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. Breakfast is included for every guest, every day, from 9 to 11. For the rest of the day, most groups take Full Board: a South Indian thali at lunch, tiffin with tea or filter coffee between four and five, and dinner each evening. Dinner is a Set Dinner indoors, the wood-fired pizza oven on the terrace, or a bonfire and barbecue on the lawn. Half Board covers dinner only, and the à la carte menu is open on top of either.
Meals move easily between the house and the grounds. There is room for everyone to eat together indoors, in the North or South dining rooms, and many guests take breakfast or tiffin out in the garden. Each wing has its own pantry for early mornings and small comforts through the day. The bungalow kitchen does the cooking, but you can use it with notice.
The bungalow has three living rooms for the group to gather or spread out:
the North library room with its fireplace;
the Sun Room, looking into the eucalyptus and pine;
the South living room, open from sitting to dining and looking through the trees towards the lake.
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, and a run of National Geographic magazines from the eighties. Wi-Fi works throughout the house, with generator and inverter backup, and a TV can be arranged on request.
Every bedroom is ensuite, with a desk, a wardrobe, a room heater and an electric blanket, and hot water bottles on request. Hot water comes from a solar geyser, with electric backup in heavy monsoon weather.
Outside, the house opens into one acre of lawns:
hammocks under the eucalyptus;
the wood-fired pizza oven on the South terrace;
a pear tree on the front lawn that fruits in July;
bonfire spaces for the evenings;
four bicycles for the lake circuit.
The lake path starts just outside the gate.
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, and the whole house is on one level, with no stairs between rooms.
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
Two cribs for children aged 3 and under, and a high chair, on request
The Pantries
Each wing has its own pantry, stocked for early mornings and late tea.
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.
Breakfast: included for every guest, 9–11 am.
Full Board: thali lunch, afternoon tiffin and dinner. ₹1,650 per adult a day, ₹900 for children aged 5 to 11, plus GST.
Half Board: dinner each evening. ₹900 per adult a day, ₹500 for children aged 5 to 11, plus GST.
Dinner choices: each evening on a plan, a Set Dinner, the Wood-Fired Pizza Evening or the Bonfire & Barbecue Evening, at no extra charge.
Children: under-fives eat from the family dishes at no charge.
Diets: vegetarian, no onion or garlic, and allergies are looked after within the meals. Tell us when you confirm your menus.
Drinks: you're welcome to bring your own, with no corkage; we provide glasses and ice.ry arrangements.
The Grounds
One acre on Kodaikanal Lake — lawns, garden paths, eucalyptus and pine, and the lake sixty seconds from the gate.
The lake path starts just outside the gate
North Lawn, South Patio, and South Garden Terrace
Wood-fired pizza oven, lit on request
Bonfire spaces, set up by the caretaker on request
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
The Practical Things
Wi-Fi throughout the house, with generator and inverter backup
Bungalow Manager and caretaker on site
Daily housekeeping, 10:30 am–12:30 pm
Laundry, charged separately; prices on request
Open-air parking for five cars, shared when North and South are booked separately
Drivers stay and eat outside the bungalow; we'll suggest a place nearby, and cars park on site
Nannies and caregivers stay in the staff quarters, ₹2,500 a day for meals and room; please tell us when you book
Airport and railway station transfers with 48 hours' notice, charged separately
Local taxi arrangements
Everything above comes with the house, whichever way you book it: Whole Bungalow, North, or South.
Everything above comes with the house, whichever way you book it — Whole Bungalow, North, or South.