Fodor's Expert Review The Malabar House

This luxurious but homey early-18th-century Dutch villa is highlighted by a dramatic and very tempting swimming pool, garnished with fallen frangipani, sitting in its courtyard garden. Rooms in this delightful hotel, which once housed European traders and bankers, are a mixture of regional-traditional and contemporary style and a mismatch of colors. The blue-and-red walls are offset by antique wooden furnishings and somehow, the curious combinations of elements work.