We stayed at Cardamom Club for two nights and whished we would have stayed longer. It is located inside a cardamom and coffee plantation with a few cottages for the guests, just outside of Kumily, about 15 minutes by rickshaw on a bumpy road. You might not be able to easily go out to a restaurant, but the food at Cardamom Club is so delicious that you don’t miss the possibility. Most of the food is grown on the plantation (try the coffee!). It’s eco friendly, they care very much for the environment.

Everybody is very helpful in organizing trips to Periyar wildlife park and the closer surrounding (don’t miss Mr. Abrahams Spice Garden – one of the most impressive experiences on our trip). We recommend to do a walk nearby and explore the plantation.

The bungalows are very clean and comparable to western standard. The interior shows a good taste of the owner, it is very beautiful. At night, you can sit in on the patio and listen to the sound of the jungle
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All in all, there might be cheaper accommodations, but none will be as charming as the Cardamom Club!

After the initial shock of the five hour taxi ride you wind your way up a single lane track deeper into the plantations of Thekadi, the air is clear, India's endless cacophony of horns and neck jarring displacements comes to an end. You arrive at The Cardamom Club and are greeted like visiting members of the family. The staff are present but not intrusive as they settle you into one of the 8 onsite apartments. These are light and airy, comfortable and clean, the phone in the room may work if the electricity is good or if the electrical storms haven't fried something recently. Set 1000m up and bordering the Periyar Nature Reserve this B&B is a natural retreat. Seven kilometres from town this is a place to find peace, rest and fine food. This is definitely not the spot for party animals or anyone easily bored by their own company, you come here to escape all of that and simply enjoy a sanctuary away from the cares and crushing concerns of India (or the world).
Nutrition for the soul is one thing but the body also finds something in which to rejoice. Simply prepared organic vegetables, predominantly grown on-site are served in a set menu, breakfast, lunch and dinner if you require. We stayed 7 days and found the repertoire didn't repeat but followed simple themes. Meat dishes are available for the evening meal, predominantly chicken based, like the vegetables, not overly spiced or too chilli. The locally grown coffee, it's hanging off the coffee trees outside, is another pleasant surprise.
We managed to stay connected to the outside world reasonably effortlessly, wifi works locally around the dining / administration office and the staff are happy to let you use the office computer if things don't quite hook-up. The rooms all have modern LCD TV's but can't say we turned one on so no news on what lay behind the screen.
Activities locally include tours to the spice plantations, guided walks, mountain bike hire and if you're up for the tourist thing you and your camera are well serviced by plenty of local attractions and activities.
Getting around was easy, lovely walking and the tuk tuk drivers are pleasant and honest, no leveraging. Most people seem to arrive on packaged tours for one or two night stays, something we didn't do but soon relented for the return journey. Here comes the next recommendation, Kence George and crew, part owners of the Club as well as being operators of Eco-tours houseboats down on the Kerala Backwaters, is a fixer and a gentleman. Nothing seems to be beyond his means and the service is wonderful, we went on to the houseboat for two days and that in itself is probably another review.
This place would be absolutely ideal if you were wanting to run a yoga workshop or any sort of therapy or counseling workshops as it has the facility and is so naturally very calming and peaceful. Not ideal if you're a family unless the kids are very chilled, however it might be a great place if you need to lose them in a relatively safe jungle for a day or two, while you get set for India pt 2.

We stayed for two nights, but having arrived in the dark, and then gone on an jeep safari before it got light, we didn't see the beautiful setting until the end of our first day. We could just have stayed on the site, watched and listened to the birds, wandered around the cardamom plantation and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The food and accommodation were good and we met some great people. When we visited there was a young American volunteer organising some way-marked walks around the plantation. She took us on one of these and we would highly recommend them.

Before arriving to this hotel we spent two weeks at Kovalam beach, which was a hot place. Therefore we were bit shocked when we arrived to Thekkady as in the mountain area the temperatures were lower. The rooms felt pretty cold during the night time but they had good blankets so we did sleep very well. Next time we'll bring bit more warmer clothes.

The location of the hotel was excellent as it is well outside of the nearby town in the mountain area, which means that you have peace and fresh air. We were very happy that we did not stay in the town itself as that was quite crowded and air quality not so good.

Food that was offered on site was perfect even though it was bit expensive by Indian standards.

On negative side they offer you drinking water in one liter plastic bottles. We would expect that a place claiming to be "green" would come up with bit more sustainable solution for providing the drinking water.

The hotel was also lacking premises for drivers. This meant that our driver had to drive to downtown to spend his nights and to get something to eat, which was not optimal solution.

As said the hotel is maybe 10-15 minutes away from closest town but having a car is not mandatory as other guests seemed to manage well by using rickshaws to get around.

Staff was extremely friendly and helpful.