Conveying the beauty and charm of INDeco Leisure Hotels through words can be challenging. Whether you step into the INDeco Leisure Hotel, in Kumbakonam, Mahabalipuram near Chennai, or Yercaud, you’ll be taken into a realm of fantasy and the real. At INDeco Hotels, leisure, health, heritage, nature, aesthetics, fine arts, spirituality, and fun come together with an unexpected eclectic contemporary twist. Though every INDeco Hotel is unique in its own way, Steve Borgia, CMD (Creator – Mentor – Developer) of INDeco Hotels swears by his philosophy of conserving and preserving the local culture and heritage through the sustainable concept of tourism and social & economic development of the rural communities. INDeco Leisure Hotels is India’s only winner of the prestigious Global Eco Tourism Award.
Luxury Lake Forest Hotel at Yercaud
The Luxury Lake Forest Hotel at Yercaud Hill Station in Tamil Nadu is tucked quietly in the grandeur of untouched natural beauty, estates, plantations, English bungalows, trekking zones, walkways, etc. Created by Ms.Henrietta Charlotte Rosario during the 1800s, it was later converted into a heritage hotel.
With 75 luxury suites, exclusive family suites, and some royal suites such as the Eastlynne Garden, The Henrietta Chamber, and the Royal English Suites coiled in a live coffee estate, the rooms have been ornated with the left behinds of the bygone British era and interiors tastefully done with English furniture and artifacts. The Dorai Curry (Mutton Curry) with English country bread is an absolute favourite among the hotel guests. Guests at the hotel find lot many ways to keep themselves thoroughly entertained, besides taking a trail with nature in Yercaud.
INDeco Hotels at Swamimalai
From the enthralling hill stations of Yerkaud, we now move to the mystic land of Temples, Swamimalai, in Kumbakonam, near Tanjore, the cradle of Tamil civilization. INDeco Hotels at Swamimalai which dates back to 1896 played a significant role during the Indian freedom struggle movement. Steve bought it in 1996 following a change of the house’s familial ownership. The Heritage Villas, The Royal House of Sri Srinivasa Iyer & the Kumbakonam abode of the great saint of Kancheepuram, Sankaracharya, and the Palace block will take you back in time. Steve says, “With 3 restaurants and many more dining spaces including the Garden Glass House, INDeco engages eminent artists from local communities to perform at the hotel that would help revive the cultural traditions of the village.”
INDeco Hotels in Mamallapuram
Snuggled close to the ancient Shore Temple harbouring the popular 7th-century monoliths and several other tourist attractions of Mamallapuram, the INDeco Hotel lends each guest a slice of authentic South Indian Costal lifestyles. This unique heritage hotel is set in a British camping site, where the contemporary lifestyle harmonizes with the romanticism of the bygone epoch. With 45 odd deluxe rooms, exclusive royal dome suites, and pet-friendly rooms, the hotel houses the Pongamiya restaurant and a lobby filled with vintage artifacts belonging to the British Officers.
”You can wander through the manicured lawns and bougainvillea-covered pathways, enjoy the quaint belvedere, have fun on the bouncing trampolines, revel in the catamaran ride into the sea, dance a step or two with local dancers, take a bullock cart ride to the local village, or indulge in a rejuvenating massage at our in-house Ayurvedic centre. As food ingredients are sourced from fresh and local produce, the food at all INDeco Hotels is of the highest quality,” adds Steve.
Steve Borgia’s Indian Heritage Museum
Steve Borgia’s Indian Heritage Museum is a repository of the artifacts and utilities left behind by the British Raj. Many guests turn up at the Indeco hotels just to see the Heritage Museum set up there. There is an exotic English furniture collection, an intriguing mix of fully restored tools including a Mahagony Wash Basin, Telegraph machine, Typewriter, Albion Printing Press, Paper Cutter, Greasing pump, Victorian Cupboard, Hand rotated Wooden Fan, Kerosene driven refrigerator, an Oil Extractor, Wall clocks, and many such historical artifacts —all dating to the Pre-Independence era. The Yale Suite and a 180-year-old Madras Central Prison gate, interim home to several eminent Indian freedom fighters can ’wow’ you just when you are prepared to leave the museum. INDeco’s Museums are the country’s only units credited by the American Association of Museums.
This is what Steve, a true practitioner of eco-tourism principles in letter and spirit, has to say about all his efforts to date:
“Imbibed with love for life and delight for Nature, rural India enthralls me. The wisdom, adventure, and romance contained in them are a part of the life, thought, and behaviour of every Indian even today. Here, every feeling finds experience. I have lost my heart, mind & soul to rural India.”