THE EVERYDAY DETAILS

COMFORTS OF THE BUNGALOW

The Dunnottar has always been a family home before it was a place to stay. Meals, fires, books, gardens, and long conversations have shaped the house for generations. As guests, we want you to feel that same ease: looked after, well fed, warm, comfortable, and free to settle into the rhythms of the house.

The kitchen is the heart of the house. Our chef cooks every meal, and has done for years. There is a South Indian thali at lunch most days, along with an à la carte menu for guests who would like to choose. Tiffin is served between four and five: biscuits, sandwiches, sundal, or whatever is in season.

Meals can move easily between the house and the grounds. There is space for everyone to eat together indoors, in the North or South dining rooms, and many guests choose to take breakfast, tiffin, or evening snacks outside in the garden. The pantry is there for early mornings and small comforts through the day, with a Nespresso machine, electric kettle, and basic facilities to heat milk or make tea and coffee. Guest cooking is not part of the stay, but if you would like to use the bungalow kitchen for something specific, please let us know in advance so the team can guide you.

The bungalow has three living spaces for guests to gather or spread out: the North library room with its fireplace, the Sun Room looking towards the trees and lake, and the South living room with its open living and dining rhythm. There are books, board games, quiet corners, and enough room for different parts of the group to settle in separately through the day. The library has a small shelf the family has kept since the seventies: Christopher Morley and Jane Austen are there, along with a run of National Geographic magazines from the eighties. Wi-Fi works throughout the house, and a TV can be arranged on request.

Each ensuite bedroom has a desk, wardrobe, electric blanket, and a hot water bottle on request. Hot water runs from a solar geyser, with electric backup during heavy monsoon weather.

There is open-air parking for five to six cars. A staff room with dormitory-style beds is available for drivers and staff, and they are served home-cooked meals from the same kitchen.

Outside, the house opens into one acre of lawns: hammocks under the eucalyptus, a wood-fired pizza oven lit on request, a pear tree on the front lawn that fruits in July, bonfire pits for evenings, and bicycles for the lake circuit.

The Bedrooms

Five bedrooms across the two wings — The Dunnottar Suite and the Master Bedroom in the North, The Rose Library, The Boiler Room, and The Old Study in the South. Every bedroom is ensuite.

  • All five bedrooms ensuite; two powder rooms, one per wing

  • Room heaters in every bedroom; electric blankets, hot water bottles on request

  • Electronic safe in each bedroom

  • Hair dryers and toiletries

  • Desk and wardrobe in each room

  • Iron and ironing board on request

  • Hot water from a solar geyser, with electric backup in heavy monsoon

The Pantries

Each wing has its own pantry, stocked for early mornings and late tea. Cooking stays with the kitchen staff — the pantry is yours.

  • Nespresso machine with complimentary pods

  • French press and filter for South Indian filter coffee

  • Assorted teas and green tea

  • Hot water kettle, microwave, refrigerator

  • Plates, cutlery, serving bowls, mugs, chopping board, and knife

  • Sugar and pantry basics

The Kitchen

All our food is home cooked with utmost care taken to use the freshest ingredients possible, which is reflected in our ever changing menu. All our ingredients are locally sourced with most of the vegetables coming from our own garden.

The bungalow kitchen is run by our chef, who has cooked here for years. Everything is home-cooked; most of the vegetables come from our own garden. Breakfast is included for every guest, every day. Lunch, dinner, snacks, tiffin, grill, and wood-fired pizzas are available on request and charged separately.

We want Dunnottar to feel like your home, so if there are any special dietary requirements, we will be more than happy to accommodate you. Please call us before your visit and we will make the necessary arrangements.

See Dining

The Grounds

One acre on Kodaikanal Lake — lawns, garden paths, eucalyptus and pine, and the lake sixty seconds from the gate.

  • Direct lake access from the garden

  • North Lawn, South Patio, and South Garden Terrace

  • Wood-fired pizza oven, lit on request

  • Bonfire spaces, set up by the caretaker

  • Hammocks under the eucalyptus

  • Bicycles for the lake circuit

  • Badminton rackets, cards, and board games

  • The pear tree on the front lawn, which fruits in July

See the Outdoors

The Practical Things

  • WiFi throughout the house

  • Caretaker on site

  • Laundry, charged separately — prices on request

  • Staff room with dormitory-style beds for drivers and accompanying staff, with home-cooked meals from the main kitchen — limited availability

  • Open-air parking for five cars, shared when North and South are booked separately

  • Airport and railway station transfers arranged on request, charged separately

  • Local taxi arrangements

A man lying in a hammock outdoors, reading a book, with greenery and trees in the background, next to a brick outdoor fireplace.

Everything above comes with the house, whichever way you book it — Whole Bungalow, North, or South.

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