Chivalric white pennants flutter above the discreet entrance, then a winding path leads from the beach into the dappled, swept-sand garden of Yab Yum (Tibetan for 'father-mother'/'two-in-one'). The resort has 12 comfortingly rounded, grass-roofed domes and 4 simpler blue-and-white cottages. Shaded by coconut palms during the day and twinkling with strings of fairy lights and blue paper lanterns by night, it seems to have leapt from the pages of a fairytale.

Manager Charanjit (he's happy to be called by his surname Pal as that’s much easier to remember) clearly knows the importance of caring details. An incense-burner is in each room; hand-woven, richly-coloured Rajasthani 'paintings' hang above every bed; muslin curtains waft in front of the propped-open palm window shutters. Countless baby potted plants are lovingly watered daily. A tasty organic breakfast is served on your own little table outside your pod or cottage. You can either sunbathe by the fireplace circle and plunge pool, or have sunloungers carried down to the beach.

Rooms

All the rooms - domes and cottages - are simple, spacious and fun, decked out with muslin curtains that flutter in the sea breezes and vivid hand-woven Rajasthani patchwork paintings above each bed. You get one of the loveliest incenses in the world - Nagchampa - and candles for those tropical romantic nights. And we loved the bucket of water beside your door to wash sandy feet in - an inspired touch.

The 10 domes or igloos are each constructed of 3 circular bases made of blue-and-purple-painted concrete and cement, all topped by rounded domed roofs of shaggy dried grass that reminded us of Dougal from the Magic Roundabout. The first circle makes the entrance, with banquettes to either side. The second and largest is the bedroom, which features stone-platform beds with cotton linen, hand-made mattresses, blankets and feather pillows. The third is the bathroom. The circular construction and unfussy but pretty decoration makes for a magical and organic space. Wherever possible, local materials have been used such as lava rock blocks, mango wood for the tables, and mud, clays and sand. Our only caveat is that sometimes the domes can get stuffy at night.

Top of the range are 2 larger domes: Honey Pod, which sleeps 2, and sits on the top of the dunes that conceal the resort from the beach, and its neighbour the Double Suite Pod. This consists of a double dome with 2 bedrooms, a shared bathroom and living area, and a sea-facing terrace. There are also 2 family domes with 1 double and 2 single beds in the main sleeping chamber.

The 4 white-walled cottages are old Portuguese buildings which have been there for many years (you’re no longer allowed to build on or right beside the beach thanks to coastal conservation regulations). Inside they're plain and simple, with glass windows and verandas.

All the bathrooms are clean with fresh towels, although there was a suspicious trickle coming from the base of our toilet and the water struggled to get more than lukewarm. Rooms are cleaned daily, if you remember to leave them unpadlocked so the staff can get in, and linen is changed every other day.

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