Pickyourtrail Trooper Aravinth Chandramouli spent the last weekend in Kodaikanal at The Tamara Kodai on a relaxing Staycation away from the city. Find out about his experience of taking a Staycation during a pandemic and things to know before you travel.

Tips & Important Docs for Kodai Travel

Travelling to Kodaikanal requires an e-pass issued by the Tamil Nadu government. The e-pass must carry the hotel/resort name as the final destination. We got our Kodai e-pass in a couple of hours from applying. It is relatively easier as compared to Nilgiris which was rejected thrice. Kodaikanal is currently accepting only 250-300 tourists in a day. It took us around 9 hours (520 kms) to drive down from Chennai. You will not be stopped anywhere until you reach the Kodai ghats. They check your e-pass twice there, so make sure you print out the e-pass even though it’s not mandatory. They completely disinfect your vehicle before you enter Kodai. This is the second place where e-pass is checked. The ghat drive is around 49 kms with quite a few hair pin bends. If you have trouble driving around in the mountains, it is advisable to take a nausea tablet once you cross Madurai so that the drive to the hills is comfortable. It is advisable to recharge your FASTag to save time at the tolls.

Tamara Kodai

Kodaikanal is a beautiful destination to visit for a relaxing break away from the city. While the day time temperature is about 18C, it drops further to 14C in the evenings. Our stay at Tamara Kodai was an extremely comfortable one. It is hands down the best resort I have stayed in and truly delivers a 5-star experience. It is a monastic retreat converted into a modern resort. We chose the Superior Luxury Cottage which had a living space along with a plush bedroom with a balcony. The view from the balcony was truly breathtaking with thick clouds passing by. All the rooms are equipped with heater to control the temperatures. The breakfast and dinner included as part of the itinerary was truly delectable and worth every penny. It is advisable to choose a Stay package with food included to avoid exorbitant restaurant bills. Alcohol is served through the day at the resort until 8 pm.

Safety Measures at the resort

On arrival, the resort staff disinfects all your luggage before they take it to your cottage. Each of the guests is required to download the Arogya Setu app and do a self assessment—this is needed at the time of check-in. The check-in process is pretty smooth and every single staff member wears a mask and gloves. The guests too are required to wear masks and gloves at all times within the resort. The pen used at the time of filling forms is sanitised post every use. The buggy or golf cart, which you’ll use quite a few times to travel within the resort, is also immediately sent for sanitisation after every use.
Only limited staff members are allowed inside the cottages. Only members of house keeping can enter your cottage to clean the premises and that only if permitted by the guest. The cleaning of the room takes easily around an hour. Any food ordered through Room Service is placed outside the cottage for a no-contact delivery. There is no pre-cooked or buffet facility; everything is made to order. The restaurant staff wears PPE masks at all times due to close proximity with guests while serving food. Swimming pools and gyms are not functional, as per government orders. However, there is a place to do yoga.
When a guest checks out of a room, it is disinfected and not occupied for another 2 days before it is handed over to the next guest.