Some families are just natural to hospitality. The Panakkals of Kallanchery Island never had a rule about it. Feeding people, welcoming them, and making them comfortable came naturally long before there was a name for it.
When traditional businesses wound down, Rockey Lawrence, trained for nearly 20 years in England's finest restaurants, encouraged his parents to open their ancestral home to guests. His mother, Lillykutty, welcomed guests with unforgettable flavours, while his father, Lawrence, made every visitor feel at home. Together, they opened Kumbalanghi's first homestay, where many guests who came for a night kept coming back for years.
Rockey later returned with his wife Dhanya, an Ayurvedic doctor, and a shared vision: to grow what his parents had built without losing what made it special. Sanskreti The Heritage is the family's way of welcoming the world with the same warmth that began years ago. It is a heritage resort in Kumbalanghi and a family-run resort in Kochi, and the Sanskreti story keeps writing itself.
Rockey Lawrence
Co-Founder
Rockey trained for nearly two decades in the kitchens and dining rooms of England, restaurants, hotels and golf clubs. He came back not just as a chef, but as someone who understood hospitality at every level. His cooking has been recognised by Lonely Planet. His greatest influence, though, remains his mother's kitchen on Kallanchery Island.
Dr. Dhanya Mathew
Co-Founder
Dhanya is an Ayurvedic doctor by training, and the vision behind Parampara Spa, Sanskreti's wellness offering. She brings a practitioner's understanding of traditional Kerala therapies to the guest experience, ensuring that what is offered is authentic, not ornamental. Together with Rockey, she shapes the ethos of the resort: rooted, mindful and deeply personal.
Sanskreti sits on Kallanchery Island in Kumbalanghi, Kochi, a working fishing village surrounded by the Vembanad backwaters. The architecture is a quiet blend of traditional Kerala style and Portuguese-colonial influence: arched verandahs, sloping terracotta rooftops, and wide-open spaces that draw the outdoors in.
The waterfront lawn stretches to the lake's edge. Chinese fishing nets arc over the water at dusk. On certain nights, the backwaters glow, a natural phenomenon called Kavaru, or bioluminescence, that has no parallel in the region.
Sustainable by design, the resort runs on solar energy, harvests rainwater, and has eliminated single-use plastic from its operations.
We want to build a collection of soulful retreats, rooted in culture, nature and meaningful hospitality.
We aim to create authentic and sustainable hospitality experiences that celebrate local heritage, empower communities, and reconnect people with life's simple joys.
We honour the true spirit of every destination through genuine experiences, local culture and heartfelt human connection.
Hospitality here is not a performance. It is warmth delivered with humility, care and sincerity, the way this family has always done it.
We grow alongside the communities around us, supporting local talent, artisans, farmers and the fishermen who have shaped this island's identity.
We tread lightly: solar energy, rainwater harvesting, plastic-free practices and responsible tourism that respects what is here.
We believe a good stay restores something in you. Through nature, Ayurveda and slow living, we create space for that.
The stories, recipes, crafts and rituals of Kumbalanghi are not just context, they are the experience. We are here to keep them alive.
Kallanchery Island has fed, sheltered and welcomed people for over a century. Stay with us and become part of the story.
