The Hindu Business Line : Resort to Nature

It’s a perfect escape from the humdrum of hectic living and concrete jungles; from the cacophony of politicians abusing their rivals on TV channels, and particularly for women whose male partners turn bellicose every time a cricket or football match is on (I’ll leave tennis out, being a huge Federer fan!). The Dune Eco Beach Resort is housed in a verdant 35-acre expanse, barely 12 km from Pondicherry and less than 3-hour drive from Chennai and about 6 hours fro m Bangalore.

As its name suggests, eco conservation is its central theme and the experience comes as a complete package of environment, tradition and culture. Add to it a whopping dose of luxury that most multi-star hotels offer, but in air conditioned cottages with wooden rafters, thatch roofing, a generous use of bamboo, a grassy courtyard of your own, an open sit-out and open shower area, a tiny pond/water channel with plenty of fish, a private swimming pool (limited edition!) and the magic is complete.

Small wonder then that in March, when Christian Dior was looking for a place to launch its new perfume, ‘Escale À Pondichery’, it zeroed in on this facility. A three-day celebration for 40 international journalists was organised. “It was beautiful. The perfume was named after Pondicherry, so it had to be done here; they went through a lot of places but found that ours was the best,” says The Dune’s owner and managing director Dimitri Klien.

Sunil Verghese, director, adds that the place is now becoming popular for weddings too. A couple from Mumbai — British bridegroom, Punjabi bride — got married here recently, booking 45 rooms. “They had their honeymoon here for four nights; we had elephants that came from Kumbakonam, camel from a circus in town and horses from Auroville. It was a traditional Indian wedding with festivity and music,” he says, estimating the cost at around Rs 17 lakh.

Klien adds that the property, started in 2006, is now becoming popular for corporate conferences. “We have a list of impressive names such as HP, IBM, CitiBank. We don’t do big conferences, but upmarket, quality conferences for 50 to 70 persons at the most, so we can customise the programme, and offer activities, games, yoga etc.”

The thatch-topped restaurant at The Dune

This is an upmarket resort — cottages for four people cost around Rs 18,000 and “nature-cooled rooms” for two about Rs 6,000. An off-season discount of 20 per cent is available in May and June at this 60-room facility.

A blast for children

A "nature cooled" room

But the guests who really have a blast here are the children; the 35-acre expanse ensures they have a huge play-area, the greenery and water — in ponds, specially designed water channels brimming with colourful fish, swimming pools and, of course, the sea — can captivate their interest and attention for hours. Parents can leave them free to explore the facilities as no vehicles are allowed beyond the car park, and battery-operated vehicles transport guests from one facility to another, unless they choose to ride the bicycles every room has. Also on offer are varied children’s activities like pottery, coir making, kite and incense-stick making, “and you can even milk the cows and learn a bit about farming in our 7-acre organic garden,” says Verghese.

Pets welcome!

One found plenty of children — mostly foreigners — stooping under plants, digging in the grass for anything that moves, collecting flowers and playing with the four resident dogs. Verghese adds that this is one of those rare facilities “where we welcome pets; you can bring in your pet and leave it free, provided it is not ferocious. Members of the Kennel Club of Bangalore come here often and in July they are planning a gathering here. During those days this will become a doggie place!”

Unique feature

A unique feature of the Dune is that each cottage/room looks different because different people have designed the interior and exterior, bringing their own style and creativity. Manish Arora, the fashion designer, is planning to do a cottage here! So there is no standard block system; creating one room and copying it, as happens in other hotels, says Verghese.

He adds that The Dune actually began more as an artists’ village; international artists would come and perform here and slowly it evolved into a holiday resort. ‘The Artist’s Studio’ — with its beautiful sit-out, private swimming pool and unique ambience — reflects this. ‘Karaikudi’ is done up using the beautiful wooden structures and tiles brought from a traditional Chettinad home in Karaikudi. Reclaimed material is used most of the time. Quite a few cottages have open showers and some honeymoon suites have the bathtub right beside the bed. Many have bamboo furniture, a few bedposts have collages made from black-and-white pictures of old Tamil movies, and some have preserved calendars dating back to the 1930s! Each facility has its own courtyard and garden.

Somewhere on the property one found a broken-down 450-year-old chariot from a Thanjavur temple that Klien had brought here and attempts are on to restore it.

Nearly 70 per cent of its clients are domestic and the majority come from Bangalore and Chennai. Many corporates from Bangalore prefer it for their conferences.

The nature-cooled rooms have thatch roof and mosquito nets, and Verghese says that several clients, including some Hollywood celebrities, prefer to stay in these rooms, but not in the summer months. “Actually when it is cooler, people prefer to switch off the AC and we get requests for mattresses so they can sleep in the courtyard but we have to organise mosquito nets.”

There is also a well-stacked library offering books on temples, architecture, culture, music, Indian cinema and so on.

Allergy treatment

The spa offering Ayurvedic massages and other treatment for medical ailments is a big draw, and some guests stay for a couple of weeks for treatment. A special pool is being built where the temperature will be maintained at 35 degrees Centigrade, and a trained Italian water therapist will provide water therapy by September. “We also have a Namboodri allergy elimination technique where the doctor treats you for allergies without any medication,” says Verghese, whose 4-year-old son was allergic to lactose, sugar, seafood, etc. “He used to be on antibiotics all the time for stomach infections. In four sessions he has almost been cured.”

He himself was allergic to pollen, and several tests in hospitals done over two years could not detect this. “Our man comes in, and in half an hour tells me what my problem is. I was put on a 25-hour restriction on different things and the problem has gone!”

But a facility like this which makes immense use of thatch, bamboo, wood, and tiles is difficult to maintain. All the AC units have been replaced already in the last three years, as things corrode very fast in this air.

But restoration and innovation is the name of the game. Three more rooms are being planned under the Ayurvedic tri-dosha concept of Vatha, Pitta and Kapha. If you are a Vatha person, you will be housed in that room and given rejuvenation treatment accordingly.

Small wonder then that Klien, who left France at the age of 30, finds little reason to go home for a holiday. “The endearment of living with nature relaxes me a lot. I do some yoga, music coordination in the restaurant, the spa etc. I had worked for music industry and have an ear for music.” In his free time he looks after his three children or does gardening. “I don’t need a holiday as I’m on a kind of permanent holiday. I don’t run the show, Sunil does. I look at development, expansion, marketing and PR and the artistic part of the place,” he adds.

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