Mattancherry is known to be a small area in the old part of Kochi. Mattancherry has a lot of prominence for the trading community who thrived in this area. The Portuguese were the first colonial powers who arrived on the Malabar coast. The be in good terms with the kind and in exchange for certain rights, the Portuguese had built a palace for the Kochi Maharaja. Later the Maharaja allocated some land for the Jews adjacent to his palace to build a synagogue. There was already a Jewish settlement in Mattancherry Jews were actively involved in trade. Jews were in very good terms with the Royals and had enough access to the power centers of the land.
Since most of the Jewish community left for Israel between the 1960s and 1970s, most of their property was bought by local vendors. As tourism gained prominence in Kerala during the late 1990s most of these old Jewish quarters were taken over by Antique traders to set up shops and outlets. In the heart of Mattancherry, close to the Jew town was an old ginger warehouse located right on the banks of the Vembanad backwaters. This old warehouse was also part of that taking over process, today it holds one of the most beautiful heritage hotel, redesigned to be a Museum Hotel.
A Museum hotel could be termed as a hotel that occupies pieces of art and history. Just like that the Ginger house showcases some very interesting antique furniture and pieces in the rooms. The hotel has six rooms and each of the rooms follow a particular architectural Theme in terms of its design and antique placement in the room. The themes include Travancore Palace Theme, Chettinad Theme, Colonial, and so on. However, there is an extension to this concept. The Ginger house allows you to buy any of the antique placements that you see in the room.
We got a chance to visit Ginger house towards the mid of January and learn more about the rooms, the kind of furniture and antique placements and so on. Today this is one among the hotels that include in the Kerala Tour Itineraries. As a Kerala Tour Operator, it is these very interesting concepts that we showcase and suggest to guests. Apart from the rooms, the hotel has a Ginger restaurant right on the banks of the backwater. Evenings would be great here.
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