An enjoyable Stay at Marutham resort, Mahabalipuram, Chennai

We recently went for short trip to Marutham village resort which is 100 KM from Chennai (close to Mahabalipuram) & enjoyed it thoroughly.

 

Sharing a brief summary:

Check in is around 2 PM.

The biggest attraction is the 2 borewell sets; they have built a reasonably big tank (“Thotti”). Both borewells were having some minor difference and we took bath in each one on different days and enjoyed. Borewell bath is available from 6 AM to 6 PM. They allocate a staff for all the activities – for us it was one Mr Alagar; he normally allocates you 30 min slot once we speak to him. 

Do not miss the bore well bath- we can even have twice on the first day (once immediately on arrival and again in the evening) and one on the next day. Atleast once on both days is certainly recommended.

The food is really good- slightly higher price, but taste is really nice; breakfast is complimentary & you have regular South Indian foods- Idly; very tasty Chutney/ sambar; Pongal (Good!), Poori- Masal (Hot and was good); Bread- corn flakes; Raagi Halwa; Fruits/ vegetables, Neer aagaram with Mor milagai (Wow!) and a wonderful coffee. Since they have lot of cows here and coffee/ Tea is made directly out of cow milk, both coffee and tea are very good.

There are many activities which keeps us engaged throughout our stay:

Badminton: They have rackets/ cork and a nice court where paddy fields are one side and the rooms on the other side. We played Badminton on both days.

Poi Kaal kuthirai dance: It was a fun filled activity to dance with Poi kal kuthirai; They play apt songs in the background); it was a fun filled activity and we enjoyed it much.

Pottery- they make small pots/ flower wash using clay and help us to do it; wife who has interest in it liked it.

Pambaram- something which 70s kids like us enjoyed during our school days- was able to play after so many years.

They have other games like Pallanguzhi, Paramapadham etc- we did not play them as they take more time. For small kids they have some more games suitable to them.

Apart from the most attractive bore well bath, they do have a mini artificial water falls; the force is more & falling from a good height, it gives a good massage to our back. Only thing is chlorine is more and those who are allergic to chlorine can avoid.

    

Swimming pool: They have swimming pool artistically designed exactly like a Temple Kulam; depth is around 4-5 feet only and kids also enjoy this pool very much. This is adjacent to waterfalls and I took bath in both one after the other on the 2nd day.

The activities place and falls/ kulam is very near; they played 80s Ilayaraja songs when we were there; it gave an apt atmosphere to the place.

Evening they had Thallu vandi kind of shops for preparing Coffee/ Tea and Snacks. Cost is slightly more – Tea is Rs 65 and coffee is Rs 75- but the taste is so good and it is worth ! The same Thallu vandi they have for night also if there is no rain. For dinner – either you can have it in Thallu vandi or inside the restaurant.

Archery/ Gun shooting: They give 3 chances for both archery and gun shooting; another small archery game is there- which we can play ourself too. Table tennis is also nearby.

They have Cows/ Duck/ Vaan kozhi/ Goat : These are kept in one place– they take milk from the cow in the morning and evening; we can go and see this process. They gave fresh/raw milk taken from the cow and it was a different experience.

Lake walk; 2nd day morning – they take interested people for a walk around 7 AM- they have taken a lake for lease and show us this place and there are lots of trees near this place.

Rooms- all their single room (For 2 people) cost around 7000 on week days and 8000 on week end; they have around 32 rooms; there are 3 BHK and 4BHK as well- which can be used by bigger families. All these rooms are with Athangudi tiles and built in typical Karaikkudi style. You have Mutram and lot of old vessels used in the earlier generation.

    There are 2 rooms (both in half kilo meter distance) inside the paddy fields & we stayed in one of them ; This cost 7200. Harvest was over few days ago and we were not able to see the paddy crops when we stayed; But most of the time, it could be there as they cultivate paddy crops 3 times in a year. Our room was bang opposite to borewell and it suited as we can go and take bath whenever it was free.

The rooms were neat and clean; the service was really good; each and every staff moved very courteously. All are staying closer to the resort in some villages and few stay in the resort itself.

One very good development:

They are now allowing day time visits: Ie: Without staying: So one can come in the morning; enjoy all activities; have lunch here and leave in the late evening; for this they charge per person around 2000- 2500; Currently they are not putting it and advertising in their site and allowing on demand. But they are constructing some rooms for these guests to go and stay and take some rest in the day time itself; we were told that this construction will be completed in a month or two and then they will put this in their website itself.

This is a 3 year old resort and has become popular already; around 15 families stayed on the week day when we went; From Friday to Sunday – it is normally getting sold out and one needs to book it in advance.

We enjoyed the one and half days we stayed here fully and might come back again with our extended family!