Housed in a historic French mansion, Palais de Mahe is a lovely, intimate boutique hotel catering primarily to leisure travelers, mainly couples. From the outside, this elegant property fits in beautifully with its French Quarter surroundings, with egg yolk-yellow exteriors, white trim, and oak balconies and doors. Inside, the lobby is equally charming, with gray-and-white checkerboard marble floors, dark-wood furniture with soft mustard-hued upholstery, and high-arched ceilings. An elevator leads up to the rooms on the middle and top floors, all of which are accessed via semi-open hallways that look down on the snug courtyard pool. 

Palais de Mahe is located right in the heart of Pondicherry's charming French Quarter, a block away from the lovely seafront promenade, and a 15-minute walk from the Aurobindo Ashram. Getting to the main long-distance bus station takes about the same amount of time on foot (or about five minutes by car or auto-rickshaw). Auroville, an international experimental community and major tourist attraction, takes 35 minutes to reach by car. It's just under a two-hour drive to reach the ancient sea-facing temple ruins at Mahabalipuram. It's about a three-hour drive to the state capital of Chennai (formerly Madras) where the closest major airport is located. The local Pondicherry Airport, which -- at the time of research -- only had one commercial flight service (to/from Hyderabad), is a 20-minute drive away. 

The 18 air-conditioned rooms here are elegant and spacious, with classic vintage decor including intricately carved wooden desks, wardrobes, and bed frames (some four-poster style), polished stone floors, and high ceilings, plus separate living areas with similar decor. Modern amenities include safes, wall-mounted flat-screen TVs, minibars, and kettles. Bathrooms are also large and classic, with deep marble-framed soaking tubs, wooden towel racks, and large walk-in showers. Robes and toiletries are provided.

This small hotel doesn't have a ton of features, though there is a lovely -- if smallish -- lap pool in the courtyard. There's also an on-site massage room with a wooden massage table for Ayurvedic massages and treatments. There's no gym, but free loaner bikes are available. Mahe de Malabar offers both Indian and continental cuisine, including an la carte breakfast service in the mornings and sandwiches, curries, meats, and seafoods for lunch and dinner. Other features include free Wi-Fi, along with a small business center (really just a computer and a cabinet full of books for guests to borrow).