AS I sip a cold drink, admiring the beauty of the forest and the aquamarine pool, I hear a noise you wouldn’t associate with a luxury holiday resort – the bleating of a kid goat.
But the Xandari Pearl in the south Indian state of Kerala is like no normal extravagant beach hotel.
As well as 27 suites with dreamy beds, outdoor tropical bathrooms and plunge pools, the complex has its own working farm.
Nestled among the white villas are signs that the team at Xandari are trying out something a little special.
Here and there about the resort, natural vegetation is interrupted by organised plantations with all sorts of vegetables and flowers.
And these are not just for show.
The crops grown on this little patch of heaven are gathered, cooked and served fresh to guests at the resort.
Already, a third of the food for guests is cultivated on site, and the percentage is growing fast.
Sanjay, a proud member of the team, said: “We are trying our best to have everything we need right here, all from the land around us.
“It’s not possible at the moment for us to have everything.
Private luxury
Lettuce won’t grow here, for example.
“But we have land up in the hills where it will grow, so soon that will be ours too and not brought in.”
That explains the bleating — a group of week-old goat kids, bred in the grounds.
Milk from the goats, and two cows, is expertly crafted into the silky paneer cheese served at dinner.
It would be easy to sneer at the low eco-footprint ethos of Xandari, but it works, as the luxury is not lost by having goats roaming free near the bar, pool and spa.
The villas themselves offer idyllic private luxury.
The resort’s top-of-the-range Blue Pearl rooms come with a private plunge pool, which is modestly described as such, given it stretches the length of the sizeable garden.
There’s also a private terrace with relaxing hammock.
Should you fancy heading out of your room, you are just moments from Marari beach, overlooking the Arabian Sea.
Kerala is known for its 400 miles of white-sand coastline, fringed by palm trees.
But what’s also a draw are the miles of inland canals, or backwaters, that promise adventure.
The area around Xandari and its canals was left relatively unscathed by the floods that hit the country earlier this year.
The resorts are running completely as normal and are hugely keen to show off the beautiful countryside to guests.
And with Xandari, an excursion along the miles of canals doesn’t mean you have to curb the element of luxury.
With the hotel’s fleet of ten houseboats, visitors can explore waterways surrounding the district of Alleppey, which was dubbed the “Venice of the East” by British Viceroy to India Lord Curzon in the early 1900s.
Spectacular views
On board, each air-conditioned cabin has its own en-suite facilities as well as a crew to meet your needs, cooking up local delicacies on board.
Each trip also includes a canoe ride down the backwaters, giving you a chance to explore the real Kerala.
But without a doubt the main attraction on the boats, which are former rice transporters called kettuvallams, are the awesome views of sunsets that shimmer across the rippling waters.
These being Xandari boats, they are, of course, now all eco-friendly.
Waste is returned to the Xandari docks, where it is filtered and treated.
The team at Xandari are keen to make sure their work and the tourism has as little impact on the local environment as possible.
That ethos is also followed at the Xandari Harbour resort in nearby Fort Kochi, the region’s historic city.
Built on the banks of the working port, it offers spectacular views across the fishermen’s boats and merchant ships.
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It combines an old spice warehouse, which has been converted into the gourmet 51 restaurant, serving up Keralan classics with a modern twist, and a new block of luxury hotel rooms.
The chic rooms are trendy and cool, providing a tranquil respite from the hustle and bustle of the city’s streets outside.
But they also provide a glimpse into the charmingly chaotic local life . . . Chinese fishing nets tower over the banks of the harbour, the tuktuk auto-rickshaws whirr past, and locals play cricket on dusty squares between the city’s old colonial buildings.
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News Pictures Canals, white-sand coastlines and bleating goats roaming among the guests at a luxury holiday resort in south west India
You don’t have to pack away your bikini just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!
TEENS
Hayden Panettiere
Size: 8
Age: 18
Height: 5ft 1in
Weight: 8st
To achieve her kick-ass figure, Hayden – who plays cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes – follows the ‘quartering’ rule. She eats only a quarter of the food on her plate, then waits 20 minutes before deciding whether she needs to eat again.
Hayden says: “I don’t have a model’s body, but I’m not one of those crazy girls who thinks that they’re fat. I’m OK with what I have.”
Nicollette says: “I don’t like diets – I see it, I eat it! I believe in eating healthily with lots of protein, vegetables and carbs to give you energy.”
kim cattrall
Size: 10-12
Age: 52
Height: 5ft 8in
Weight: 9st 4lb
SATC star Kim swears by gym sessions with Russian kettle bells (traditional cast-iron weights) and the South Beach Diet to give her the body she wants. To avoid overeating, Kim has a radical diet trick – squirting lemon juice on her leftovers – so she won’t carry on picking.
Kim says: “I am no super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.”
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