing room, a nice bathroom with warm water (warm water isn't guaranteed in an India hotel) and a very comfortable bed (also hard to find in India). Additionally there was a cooking hob for making tea, a TV with numerous channels (we were actually able to watch NUFC's disgraceful defeat to Sheffield United), and everything was very clean.
A bonus is that all rooms have a nice view over the hotel lake.
Food and facilities
The hotel has its own pure vegetarian restaurant, which seems to be popular with middle class locals. For Indian standards it is not cheap, a meal for two will cost about Rs. 250, but the food is of consistently high quality. Whilst in Ernakulam we had most of our meal at the Sarovaram simply because it was superior to anything else we could find. Bimbis in Ernakulam city is another place where we ate and even though it was a good lunch, and cheaper than at Sarovaram, it didn't quite generate the same degree of satisfaction.

The hotel also has a business centre with a (slow) Internet connection, and there is the possibility of Ayurvidic treatments.

Tempting the mosquito God
Sometimes it seems like there is some higher power controlling even the smallest of incidents. One fear that seems to occupy most people's minds when travelling in India is the fear of mosquitoes. The reason for this is that a number of diseases can be transmitted through a mosquito bite: Malaria, Dengue Fever, and Chikungunya are all serious illnesses and should be avoided. Long before leaving the UK we had decided not to take any preventative medicine; not only are there some potentially horrible side effects from the medicine, but the medicine offer no protection against Dengue, Chikungunya or the type of Malaria (the most serious one) that attacks your brain.

A few days into our stay at Sarovaram we were sat on the terrace feeling relaxed and content. We had seen very few mosquitoes and, as people do, Mort made the statement: “it is amazing we haven't been bitten by a mosquito yet”. Ten minutes late he felt a sting on his left big toe, looked down and saw a mosquito sucking away. However, since it was on the bony part of the toe it didn't seem to have much impact, i.e. no swelling.

Fish strokes
Many South Indians have great respect for animals, and even though they may eat eggs and dairy products, they would never kill an animal; in actual fact, we found out that even a dying fish can expect help in South India.

One day, over a game of cards looking out on to the lake, we saw a group of Sarovaram employees forming. Earlier in the day we had spotted a dying fish in the lake; a fish will float on the surface and flap about a bit at regular intervals for some time before it actually dies. The fish was still floating and flapping. The employees had seen this. One of them got into the lake to pick the fish out and handed it over to a very concerned looking security guard. He removed his hat and started stroking the fish gently. After a short while he put the fish back into the water. The stroking had little impact; the behaviour of the fish didn't change. However, its direction did, and it started to float towards the other end of the lake. The employees followed the fish from ashore, security guard still with hat in hand. Eventually they seemed to realise that they were fighting a lost cause and went away with bowed heads.
The next day, we saw a couple of crows having a feast on the top of a wall. They had somehow managed to get the now dead fish out of the water. There are a lot of crows in India and as a result it is much cleaner place than it would otherwise be.
Sarovaram in conclusion
Sarovaram is a superb hotel. Everyone is kind and helpful; the food is brilliant; the rooms get cleaned every day; and it has been built on sound ecological principles. The only slight problem is its location. It is located 10 kilometres from Ernakulam City. This means that you are dependent on rickshaw or taxi to get anywhere (there is nothing of interest within walking distance). It is possible to jump on to one of the buses that stop just outside the hotel if you are not afraid of crowds. However, we don't regret choosing Sarovaram. The positives more than outweigh the negatives.

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This entry was posted by pundabee, on Wednesday, November 15, 2006. You can leave your response.