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Club Mahindra Lakeview, Chinnakanal village. Telefax: 04868-49224. Email: Club Mahindra Munnar: The top hotel of Munnar, this Club Mahindra resort offers rooms with great views, excellent food including a wide variety of Keralite food (plenty of veg as well) and a variety of facilities. Perched on the side of a a hill it offers a view of rolling tea gardens. Very well geared to families umpteen family related activities are organised -- like treks, picnics, drawing competitions, yoga. Facilities: Volleyball, giant chess, table tennis, pool, computer games, dance floor, putt putt golf, playground. Drawback: the hotel is located 18 km from the main Munnar town.

Copper Castle, Munnar. Phone: 04868-30633. Fax: 04868-30438: Located about four kms from town towards Cochin, Copper Castle precariously hugs the hillside. Drawback: Unlike the Club Mahindra resort Copper Castle offers a not very spectacular view of the hills but not of the tea gardens. Comfortable and above average facilities but not top drawer.

Royal Retreat, Munnar. Phone: 0468-30440 30240: Decent, comfortable rooms and neat, charming hotel. The location is very average -- bang next to the towering Hill View a stone's throw from the highway. Choose rooms that do not face Hill View. Restaurant serves Chinese and Punjabi food. Rooms begin from Rs 700 or so.

Hill View, Munnar. Phone: 0468-30567 30567: Very average hotel. Rooms look onto Royal Retreat. Located by the side of the highway. Rooms begin from Rs 300.

Spring Dale Resorts, Devikulam. Phone: 0468-64268: Cute, cosy resort about 15 km away from the main town. Quiet, but a nice place to stay. Owner personally supervises his rooms and guest's hospitality

Munnar High Range Club, Munnar. Phone: 04868-30333 30724:
Your best bet is to get a club member to sponsor your stay here. Munnar club is affiliated to a whole host of clubs around the country as well as clubs abroad. And even a member of Delhi Gymkhana or Bombay Gymkhana can arrange to book rooms in this club; but do it way in advance because the club is often booked out.
The food is no great shakes in the club. But the ambience is typical of a tea estate and therefore the right place to stay. It is located away from it all in secluded area. The club has five rooms and 11 cottages away from the club and thus quite private. The club has quaint, antiquated rules. Women are not allowed in the bar and on certains nights of the week men have to arrive in suits; be sure to carry a suit. The club has a good golf course which makes it more of a draw for out-of-towners and even more reason to book in advance.

Tata Tea Guest House: Again this is hard to pull off. But see if any of your contacts have connections at Tatas, India's largest business house in order to book lodging here. Again wonderful and appropriate ambience.

Government Guest House: For government officials. Requires contacts.

PWD Rest House: For PWD officials. Requires contacts

Edassery East End Hotel, Temple Road, tel # 30451, 30227: Simple, clean hotel with nice cottages. and a good restaurant. The hotel is in the centre of the town with no special views.Tariffs: Rs 600 or so for rooms and Rs 1,200 for cottages

Sterling Munnar, Chinnakanal, Phone: 04868-49206, 49207 Bombay: 022-022-4928802, 4962663.: Located 18 km out of town on a forested mountainside, the view from this Sterling resort is breathtaking. The resort appears rundown. Room tariffs range from Rs 1700 to Rs 3,100.