Maison Perumal, Pondicherry

It is a small quiet hotel with only 10 rooms. A lovely place to spend a quiet holiday. It is a 130 year Chettiar mansion , renovated yet keeping all the heritage looks. All the flooring is of terracota. The doors, windows and the furniture of the antique style solid teak. There are two floors of rooms. We got a first floor duplex room. The rooms are kept very clean and all linen and towels are absolutely clean. As we arrived we are greeted with traditional style of flower garlands and tikka. The receptionist and all other staff are very polite and very helpful. The make staff wear traditional mundu and bush shirt , while the ladies are in sarees. The hotel has a small restaurant were traditional tamil cuisine is served. The breakfast is included in the price. The spread is not large but sufficient. They give dosa, idly, uttapam or poori masala. All made to order. The rooms have electric kettle and sufficient tea, coffee to be made. There is a mini fridge with beer, wine cool drinks , all billed as per use. The bathroom is kept very clean, and they provide all toiletories, shaving kit, smile kit etc. All items are eco friendly. I didn't find a line to dry wet towels. The room has writing table, dressing mirror and comfortable chairs to sit. The wardrobe has sufficient place to hang clothes along with a safe licker. The hotel arranged a cycle rickshaw ride through the main site seeing places. A 2 hour ride for ₹1200/-. They also arrange for you to make a kolam . Interestingly we can also attend a cooking class with the chef at 6.30 pm. We stayed 3 nights and enjoyed the stay. The hotel is close to the main shopping street and also the famous temples and Aurobindo ashram. The hotel is good for a quiet stay, provided you like the tamil cuisine. Otherwise you can have continental dishes in nearby restaurants. I would recommend the hotel for a quiet stay with good hospitality. Not a five star hotel but neat and clean hotel with all amenities. Don't expect gym and many restaurants etc.

The quaint house is so well located especially if you are happy to walk everywhere or just take a Tuk Tuk. The hotel offers activities for free and I had 2 Chef demos and a Heritage walk for free. The food is great and service really so good that I felt I was visiting family. Anamanika and Lodi on Reception help even to pack a parcel and enquire about the opening hours of Samsung to fix my husband's broken phone. We truly felt very happy there.

Maison Perumal gave us a refreshing and relaxing stay during the hot month of May. Meals were excellently prepared and the staff did very well to provide us with a map of the area and to offer activities for us to participate in. We joined the walking tour of the French quarter and had a great time. The building maintained its historical decor superbly - it was really special to spend time in the room and the building. The location is in the heart of Pondicherry and the staff coordinated us with taxis to and from the airport as well as to Auroville. I strongly recommend this location for your visit to Pondicherry.