| The Casino hotel is the groups oldest property,
dating to 1957, when it catered to a clientele of rough sailors coming
off the ships in the harbour. As you'll see, the establishment has come
a long way since then. If anything, Casino Hotel is rather nondescript
from the frontage. But as in many courtyard style dwellings in India (or
Europe for that matter), its charms become evident once you enter. The
classic Kerala combination of tiled roof, wooden beams and rough plaster
creates a haven of warmth and light around the grassy central space,
which is divided up neatly between the Fort Cochin seafood restaurant
and the pool. |
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Accommodations
Standard rooms.
Suite. |
Cuisine
Tharavadu - the multi cuisine restaurant.
Fort Cochin - the seafood specialty restaurant.
Garden Cafe - poolside health drinks, snacks and grills.
Vasco da Gama - bar.
Theravadu serves an extensive buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So
your first breakfast in Kerala could be a reassuring round of scrambled
eggs and toast, your lunch chinese noodles and stir-fried pork, your
dinner a fiery squid curry and appams ( fluffy rounds of fermented rice
and pulses, the traditional accompaniment to Kerala meals). The range of
Indian, Chinese and Continental cuisine is vast and the buffet menu
changes every day. |
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The restaurants at the Casino hotel have become
institutions for Cochin's food lovers. If you feel a need to temper the
exotic with the familiar, The 'Tharavadu' (below) is the place to begin.
It's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the range of Indian and
Continental cuisine is vast.
The Poolside Garden Cafe serves up some interesting health drinks, great
while you're lolling about post-swim. Lots of snacks and grills are
available too. |
| The speciality seafood restaurant, Fort Cochin
(right), is our pride and joy, perpetually popular, though it is open
only in the evenings. Good Housekeeping called Fort Cochin "one of the
most renowned seafood restaurants in India". Eating here is like diving
off a springboard into the flavours and textures of food throughout
Kerala. Rather than a daily menu, a trolley contains the catch of the
day, straight off Cochin's fishing nets. You can expect king prawns,
lobster, Indian salmon, snapper, pomfret, squid, mullet, seer fish and
more. Once you've selected your fish, you get to decide how it's cooked
- whether stir-fried in the spices of the East, steamed, baked, or
poached, and served with Kerala's famous string hoppers, rice or naan. |
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Our facilities includes swimming pool, fitness Centre, 24 hour in-room
dining, gift shop, ayurveda, conference facilities at the durbar hall
and harbour lounge.
The fitness club will kickstart your morning, with the latest in
stairmasters, walkers and the like. In fact, if you're staying a while,
you can even get yourself a health, diet and fitness routine customized
by our resident instructors.
The Cascade pool can be the perfect restorative. Swimsuits are available
in the gift shop - which is worth a visit, even if you aren't so keen on
a dip. You'll find exquisite examples of traditional Keralan crafts,
exotic fabrics, garments, books, handbags and all sorts of fascinating
bric-a-brac.
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| If the cocktail hour beckons you, the Vasco da Gama
lounge is the hotel's ever-popular watering hole. You can linger over
exotic cocktails (Cochin Thunder, Pink Ladies and some superb
concoctions based on the local tipples) or in a new twist, sample some
health drinks based on ayurvedic ideas. |
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The Casino Hotel has, as we've said, a fully equipped ayurvedic centre,
where you can get a variety of stress busting, rejuvenation and beauty
treatments. In fact, even a couple of massages will have a telling
effect. You will, of course, find Ayurveda spaces in practically every
CGH destination, so if you're starting your holiday at Casino, it can
also be a great overture to your wellness experience. |
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