Find another
world in Kochi,
Kerala
The banana leaves greet you at the entrance, and, then, they follow you in.
The leaf runs through the first hotel in South East Asia from the Tribute Portfolio
by Marriott. Port Muziris is sited near Cochin International Airport but is
definitely not an airport hotel. Here, instead, is the perfect place from which
to begin your journey into Kerala.
You just might have little Lila as a fellow guest. The six-month-old hotel is
a reimagination of the story of a little girl whose mother is Malayali and whose
father is a Londoner, and who could return any moment to find a wondrous
place imbued with her mother’s reminiscences of life in Kerala. It would be
a very green place. The ubiquitous banana leaves feature again, interspersed
with colourful birds, in the dramatic artwork in the lobby by Shalul Kollengode,
on the walls of the 54 rooms and three suites that make up the low-lying property,
and even on the custom-made crockery. The green theme continues in the potted
plants – rather than cut flowers – that dot the common areas.
You will find Lila on the walls too. Two of the 12 artists commissioned to create
works inspired by Kerala and Kochi have interpretations of the girl child; the other
paintings are alternately realistic, surreal and mystical, but always compelling.
And, of course, there’s food that will thrill her. In bright and cheerful Lila’s
Kitchen, Chef Ashok Eapen wants the food to be a way to culture; he works
with recipes that are becoming extinct, or that show the influence of the manyWEEKEND PLANNERWords & photographs PRIMROSE MONTEIRO-D’SOUZA
The journey to what used
to be ancient Muziris by
hop-on-hop-off boat offers
many glimpses of local lifeEXPLORE18 October 2019