The Dunnottar Bungalow is a private five-bedroom 19th-century Scottish heritage bungalow on Kodaikanal Lake, spread across the North and South Bungalows and set within one acre of eucalyptus, pine, lawns, and garden paths.

When you book the Whole Bungalow, the entire property is yours. Five bedrooms across two bungalows. Three living rooms. Two dining rooms. Two studies. Patios, lawns, garden terraces, hammocks, bicycles, bonfire spaces, and the wood-fired pizza oven.

The house is staffed, breakfast is included, and the rest of the day can be planned with the bungalow kitchen. Lunch, dinner, snacks, tiffin, grill, and wood-fired pizzas are available on request and charged separately.

The Dunnottar has always been a house shaped by family, the lake, the trees, and time spent together. Opening it to guests is our way of letting that tradition continue.

As featured in Condé Nast Traveller India, Architectural Digest India, Vogue India, and Design Pataki.

Life in the two Bungalows

North Bungalow — two bedrooms: The Dunnottar Suite and the Master Bedroom. The Dunnottar Suite was once the original living room of the house. Its high ceilings and wooden beams remain; it now has a private entrance, separate sitting room with fireplace, dressing room, and ensuite bathroom. The North Bungalow also has a Sun Room with views into the eucalyptus and pine, a library living room with fireplace, a study lit by a natural skylight, and a family dining room overlooking the garden.

South Bungalow — three bedrooms: The Rose Library, The Boiler Room, and The Old Study. The Rose Library takes its name from the shelves along one wall. The Boiler Room once heated the Chamberlain bath water; photographs of the original boilers remain on the wall. The Old Study keeps the writing desk and window light that made it one. The South Bungalow also has an open loft-style living and dining room, a South Patio, and the South Garden Terrace with a long wooden table, hammock, and wood-fired pizza oven set into the stone wall.

Both bungalows have their own kitchen, dining room, living room, and study. All five bedrooms have ensuite bathrooms. Each bungalow has a powder room in the living area. Parking is available for up to five cars.

Dining

Breakfast is included for every guest. Lunch, dinner, snacks, tiffin, grill, and wood-fired pizzas are available on request from the bungalow kitchen and charged separately. The kitchen is open from 8am to 9pm.

Bungalow at a Glance

North Bungalow

- The Dunnottar Suite — sleeps 4, private entrance, sitting room with fireplace, dressing room, ensuite bathroom

- Master Bedroom — sleeps 3, ensuite bathroom

- Sun Room — family room, forest-facing views, access to main lawn

- North Library Room — living room with fireplace

- North Study — work desk, books, natural skylight

- North Dining Room — garden views, access to main lawn

- North Lawn — main bungalow lawn, long wooden table

- North Fireplace — outdoor bonfire area

South Bungalow

- The Rose Library — sleeps 3, ensuite bathroom

- The Boiler Room — sleeps 2, original boiler history on the wall, ensuite bathroom

- The Old Study — sleeps 3, writing desk, ensuite bathroom

- South Living and Dining Room — open loft-style room with high ceilings and forest views

- South Study — work desk, books, board games

- South Patio — outdoor seating with garden views

- South Garden Terrace — vine-covered outdoor patio with a long wooden table, hammock, and wood-fired pizza oven set into the stone wall

Since 1947

The house has been in our family since 1947, when it was purchased by Puliyadi Kuppuswami Iyer from Lord Chamberlain, a Scotsman who left for the United Kingdom with two suitcases. Almost everything else stayed — the furniture, the paintings, the bookcases, the brass.

For four generations, the Puliyadi family has returned here to spend time slowly: walking through the grounds, eating together, sitting by the fire, and gathering under the trees. The one-acre grounds are part of the house’s rhythm — space to walk, read, picnic, play, or do very little at all. Mornings often begin outdoors, with breakfast in the garden. Afternoons move between the verandah, the lawn, and the lake. Evenings gather around the wood-fired pizza oven or the bonfire.

The Dunnottar has always been a house shaped by family, the lake, the trees, and time spent together. Opening it to guests is our way of letting that tradition continue.