Kovalam hotels & places to stay

From check in until check out we really enjoyed our stay at the UDS. This was our last stop on our trip to Kerala. Every member of staff from the porters up to the management were so friendly and respectful. We liked our room which had everything we needed to enjoy a relaxing stay. The access to the beach was great and contrary to what other reviewers have written, the beach is great and you can swim in the sea. The local shops and restaurants are great and everybody is so friendly. Such a difference to the other side of Kovalam on Lighthouse Beach where everything is just too much! I almost don't want to write this review, as we may not get a room when we next visit Kovalam, but feel it is so worthy. We have been visiting Kovalam for six years but have never stayed at the UDS before. We will definitely stay there again and would recommend it. We feel it offers very good value for money and far outweighs any of the other hotels in the same category. Keep it up UDS, we will most definitely be back. Thank you. John and Debbie H (London).

We live in Delhi and spent 3 nights at Turtle On The Beach for holidays. This hotel offers best scenery in Kovalam Beach area (except Leela which is located slightly away from Kovalam Beach). Please have a try climbing up at Sky Suite for the best view. The hotel is not located ‘on the beach’ but in a walking distance from the beach. The only thing you need to consider is a steep slope which you need to climb up when coming back to the hotel. The staffs are super friendly and are ready to offer any support. At the time of our visit, we were offered to take better rooms instead of the lower grade room which we booked. This may not be expected every time however, the readiness to offer the best service feels so nice, especially if you are a visitor from other major cities in India. The hospitality of this hotel is definitely better than those ‘Luxurious’ and ‘Gorgeous’ 5 star hotels. Besides, surfing at Lighthouse Beach is FUN!

fantastic stay in a room facing the sea fantastic food and everything you can expect from a 3star hotel and even more perfect location 5 minutes walk to kovalam center but at the same time quiet location with private beach. not hasseled by the locals which can be very annoying here in india for women fantastic aryuvedic center within the hotel. private yoga lessons... we extend our stay...

I have never experienced this kind of calmness during family trips. Usually it is quite tiring, but here every night sleep was excellent,we were able to dose off in minutes with the continuous waves making tranquil music. Another thing I really enjoyed was watching the sunset straight from our room. We stayed in Pandanus and we were so lucky to get this individual bungalow. We booked premium heritage and it is really worth the money. For one afternoon we went lunch for at the Leela Kovalam, we were happy that we dint get rooms there. What we personally dint like there was the over crowd, here the resort has only about 30 rooms and we had great privacy at the pool, beach and garden which we really enjoyed. The service was at par with star hotels. They made our room twice every day and tats needs to be appreciated. Though the food menu was very limited it was good for my stomach, when i gave my view regarding this, John at the front desk informed they are already working on adding new items to menu. Altogether it would be the ideal resort for a family looking for good privacy with great location and star service.

The property: The property is spread around a vast area. It includes two swimming pools, heritage cottages, normal rooms, spa, ayurvedic restaurant and a multi cuisine restaurant. It has access to the beach, about 5 mins from property. The landscaping is well planned and beautifully maintained. It has parking space also. Room: We booked a normal room but we were upgraded to a cottage. Spacious room with all amenities of a 4 star hotel room including a mini refrigerator. The washroom is the best part, architecture is such that you will feel the natural with full privacy. Food: This is the part which disappointed me but not that bad. The breakfast and lunch were buffet, except few changes rest everything in menu remained the same most days. Apart buffet you can order ala carte. The taste is fine but on two occasions I had to complain that the food I got wasn’t cooked properly. The cost is fine.

What I like the most about the Surya Beach Resort is the location where this one is located. Exceptional see view resort I should say. The placing of the balconies is just brilliant. You can enjoy the see view and the cool breeze by zipping your drinks & having your food or snacks as there are quality wooden chairs and teapoy provided in the balcony. We were not expecting this much while booking this one. Only thing that I could see as a negative aspect is the quality of the doors and their locks. Doesn't look too much neat. Also the TV and other electricals including the water heater had some technical glitches. But the staff were immediate to respond to our complaints and fixed minor issues in no-time, although major issues were not. Hopefully they will make proper maintenance and repairing now on. Worth mentioning is the quality and quantity of the complimentory breakfast provided. We were served almost 10 Idly per person and surplus Sambar with Tea. Hats off to Rejith(front office manager) and his room boys for making our stay pleasant with their friendly and helpful behaviour. Looking forward for more happier stays at your place in the future. Hopefully you people will make it even more happier next time by rectifying even the minor faults I have pointed out. :)

We found the Sea Face to be a very good hotel with comfortable rooms in an outstanding location. The rooms were fully equipped to a high degree and had very comfortable beds. All linen and towels were changed daily It was ideally placed for the beach and the walkway to all the local bars and cafes. The pool was very clean and tidy. As it was the beginning of the season there was plenty of room to lounge about on the sunbeds. We did not eat in the restaurant but other guests assured us the food was very good. We did study the menu and it offered a wide range at reasonable prices. The weather was cloudy on a couple of days as the second monsoon was just coming to an end however this was most welcome and a break from the sun. The temperature was around 25-30C. So much so we now think November is a good time to go to Kovalam and avoid the growing band of tourists who go Jan - March. In general we really enjoyed our stay at the Sea Face and hopefully we will be going again.

The Searock is conveniently located at the north end of Kovalam beach and taxis and autorikshaws can drive to the hotel entrance. I recently spent 8 weeks travelling in India. Of the many hotels I stayed in, the Searock was certainly the least friendly. In addition, the poorly lit reception area and corridors are not particularly welcoming. There is no elevator. Our room and bathroom were large and basically decorated but without any frills or charm. Soap was furnished but nothing else – no complementary bottled water, shampoo, facial tissues or coffee maker. We even had to ask for toilet tissue!! Although we were travelling as a couple, we were usually given only 1 towel and 1 top sheet for the bed. Several times, we had to request the missing items from housekeeping. The room was not particularly clean. There were big smudges on the mirror and the windows had obviously not been cleaned for years. The rooms have balconies but select your room category carefully if you want a view. Some more expensive rooms have a view directly over the beach. Other rooms have a partial view of one end of the beach and the beach parking area. There is free Wi-Fi only in the hotel lobby but it worked well. The hotel restaurant was not open during our stay. Breakfast is served, without a smile, on the open terrace facing the beach. This is a nice place for watching local fishermen pulling in their big net with the day’s catch, but watch out for ravens that can swoop down and steal your toast.

In its category it is Best Architecturally designed hotel in Kovalam as it is neat and clean delicious breakfast with two swimming pool, walking distance from beach with a grand balcony attached to room. powerful Room AC is highly effective along with laying in open air terrace along swimming pool.Excellent Ayurveda massage facility reasonable priced Negative part is that the luxurious rooms shown in website pictures are never allocated rather they will give you low class rooms whose pics are not advertised. This gives a feeling of being cheated as I expected a lot after seeing the pics of rooms in website. The rooms have outdated fixtures ( plumbing, bath tub, switches) and furniture and you will never get glimpses of sea front. The Ola and Uber are not allowed to come by local cabs and available Taxi are high priced. Dont miss high speed motor boats available on other side of Leela hotel. Rs 500 for a boat for 10 minutes.

the abad harmonia is a beautiful resort located in kochuppally some 12 kilometres south of kovalam (as opposed to being in the heart of kovalam beach as shown on some internet maps). it is the perfect oasis surrounded by the lush vegetation, ideal to get away from the crowds. the hotel main feature is the enormous pool located at the heart of the resort and surrounded by very tall palm trees and charming huts. the room we were given was also very impressive, fully equipped with all the needed amenities, including a very large bed and a modern bathroom. the resort offers 2 restaurants, one for snacks during the day and the other for the morning and evening buffets. the only downside of the resort is that it is quite isolated and is away from the region’s best beaches, but accessible by rickshaw or taxi. it offers enormous value when it comes to quality price and i would strongly recommend it as long as you are not looking to be in the heart of the action. learn more about kovalam, kerala and the abad harmonia at funky india.

Dear Team, stay was excellent, The staff is friendly and helpfull. specially thanks to Mr. Vichhu, he helped to us on backwater cruise booking, and in other things. i recommend to this hotel for stay in Kovalam beach, main plus point of this hotel is its in front of SEA. we can walk any time on beach, this beach is more secure. nearby pure VEG food also available. light house is just nearby hotel. Thanks Vichhu, deebu and other staff members. Regards, Manish

We stayed at this hotel for 2 nights and it was awesome experience w.r.t room, service etc. Staff was very good to take care of all your needs, swimming pool on roof top directly giving you the view to the beach was maintained very well. Location of this hotel is the best to stay on Kovalam beach. Only thing they could improve it is to add some more items for veggies for dinner buffet they arranged during this carnival time. Breakfast buffet was pretty gud. Anytime i am visiting Kovalam will stay at this hotel.

after having booked a suite room with agoda for this property, when we landed there, the property had no clue of our reservations. however they took us in but they were almost full. we finally got a standard room which was in fifth floor. elevator ends at 4 and we had to climb a steep long stairs with our luggage. the room is below average and not worth the price. Hot water stopped at 8am, and the management said electrician is on the way to repair the motor. he never shows up, we finally had to manage without a shower. never consider this property.

Felt very fortunate to stay at this homestay. The family really couldn't do enough for us, organising laundry and explaining how to get to the various beaches (we opted for The Lighthouse Beach) and recommending restaurants etc. Dr Antony and son Alan really proved a Godsend when my husband broke a tooth, recommending an excellent dentist, booking a visit and even running us there. The upstairs apartment has a double bed and a single, with hard but orthopaedic memory foam mattresses. There's a bathroom with shower and hot water, a TV with lots of channels, and you can climb onto the roof terrace where the laundered clothes are hung to dry.

If you're choosing the Samudra beach resort it needs to fit into what you want of your trip to Kovalam. It's not posh. If you want posh go to the Leela or Turtle on the beach and pay 3 or 4 times as much for a room. It's situated up a hill within local dwellings. The main touristy area of Lighthouse beach is a 15 minute walk which as a positive means you get some exercise - if not there are plenty of autoricks. If you need 24/7 wi-fi this is definitely not for you as the wi-fi can be temperamental and is not in all areas. Breakfast is simple Indian style with one or two extras and can be bit bland/boring after a while. We used the S.B.R. as our accommodation/base for almost 2 weeks and had a great time in Kerala we hope this review is a help.