Hotel De L'Orient

Hotel de l'Orient opens its doors to discerning travellers as it captures the essence of coastal Pondicherry, once a French comptoir in les Indes which caught the imagination of the whole Occident.

Many a ship sailed out to this destination whose picturesque landscapes and colourful people had been romanticized by the Orientalist painters. These very works of art now adorn the stairways, galleries and suites of the restored mansion - a veritable walk through the past three centuries.

You can open high glass windows into the internal court or on the street below. You can let your tall louvered blinds play with the tropical sun and wind. Or you can simply blank out the world with the wide teak shutters which turn day to night.

Colonial furniture, both amusing and hybrid, fills the high-beamed spaces as you awake in four - poster beds or lounge in remarkable easy chairs which risk - all too often - a mixing of reading with intermittent siestas.

Walk barefoot on cool red or ivory floors. Tread the Savonnerie durries which have been revived on the pit loms of Jaipur. Admire the fine cotton blinds, the chintzes and indiennes, reprinted to orginal 18th century designs.

The artifacts of the area adorn the living and public spaces: Ravi Varma oleographs kitsch terracottas polychromed in garish colours, carved wooden bedlegs turned into lamps, dowry chests which serve as luggage racks. Large, old mirrors shows new faces as you wonder back though the time-warp tunnel that Pondicherry is.

Postcards that were mailed out of Pondicherry to France, now return to their soil revealing black and white photographs of a bygone era. The Sisters of Cluny's work continues across the road in the finest embroideries.

Choose from 10 suites and rooms named after former French comptoirs, loges and factories.

Sail the river of time flow back to a graceful era when leisure was no idle man's sin.

In the Carte Blanche restaurant, adorned with rare old maps, savour the renowned Creole cuisine, where Tamil spices mix with French restraint, to take your taste buds on the route des Indes.

Access

• 175 kms from Chennai Railway Station .
• 160 kms from Chennai Airport. Car pickup on demand

Kindly Note: -

* The rates are subjects to change without prior notice.
* Indian Rupee Rates are valid for Indian Nationals Only.
* US$ Rates would apply for Foreign Nationals Only.