Saratha Vilas, built by a wealthy Tamil merchant in the early 1900s, is a prime example of the luxurious mansions unique to the heritage of the Chettinad region. The 34500 sq. ft. property, including buildings, courtyards and gardens, has been painstakingly restored, and converted into a ten-bedroom boutique hotel by two French architects passionate about the preservation of Chettinad and its history.
Like all the mansion in Chettinad, the house was constructed following the rules of Vastu Shastra, the traditional science of architecture of wellbeing. It is comprised of a succession of inner courtyards and halls laid out on a longitudinal axis opening a perspective along the entire length of the house.
The perspective which crosses the whole house from West to East, opens on the ancient kitchen courtyard, today the open-air restaurant, then finally on the garden planted with hundred-year-old coconut palms where we installed the swimming pool.
Accommodation
Heritage Rooms: All the guests’ rooms are spacious and furnished with collections of art and antiques. The owners have also designed many of the furniture which was made of teak wood and realized by the local craft people, this contributing to the uniqueness of the place.
Art Deco Heritage Room: The Art Deco heritage room is mainly furnished with original rosewood 1930’ furniture such as the twin beds and side tables as well as the writing desk and chairs. A same-period pair of armchairs is French imported. The walls are decorated with original 1930’s colorized photographs.
Madhubani Heritage Room: Beds, side tables, sofa-bed, arm-chairs, coffee tables and writing desks are the creations of the architects-hotel owners who combined the simple lines of their own design with their collection of art; here the Madhubani tribal paintings of Bathi Dayal, Bihar, combine with the local terracotta jars of the Vellars community specific to Chettinad.
Bommai Heritage Room (Bommai means doll in Tamil): The Bommais are terracotta offerings made by the priests and potters of the Vellar community. They are part of the rituals dedicated to the powerful village god Ayyanar, such as the Madu also displayed in the room, a full-scale terracotta cow.
Sri Murugan Heritage Room: Sri Murugan is one of the favorite subjects among the various and popular Ravi Varma prints. It is quite popular amongst the Chettiar community. Lord Murugan is the son of Siva and Parvati, Ganesh’s brother. The prints are quite colorful as his mount is the peacock. The room is furnished with an original Mahogany King size bed and side tables.