A 70-year-old spice and coffee estate in the hills above Periyar, built by grandparents, tended through three generations, and now opened to guests from over 45 countries by a family that cooks with their own spices and believes that hospitality is simply another form of farming. George is waiting with coffee and biscuits.
Seventy years ago, someone’s grandparents planted coffee on a hillside near Thekkady. They planted pepper too, and cardamom, and jackfruit, and Ayurvedic herbs, and the various spices that grow in the Western Ghats foothills with the generosity of a landscape that has always understood abundance. They built a home on that hillside. They raised a family. The family raised another family. And now, on that same hillside, surrounded by those same plants — many of them approaching their own elderly years, roots deep in the Periyar soil — George runs one of the most quietly celebrated homestays in Kerala.
The Coffee and Pepper Plantation Homestay won the Farmhouse of the Year Award 2024 from MakeMyTrip. It has hosted guests from over 45 countries. It holds a rating of 4.9 out of 5 across hundreds of verified reviews, with guests describing it as the best stay of their India trip, the best room they have ever slept in, and the kind of place that makes them think about it once a week, months after returning home. One guest, who had travelled extensively through both north and south India, called it the best stay in India, full stop.
None of this is accidental. It is the product of three generations of care for a specific piece of land, and one family’s understanding that the thing they have is worth sharing properly.
The Estate
The Coffee and Pepper Plantation Homestay sits on NH183 in Chottupara, Thekkady — approximately 4 kilometres from the town centre and about 15 minutes from Periyar Tiger Reserve. It is accessed via a quiet approach off the main road and sits atop a gentle hill, from which the rooms look out over a lush canopy of coffee plants, pepper vines climbing their support trees, cardamom growing in the shade below, jackfruit trees heavy with fruit in season, and the particular, fragrant green of a Western Ghats plantation that has been farmed organically and lovingly for seven decades.
The estate is near-zero-waste in its daily operations: no single-use plastics, reusable glass water bottles throughout, composted kitchen waste, recycled toiletry containers, sustainable wood used in shelves and fixtures, and a deliberate, consistent effort to tread lightly on the land that the family has been responsible for since the 1950s. Sustainability here is not a marketing claim. It is the inherited practice of a farming family that has always understood its land as a long-term relationship.
The Rooms
There are four room types, each occupying a well-considered position on the estate with views of the plantation and the surrounding hills.
The Standard Double Room with Balcony offers an open balcony with mountain and garden views — the foundational Thekkady experience, simplified and done right. The King Room with Balcony adds a bathtub alongside the views, for those who want a longer version of the morning ritual. The Deluxe Room is the most celebrated of the original rooms: a large wooden balcony, premium bath, private entrance, garden and mountain views, and the particular quality that makes guests wish they had booked more nights.
The Premium Room with Heated Private Pool is, by all accounts, something exceptional. A private heated swimming pool, private garden space, mountain views, open balcony, and the room itself that one honeymooning guest described as the best room they had ever stayed in anywhere in the world: the swing and yoga mat, the comfy bed, the sunrise creeping across the high ceilings, the animals — birds and insects — in full performance outside. They spent hours reading in the pool. They think about it once weekly.
All rooms are air-conditioned with attached bathrooms, walk-in showers, flat-screen TVs, minibars, refrigerators, kettles, work desks, slippers, and complimentary toiletries. A shared balcony with a glass roof connects the guest areas — a social space for reading, coffee-drinking, and watching the rain move through the plantation canopy.
The Kitchen and the Cooking
George and the family cook with their own spices — fresh pepper from the vines outside, cardamom from the estate, herbs from the Ayurvedic garden — in a kitchen that understands the difference between cooking from a garden and cooking from a store. Breakfast is home-cooked and hearty: a morning ritual that guests are told to expect and consistently describe as delicious. Dinner is traditional Kerala home cooking, made from estate produce wherever possible.
The breakfasts include toast, omelettes, pepper, fresh fruit, and local options — described by one guest as GORGEOUS, in capitals. George greets arriving guests with coffee and biscuits — the estate’s own coffee, of course, brewed from beans grown a few hundred metres away. The food recommendations he makes for nearby restaurants are, according to multiple guests, among the best tips of their entire trip.
What to See and Experience
The guided spice plantation tour — led on the estate itself — is one of the best available in Thekkady: not a commercial demonstration designed for tourist buses, but a walk through a working, aged plantation where the plants are the ones that have been there for decades. George explains each species, the farming practices, the relationships between plants and soil and microclimate. Guests consistently describe it as educational and fascinating in equal measure.
Guided trekking, birdwatching, and nature walks are offered through the estate and surrounding areas. A circular walk starting directly from the property takes guests through the plantation and into the adjacent countryside with the kind of convenience that means it actually gets done.
Periyar Tiger Reserve — one of India’s finest and most beautiful wildlife sanctuaries, set around the Periyar Lake in the high forests of the Western Ghats — is 15 minutes away. The bamboo rafting and boat safaris on Periyar Lake are among the most distinctive wildlife experiences in Kerala. George arranges these, along with other local activities, as part of his consistent commitment to making guests’ time in Thekkady genuinely meaningful.
Kumily — the nearest town, with its spice markets, elephant camps, and Thekkady’s characteristic energy — is within easy reach. Abraham’s Spice Garden, the Spice Walk, and the broader spice culture of the Thekkady-Cardamom Hills region are all accessible as part of a stay at Coffee and Pepper.
Why It Stays With You
The guest who called it the best stay in India had visited both north and south. The honeymooner who described the private pool room as the best room of their life had stayed in many hotels. The traveller who thinks about it once weekly, months later, has identified what the most resonant experiences do: they persist.
Coffee and Pepper Plantation Homestay persists because it is genuinely what it appears to be — a family’s ancestral plantation, farmed with care for three generations, opened to guests by someone who greets you with his own coffee and then helps you find the best meal of your trip. The rating of 4.9 is the number. The once-weekly thought, months later, is the review that matters.
Plan Your Visit
Address: NH183 Chottupara, Thekkady, Idukki District, Kerala — 685533 Phone / WhatsApp: +91 98957 52648 Website: coffeeandpepper.in Instagram: @coffeeandpepperhomestay Booking: Direct via website (zotel.ai booking system) · Also bookable on Booking.com and MakeMyTrip
Host: George (third generation — owner and host) Award: Farmhouse of the Year 2024 — MakeMyTrip Rating: 4.9/5 (Booking.com, MakeMyTrip) · 96/100 (A-Hotel) · Guests from 45+ countries
Property: 70-year-old coffee, pepper, cardamom, and spice estate · Near-zero-waste operations · Organic farming throughout · Sustainable materials and practices
Rooms: 4 types — — Standard Double Room with Balcony: mountain and garden views, open balcony — King Room with Balcony: as above + bathtub — Deluxe Room: large wooden balcony, premium bath, private entrance — Premium Room with Heated Private Pool: private pool, private garden space, open balcony
All rooms: AC · Attached bathroom (walk-in shower) · Flat-screen TV · Minibar · Refrigerator · Kettle · Work desk · Slippers · Free Wi-Fi · Complimentary toiletries Shared: Glass-roofed lounge balcony · Sun terrace · Garden · Outdoor fireplace
Meals: Breakfast and dinner included · Home-cooked, estate-grown spices · Traditional Kerala cuisine · Welcome coffee and biscuits on arrival Check-in: 1:00 PM · Check-out: 11:00 AM Pet-friendly: Deluxe and Pool rooms
Experiences: Guided spice plantation tour (on estate) · Guided trekking · Birdwatching · Nature walks · Circular estate walk · Periyar Lake boat safari and bamboo rafting (arranged by George) · Elephant Camp visits · Kumily spice market
Getting There — Cochin International Airport: approximately 150 km — around 3.5 to 4 hours by road. Taxis and pre-arranged transfers available. — Madurai Airport (Tamil Nadu): approximately 140 km — around 3 hours by road. A convenient option for those arriving from Chennai or Tamil Nadu. — Kottayam Railway Station: approximately 100 km — around 3 hours by road. The most accessible Kerala railhead. — From Kochi: approximately 150 km via Kottayam — around 3.5 hours. — From Munnar: approximately 65 km — around 2 hours (via the scenic mountain route through the Cardamom Hills). — From Alleppey: approximately 145 km — around 3.5 hours. — The homestay is on NH183 in Chottupara, approximately 4.4 km from Thekkady town centre and 15 minutes from Periyar Tiger Reserve. Coordinate final approach with George on booking.
Nearby — Periyar Tiger Reserve / Periyar Lake: 4 km (15 min) · Abraham’s Spice Garden: 1.4 km · Spice Walk: 2.6 km · Kumily: 4 km · Elephant Camp: nearby · Munnar: 65 km · Alleppey: 145 km · Kochi: 150 km
Best Time to Visit: October to April for the best wildlife sightings in Periyar and pleasant temperatures · December to February for the coolest, clearest weather · June to September for the monsoon — the plantation at its most lush and intensely fragrant, though safaris are limited.
