Sundowner: Autumn/Winter 2018

LO N G - D I S TA N C E
RELATIONSHIP
A NEW LUXURY BEACH RESORT HAS OPENED ITS
DOORS IN A REMOTE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO IN
THE BAY OF BENGAL. WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER
CHRIS CALDICOTT DISCOVERS WHY THE TAJ
EXOTICA ANDAMANS IS WORTH THE JOURNEY
I
arrived at the brand new Taj Exotica Resort and Spa on the
Andaman Island of Havelock just in time for a sunset swim,
so quickly changed travelling clothes for swimwear, shoes
for flip flops, and headed straight for the ocean to wash away the
fatigue of hours spent on a long-distance flight and transfers.
The sandy path that wound through thick foliage and
coconut palms to the sea gave no hint of the hotel’s magical
shoreline setting until it delivered me onto the vast white arc of
Radhanagar Beach. Wrapped around a lagoon of millpond calm,
clear water with a gently sloping, flawlessly sandy seabed – it was
nothing less than a vision of paradise. One that Time magazine
recognised when they declared it the best beach in Asia.
Apart from a small group of local tourists paddling in the
middle distance, I had the beach to myself. I swam until the sun
sank behind a low bank of powder pink clouds hovering above
the horizon, sending shafts of orange into an otherwise cloudless
sky. It felt so good to be here – I had finally realised a long-held
dream of visiting this remote and exotic island outpost of India.
The 72 luxury villas, three restaurants and Jiva Spa of the hotel
are scattered among 19 hectares of coconut groves, palmyra trees,
mangroves, manicured lawns, vegetable and herb gardens, and a
large pond. They are so well hidden by the shoreline trees that no
hint can be seen from the beach, not even of the Olympic-length
infinity pool on the vast elevated terrace just behind the beach.
The resort was constructed without felling a single tree, and
the terrace has been designed with gaps big enough to let giant
mahua and mighty buttress-rooted padauk trees puncture the
decking and thrust skyward, giving it the feel of a contemporary,
open-plan treehouse.
At night the tree canopy is floodlit from below to frame a
dark skyscape of glittering stars above the bistro-style alfresco
Turtle House restaurant and cocktail bar. This serves global grills
and Indian tandoor classics, such as perfectly cooked skewers
of spiced lobster and paneer. My curry leaf martini came with
an eco-friendly papaya stem straw, fitting in seamlessly with
the hotel’s strong commitment to conservation and sustainable
luxury tourism.
The archipelagos of the Andaman and Nicobar, just over 1,350
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