Villa Jacaranda: Gorgeous hotel in Varkala, Kerala

A friend emailed me asking for advice for an upcoming trip to Kerala. Responding to her brought back so many memories of an amazing month there and it’s funny what immediately came back to mind and what I had to battle to remember.

One of the definite highlights was staying at the Villa Jacaranda in Varkala. The villa is just a short walk to dramatic cliffs that overlook the Arabian Sea.

The hotel is undeniably romantic. There are four rooms, one with an incredible roof terrace the others with private verandas, and each boasting the kind of detail that will make you want to return again and again. At sunset garlands of fresh, fragrant jasmine are draped on your private veranda; sheets are hand embroidered with pretty designs; and breakfast is served in privacy either in your room or on your private terrace.

The villa’s garden is painstakingly cared for: exotic trees scent the air and their flowers blow across into the small lily pond.

Ayurvedic massage can be arranged by experienced practitioners at a cost of about 500 rupees (US$10/£6) for an hour.

This place is a delight. Don’t miss out if you’re heading to Kerala on your travels.

Villa Jacaranda

Rooms from 4,000 rupees (US$80/£47) per night + 15% tax.

Temple Road West, Varkala, 695141, Kerala, India; Tel: +91 470 2610296; Email: infojacaranda@gmail.com; Website: www.villa-jacaranda.biz.

Photography © Emma Torry.

Good news for book worms

If you’re the type of traveller who packs more books than clothes into your suitcase, or if you like the thrill of vicarious travel then we’ve got some good news for you…

Amazon is launching a new service called Amazon Prime, which offers Amazon members FREE two-day shipping for one month on thousands of items.

If you cancel your subscription before your trial month is up then you can enjoy fast delivery without any annoying catches. You’ll just have to remember to set a reminder for yourself so you don’t get stung! Click here for details.

We’ll be signing up and have been looking for literary inspiration to get us going. So far we’ve got the following travel books on our list:

92 Acharnon Street by John Lucas: Written by a former poetry editor of New Statesman, 92 Acharnon Street won the The Dolman Best Travel Book Award 2008.

James Owen, reviewing 92 Acharnon Street on its publication for Telegraph Travel, said: “This is a portrait of Greece as it certainly was in the mid-1980s, and often still is now – noisy, dirty and on strike, in thrall to bureaucracy and political favouritism, a dark pall cast by the military dictatorship of the 1970s.

“Yet through it shines the redeeming generosity of the Greek temperament, one that approves with a wry smile the necessity of students cheating in exams because the teaching is so inadequate.”

The book is “the finest account of a love affair with Greece since Peter Levi’s The Hill of Kronos”.

Time Out Guide to Florence and Tuscany: As recommended by Harriet, one of iloho’s users, in her post about Tuscany, we want to check out the Time Out guide to Florence and Tuscany

Harriet says: “Take the Time Out guide if eating and drinking is one of your holiday priorities. I’ve used a lot of guidebooks in my time, and found that Time Out consistently has the best, most up-to-date restaurant listings. The places it recommends have always been excellent value for money and packed with locals. For sightseeing and history, I think the Footprint Travel Guides are really well written, but Footprint doesn’t cover as many destinations as the Rough Guide or Lonely Planet.”

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert: Having gone through a contentious divorce, a dodgy rebound romance and suffered with depression, Elizabeth Gilbert decided at the age of 34 to spend a year travelling through Italy, India and Indonesia. She says: “I wanted to explore one aspect of myself set against the backdrop of each country, in a place that has traditionally done that one thing very well,” she writes. “I wanted to explore the art of pleasure in Italy, the art of devotion in India and, in Indonesia, the art of balancing the two.”

The New York Times says: “If a more likable writer than Gilbert is currently in print, I haven’t found him or her.”

Celebrity fans of Eat, Pray, Love include Julia Roberts, Elle Macpherson, Sophie Dahl and Meg Ryan. We’re keen to try it for ourselves.

Shot of the Day: Scuba Tiger

You may have seen yesterday’s iloho newsletter, which featured the stunning Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, India. The park is home to one of the largest populations of India’s wild tigers.

Today, we came across this photo of “Scuba Tiger” by digitalART2 on Flickr and thought it fit nicely with the tiger theme in the newsletter.

It’s a great shot, it’s just a shame the photographer doesn’t note where it was taken. If you’re reading this, please let us know!