The Dune

Rooms

The 46 villas and rooms are scattered generously among the 35-acre grounds. They have been individually decorated and designed, and every room is tantalisingly different. Some are modern villas with clean lines, others are air-cooled wooden shacks near the beach. Some cater for families and children, others are more suited to romancers. There's something for every budget and taste, and many people come back several times and try a different room.

The more basic rooms, with names like 'Baywatch' and 'Bamboo', are open to the elements and are described by the owners as ‘nature cooled’, i.e. calmed by the ocean breezes. Most have ceiling fans and walls of intertwined casuarina or betelnut branches, with roofs of palm thatch, and the overall feel is beach-cabana-chic.

The more contemporary air-conditioned houses and suites are filled with local art. Some have been decorated by French designers, imparting a continental-meets-colonial feel. These rooms also have DVD players and private gardens.

If you want to splash about, book one of the 2 ground-floor Artist's Studios, each of which has a 20-foot private pool, as well as designer furnishings and challenging artwork. The Penthouse Artists' Studio comes with a Jacuzzi and 360-degree views.

If you want to splash out, the Tower House combines designer furniture (including black leather easy chairs) with amazing views through louvred shutters of the coastline. It's surely the most romantic room in Tamil Nadu, but it's not for those with vertigo!

The lovely bathrooms offer open showers with plentiful quantities of toiletries from natural brand Biotique. There are now normal toilets in all the rooms, replacing the old compost ones.

Don't forget this is an eco-resort, not a 5-star hotel. In the open-plan houses you should be prepared for some creepy-crawlies, and wherever you stay there's a chance your hot water might run out.

Click here for details of all rooms and villas.

Eating

The open-sided main restaurant, FUN (Food U Need), lays out exquisite buffet breakfasts. There are freshly squeezed juices, home-ground organic coffee, homemade croissants and fresh brioches if you’re hankering after a genuine French petit dejeuner, but the South Indian specialities (the lightest, crispest dosas, with homemade chutneys) are also scrumptious.

The à la carte evening menu features delectable South Indian curries, given a healthy twist with fresh organic produce from the garden, with 'hypotoxic' (cleansing) options on offer too. Nothing is hugely spicy, which will relieve western palates, and there's a French-Creole flavour to many of the dishes. Fresh fish is delivered daily, and there's an excellent wine list, including a decent selection of Indian wine. The only complaint might be that, if you're staying a week or more, you might find the fare a bit repetitive.

The poolside seafood bar also serves lunch and occasional BBQs in the evening, using its Tandoor oven. It's a funky, laid-back place for tucking into salads, sandwiches and snacks, but bear in mind that - as often in India - service can be on the slow side.

If you want to get away from other guests, you can order a private dinner in the grounds of your house, or elsewhere, with a menu of your choice.

Features include:

• Children's meals
• Restaurant

Activities

• Swim in the long, suspended pool or, in calm conditions, bathe in the sea off the 700m beach
  
  
• Relax with a treatment at the Ayurvedic spa (the head massages come highly recommended), join one of the free daily yoga or meditation lessons, or book the steam room
  
  
• Explore the 35-acre grounds. Bicycles are provided and there's a 2km jogging track too
  
  
• Visit the resort's own organic farm, where you'll find watermelons, pineapples and all kinds of animals
  
  
• There's also a putting lawn, a tennis court, beach volleyball and, if you still have the energy, a gym and workout space under a thatched roof
  
  
• Horse riding can be arranged nearby, as can fishing trips with the locals on traditional double-hulled wooden crafts (if you don't mind getting up at dawn)
  
  
• For wet days, there are pottery lessons (you can take your own plates and mugs home with you), a huge DVD library (some rooms have DVD players) and lots of board games like chess and Scrabble
  
  
• If you're lucky, you might coincide with a music performance in the outdoor arena (this place attracts musical types, and there are always artists in residence)
  
  
• You're only 15km from Pondy, as it's known, so schedule in a day to explore this charming city, which was once the largest French colony in India. It still feels distinctly Gallic, with broad boulevards, whitewashed houses, petanque courts, Med-style restaurants, bakeries and chic boutiques selling fabrics, leather, clothes and handmade paper
  
  
• Join the New Age travellers and Indian pilgrims paying their respects at the ashram of Sri Aurobindo on the edge of town
  
  
• If you want to engage in more serious introspection, head 10km outside town to the experimental Utopian community of Auroville. It has no money and no laws, just 2,000 people living in apparent harmony, planting trees, farming, researching alternative energy and meditating in the great golden dome of Matri Mandir
  
  
• Head north to Gingee (Jinji) Fort, the most spectacular fort in Tamil Nadu and one of the most impregnable in India. Its ancient walls enclose dramatic slopes topped by a clifftop citadel and linked by raised paths; you'll also find crumbling temples, irrigation channels, a mosque and a stone granary, with a patchwork of banana and paddy fields below
  
  
• With good transport, you can take (longish) day tours to 3 great Chola temples at Chidambaram, Gangakondacholapuram and Dharasuram, where you'll find pyramidal towers filled with carved elephants, phallic statues and figurines of astonishing, unfamiliar gods (including a triple-breasted, fish-eyed goddess)

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Cycling
• Fishing
• Golf
• Hiking
• Horse riding
• Shopping / markets
• Yoga

Kids

With so much to do and explore, this is a great place for children of all ages. There’s a large playground and a toddler pool right next to the seafood bar, so parents can have a relaxed lunch whilst keeping an eye on the kids. There are also animals to visit on the organic farm, and classes for children, such as pottery, are run every day. Staff are extremely kind and accommodating to parents (though you do feel obliged to tip quite liberally) and babysitting can be arranged. The property and its grounds are pushchair friendly. Under 5s stay free.

Best for:

Children (4-12 years)

Family friendly accommodation:

The Garden rooms are spacious for 1-2 children plus parents (add extra beds) and have a bath. For larger families, Family rooms are priced based on 4 people sharing. Read the descriptions in Rooms carefully - there's plenty to choose from - and note the pool villas aren't ideal for younger kids.

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available, Family Rooms

Distances:

• Airport 2.5 hours
• Hospital: 10 minutes
• Doctor: 10 minutes

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

The Dune is on the coast, 15km north of Pondicherry, in southwest India. It's 2 hours by car from Chennai (Madras) along the main coast road (the ECR).

By Air
Chennai (135km away) is the nearest international airport. As southern India's main air hub, it has lots of international and domestic links - click on the links below to see a full list of airlines serving this airport.

From the Airport
Hop in a taxi, but be sure to agree a price before you get in. The drive to the hotel will take around 2 hours.

By Train
Villupuram Station, directly inland from Pondicherry, has good rail connections with Chennai and Bangalore. From Villupuram, it will take you around 1 hour to reach The Dune in a taxi.

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.com.

More on getting to Tamil Nadu and getting around