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Halcyon Castle
The Halcyon Castle was the summer palace of the Kings who ruled in the earlier years. However the royal family entrusted the government with the protection of the Castle, and from then on, this has seized to be just a royal home. The government has then sold it and as of now the palace has been converted to a deluxe hotel and the famous hotel chain Leela has taken over the Palace and this is now a thriving heritage hotel that visitors can book their accommodation.
History
The Halcyon Castle was constructed in 1932 in the then Travancore region. This was built for H.H. Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi by her partner M.R. RY Sri Rama Varma ValiyaKoilThampuran and they built this to use this as a family retreat. They used this palace as their summer homes that they could stay in when they wanted to vacation with their family. However in 1964, ValiyaKoilThampuran himself sold this to the Government of Kerala. Ever since he sold this the government converted this to a hotel offering premium accommodation for guests. Though there were some legal issues associated with the hotel and the adjoining areas measuring 65 acres. The present owner Dr. Ravi Pillai who is an NRI businessman has authorised the Leela group of hotels to take care of his hotel.
Architecture
The architecture is a full granite structure seeming to blend well with the rocky beaches, and seeming to belong so much along the beach and the palace also has steps made of granite that connects the palace to the beach. The windows have good aesthetically coloured and shaped glass and the rooms are spacious, well lit and well ventilated. No matter which part of the castle you are in, you can always and hear and see the sea and the waves dancing in all glory. This adds a lot to the charm of the castle and the tourists can spend a quiet holiday doing nothing and just gazing at the sea from here. The drawing room and the dining room all had granite accessories and the artistic sense of the rulers and the skill of the makers make the tourists feel like heaven.
Best Time to Visit
The latter part of the year is better to visit Halcyon Castle. So any time starting August through December is a good time. That is the time there are a lot of tourists who come over and apart from Indian tourists, foreign tourists also come to see the beauty of the castle in the months of November and December since that is the vacation time in the US. If at all visitors have to plan their trip in the first half, they can choose to come during the month of February which is the better of the first six months.
Visitor Information
The entire location is pristine and the tourists are requested not to litter the place.
How to Reach
Kovalam is a famous tourist spot, and the castle is just on the beach that is 12 kms away from the Trivandrum city, there are good transport facilities available to reach the palace. As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of foreign tourists who come over for holidaying here, so the connections to both national and international destinations are very good.
By Air
Thiruvananthapuram airport is the closest to this castle. This airport has good connections to all major cities of the country and also timely international connections. The proximity to the airport also encourages the tourists to travel to this destination with ease. Because of optimal flight connections, they are able to spend more time at the castle and the adjoining beach areas making the most of their vacation.
By Rail
Thiruvananthapuram railway station is the most convenient station to reach Halcyon castle. The distance between the railway station and the palace is not too much and can be easily covered on taxis or auto rickshaws. These are available in plenty outside the station and the palace is also a well-known destination so the tourists do not face any problem in finding their destinations.
By Road
The Kerala State Government buses and many private operators have connections from all major parts of the city to Thiruvananthapuram. From there, the Castle can be easily reached. It is well connected to the neighbouring states and important cities as well, so for people from other states also this is helpful.
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