Kadaltheeram - ‘Seashore' - Resort was originally built as a private beachside holiday home for one of the leading political figures from Kerala, India's spice garden. (recommended; alternative, if required: ‘for one of the leading business families'.) Today, while it is open to those who value life's fleeting moments of tranquility, it still remains a quintessential private getaway.

                    A few kilometers north of Calicut, Kadaltheeram Resort looks over a small cove with a sand beach reaching right up to the property. A rocky outcrop that protects this cove plays host to mussels, a delicacy of the Kerala Coast, and fishermen nearby still bring in their day's catch in the traditional black Thoni.

                    Kadaltheeram has two spacious, well-appointed rooms, each with its private balcony facing the sea. As you gaze from them at the canvas painted by the setting sun, you'd never think you were just an hour's drive from the Calicut International airport. Reaching the beach is but a question of stepping out, and you could spend hours looking through the shells washed up on it.