It offers Aruveydic spa treatments and a restaurant specializing in south Indian cuisine. Make sure you try the 'chicken hot pot' a mildly spicy soup; the Kottu Baradha, made from mince, chopped naan bread, onion, tomato and egg; the grilled fish caught right outside the hotel and cooked Indian style; the excellent vegetarian daals and the local bean dish Achinga Thoran.
The hotel also has their own swanky speedboat, which they pull up to the private jetty to take you on a tour around the spectacular Kerala backwaters. It is the ultimate way to explore the region, (ideally while singing along to T Pains I'm on a Boat.)
Up the road is the equally lavish Le Merdien hotel, currently home to the Kochi Tuskers Kerala, the newest team in the Indian Premier League 20/20 cricket competition.
Other than being an enthusiastic tourist, my mission was to film a story on some of the New Zealand cricketers making a small fortune playing in this highly lucrative competition. Cricket is religion in India, and for that reason, the players are largely prisoners in their hotel, unable to leave for fear of causing a small, or in fact reasonably large, riot. But luckily, there are far worse places to be holed up!
Kochi is an interesting juxtaposition of these lavish resorts and a more accurate reflection of 'real' India. It is only a short drive away from these properties to Fort Kochi, the historical hub of the city to get a sense of what this place is really about.
Going anywhere in India feels like you are taking your life into your own hands, the drivers seem to have no peripheral vision, they map a path in their head from A to B and off they go, letting no scooters, trucks, pedestrians, animals or women and children riding side saddle in their saris stand in their way.
The first few trips I had decidedly white knuckles, but it didn't take me long to realise that despite hundreds of seeming close calls, I was probably, bizarrely, safer on the road here than at home. There is no yelling, plenty of tooting but no road rage, and this attitude to the road and their fellow drivers is perhaps summed up in the motto of the local police force 'polite but firm'.
On the way to Fort Kochi we get a sense of what makes this place tick, commerce, industry, and how they live their day to day lives. It is the weekend and it seems like every spare patch of dirt has been taken over by groups of young men tossing a cricket ball around, they may be barefoot, with the most basic of equipment and on a dusty pitch, but some of them are highly skilled.
The waterfront of Fort Kochi is first port of call, our incredibly well spoken and knowledgeable guide Arnold takes us to see the local fisherman work their Chinese Fishing Nets (the only place outside China you can see this). It is believed that traders from the court of Chinese ruler Kublai Khan introduced these nets.
With five men working each net, they slowly lower them into the muddy waters, with no bait and then manipulate huge levers and pulleys to raise them up again - hopefully full of mullet, crabs, prawns and sardines. The fishermen make around 400 rupees, roughly $11 NZD a day, in line with the average wage for a mason or carpenter.
It may seem like little by our standards, but the Kerala region has untypically high standards of living with wages, employment, education levels all well above the national average.
While there is not the haggling culture of some Asian destinations, the waterfront of Fort Kochi is the place to go if you want to indulge in some banter with well meaning salespeople and pick up some souvenirs. There are some stunning scarves, bags and locally made jewellery to be bought, but, like anywhere be careful who you buy from.
Our second destination is the St Francis church, the oldest European church in India.
On his 3rd visit to Kerala, Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese trader who reached India from Europe by sea, fell ill and died in Kochi. He was buried in St Francis church but later his remains were taken back to Portugal. However, his burial spot inside the church has been clearly marked out and is still regularly visited.
The church was once a lavishly decorated baroque style place of worship, much of the ornate detailing has now been removed, but it is no less impressive. The day I visited, the congregation were celebrating Sunday service in the local 'Malayalam' language.
St Francis church is surrounded by stunning trees, many of them hundreds of years old, including one of India's most precious trees, the Sandalwood. Previously used to carve thrones and furniture, it's rarity and worth now means it is used only for carving religious idols and crucifixes and for its scented oil.
Kochi is also home to the oldest Jewish synagogue in the Commonwealth. Built in 1568, it is magnificently decorated with individual hand painted Chinese tiles and Belgian chandeliers.
Many years ago, Kochi was a hub for almost five thousand Jewish families who fled to India to escape persecution at home. Sadly, the Jewish community has now almost completely dispersed and there are now just four Jewish families left in the city. This mix of religions and cultures has shaped the patchwork of Keralan society. Arnold tells me it is these influences, which has made the region one of the most 'worldly, welcoming and hospitable' places in India to visit. I'll certainly be back.
Belinda Henley's trip was aided by Singapore Airlines, Kerala Tourism Board and the Kochi Ramada Resort.
