Wind & Wave Villas vs Ocean Spray, side by side

What does Ocean Spray offer?

Ocean Spray is a full service resort laid out around its own artificial lake. The centrepiece is the swimming pool, a lagoon style pool that ranks among the largest in the area, and dining is set over the water. There is a restaurant, a cafe and a barbecue area, so meals are always close at hand.

For downtime there is a spa offering massages, a jacuzzi and indoor games, and the resort offers a family day care service, which parents of small children will appreciate. Its villas come with balconies, and guests have beach access.

It is a place where everything is laid on. The trade off is that the pool, the lake and the dining are shared with every other guest, and on busy weekends the resort feels like a resort: lively, full and well staffed.

What do our villas offer?

We are a gated coastal property in a quiet community, built around houses rather than rooms. Our five 3BHK villas, Villas 15 to 19, each have a private swimming pool, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, five queen beds and two living rooms with a view of the pool. Each sleeps up to 10 guests and has a kitchen, a dedicated workspace and a projector or home theatre.

There are also eight 2BHK Luxury Stays for up to 6 guests with a home theatre and a common pool, and 2BHK villas 09 to 14 for up to 4 guests that share a pool. Villa No 2 has a sea facing terrace and sleeps up to 8. Villa No 2 and Villa No 5 both allow pets.

Every unit has air conditioning and fans, generator backup, wifi and an outdoor shower, with free parking inside the gate and self check-in. Food can be arranged, but there is no restaurant, spa or day care on site.

How do the locations compare for getting around?

Both properties sit north of Pondicherry, so both are on the Chennai side and quick to reach from the city along the coast. Ocean Spray at Manjakuppam is the nearer of the two to the town.

We are further up the coast at Chettikuppam, where the villages thin out and the beach is quieter. Pondicherry town and Auroville are each about a 30 minute drive, close enough for dinner in the French Quarter or a morning at the Matrimandir viewing point. The beach is a 700 m walk from our gate.

From either place, you will want a car or a cab for outings. If you are weighing up which part of the coast suits you best, our guide to beaches near Pondicherry compares them for swimming, surfing and quiet.

Pools and privacy: how do they compare?

Ocean Spray's pool is a destination in itself. If you love a big lagoon pool, a jacuzzi and a lake to look at, it delivers. You share all of it with the rest of the resort, though, and keep to resort hours.

Our pools are smaller and they are yours. In a 3BHK villa nobody else uses the pool, so you can swim at sunrise, after lunch or late at night after a film in the home theatre, and the two living rooms look straight onto the water. The 2BHK stays share a pool between a small group of units, which is still much quieter than a large resort.

If the pool is the reason for the trip, the question is simple: do you want the biggest pool, or your own one?

Families, groups and couples: which suits whom?

Choose Ocean Spray if you want a spa, a restaurant and cafe, a jacuzzi, indoor games and day care for small children, all handled for you. A couple wanting a resort weekend with massages and meals cooked every day, or parents who would value a few hours of child care, will find it the better pick, and that is worth saying plainly.

Choose our villas if you are a family or group who would rather share a house than spread across rooms. Ten people in one 3BHK villa get three bathrooms, a kitchen, two living rooms and a private pool, and with 21 villas and stays behind one gate, a large family, a wedding party or a team offsite can book several villas together and still keep their own space.

What are the key differences at a glance?

The short version, point by point.

• Location: Ocean Spray is on the ECR at Manjakuppam. We are at Chettikuppam, further up the coast.
• Pool: Ocean Spray has a large shared lagoon pool and a jacuzzi. Our 3BHK villas each have a private pool.
• Food: Ocean Spray has a restaurant, a cafe and a barbecue area. We have villa kitchens and can arrange food.
• Spa and child care: Ocean Spray has both. We have neither.
• Space: our 3BHK villas sleep up to 10 with three bathrooms and two living rooms.
• Evenings: Ocean Spray has indoor games. Most of our stays have a projector or home theatre.
• Pets: allowed in our Villa No 2 and Villa No 5.