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Malpe | Photo: Nina Chengappa
Hoode/Malpe: Paradise Lagoon, a houseboats service was launched by the Paradise Isle Beach Resort in a joint venture with the government held firm, Jungle Lodgers. The service in Hoode in the Swarna river backwaters is one of the first of its kind in Karnataka.
Paradise Lagoon is located 10 km from Malpe. The initial service is that of two houseboats with two air conditioned bedrooms each. The tariff is Rs. 8,000 per night per bedroom. Bookings are open only to couples.
“The response has been great so far. Booking can be done in person at the resort or online at www.theparadiseisle.com. We have advanced bookings running up to 15 days,” says reservations in-charge at Paradise Isle Beach Resort, Lloyd D’souza. The service will remain open in all seasons.
“The plan to start such a service was in the pipeline for the last six months. We got a special permit to operate in the backwaters after tying up with Jungle Lodgers. The houseboats will cruise the backwaters nine hours a day,” says managing director, Paradise Lagoon, Y.R. Manohar.
“We are going to expand our fleet of houseboats in the coming months. On-shore facilities will include an ayurvedic spa that is coming up and water front cottages in the coming month,” he added. The water front cottages will be priced at Rs. 4,000 per night per couple.
The service was inaugurated at the hands of Principle Secretary, Tourism, Information, Kannada and Culture, Govt. of Karnataka, I.M. Vital Murthy. Director, Department of Tourism, Govt. of Karnataka, Dr. C.Somasekhara; and District Commissioner, Udupi, P. Hemalatha were among the dignitaries present.
The houseboats were manufactured in Kerela and then transported to the Hoode backwaters. An interesting fact is that the house boats are made of bamboos, reed, coconut fibre and cashew nut shell oil without the use of a single nail or artificial paint.
Sub-edited by Ruchika Sharma |
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