Kumarakom Lake Resort

The resort occupies a long stretch of shoreline on Lake Vembanad, the great brackish lake at the heart of the Kerala backwaters. Its villas were assembled from traditional tharavadu houses - carved teak, sloping tiled roofs, open courtyards - that were dismantled from elsewhere in the state and rebuilt here, which gives the place a lived-in quality that new-build resorts struggle to fake.

Accommodation runs from pavilion rooms with private jacuzzis up to the well-known meandering pool villas, where a serpentine waterway runs past each terrace so guests can swim from their own door. There is an Ayurvedic centre with residential treatment programmes, an infinity pool that reads as an extension of the lake, and a converted rice barge for dining.

The backwaters themselves are the main event: houseboat cruises through the canals, village walks past coir workshops, and the Kumarakom bird sanctuary next door, which draws migratory species from as far as Siberia between November and February.