Bolgatty Palace and Island Resort — Attraction in Kerala

Bolgatty Palace & Island Resort: A Royal Dream Realised at Last

If you’ve ever walked Marine Drive and gazed across the water at that majestic palace, you know the daydream: “One day, I’ll stay there.” I finally did—and it was everything I imagined and more.

A Place That Carries History

Bolgatty Palace isn’t just another fancy hotel—it’s a legend. Built in 1744 by the Dutch, it’s the oldest Dutch palace outside the Netherlands. Later, it became the British Resident’s home, and in 2001 KTDC lovingly turned it into a heritage resort. Nestled on Bolgatty Island amid calm backwaters and greenery, it's both serene and accessible—an oasis just minutes from Kochi’s city chatter.

Why This Stay Meant That Much

When I was a kid in 1999, I visited with my family—not as a guest, but as a wide-eyed spectator. We came by ferry from the High Court side, explored the grounds, rode horses, and dreamt of staying inside those cottages. I remember looking jealously at guests who seemed to live in a storybook.

Fast forward to now, and I finally booked that dream—last Tuesday to Wednesday. Weekends? Forget it—they’re almost always fully booked. And here was the full-circle moment: I used to look at Bolgatty from Marine Drive; now I was on its balcony, looking back across the water. Magic.

My Room, the View, and a Pro Tip

Stayed in room 504 (Marina View)—east-facing balcony, sunrise across the waters. Perfect. But honestly, 503 or 603 would have framed that view even better, right in the center.

Rooms to choose from:

Palace Suites (4 rooms) – rich heritage, and the only ones with bathtubs.

Naalukettu Heritage Rooms (12) – classic Kerala style.

Lakefront Cottages (6) – cozy waterside stays.

Executive Garden View (24) – calm and green.

Marina View Rooms (10) – new block from around 2010, facing east with balconies.

Tip: I booked via MakeMyTrip, where Marina View listings implied bathtubs were included. Spoiler: only the Palace Suites have them! A surprise worth noting, so book wisely. And for the best view I would recommend rooms 503 or 603 as they comes right in the middle with the perfect symmetry. And yes, Western Kerala is sunset country, but here you get a sunrise over the lake—a rare treat.

Also—love the vintage vibe as I do—the lift in the block is old-style and works fine, but it does creak just enough to make you hold your breath a little.

What’s On the Island

The grounds are a world unto themselves:

A 9-hole golf course (since 1925!) wraps around the island.

A swimming pool near the palace (open mornings till evening).

Ayurvedic spa and wellness center.

Bolgatty Event Centre for weddings and conferences.

Marina and boat cruises.

Recreation room with games like billiards and chess.

Breakfast is served in the old palace building, next to the pool. Lovely spread—Kerala specialties, continental, North Indian—simple, good, and satisfying.

The People & Little Touches

Staff were genuinely warm—helping with early check-in and late check-out. Toiletries (though basic), friendlies, clean rooms. The tranquility, midnight lights on the marina, sunrise, pedal walks… moments to cherish.

A Few Hiccups

Short evening power outages—UPS or solar backup would solve it.

Signs of age—like a non-working TV. The heritage deserves better care.

Photography fee is ₹5,000 for DSLR use—even for guests. Too steep for such a lovely place.

Movie Buff Corner

Bolgatty’s cinematic allure isn’t imaginary:

Vellinakshatram (2004, Malayalam)

My Boss (2012, Malayalam)

Nirakkoottu (1985, Malayalam)

Plus reported that Shah Rukh Khan shot for Yes Boss (1997, Hindi) here. It’s no surprise it’s been a filming favorite for years .

Final Take

This isn’t just a resort—it’s a memory vessel. A place you walk into history. If you grow up admiring it from across the water, and one day you wake up in it—well, that’s magic.

Book early. Ask for room 503 or 603 if possible. Bring time to linger. Bolgatty isn’t just a stay—it’s a story you’ll...

Stayed at this historical hotel of Bolgatty Resort. This hotel is located in a breadth-taking separate island connected with a small bridge to mainland. We attend the Indian Boat Show which was held at the Bolgatty Event Centre. This hotel is a accommodation partner of the Boat Show and therefore, we got good rates as participants. The check-in and everything was very smooth and we made the booking directly with the hotel Reception via email. They response the emails in timely manner. They DO NOT have airport paickup or drop off services, and it is like 1.5 hour away from the airport. They have a good restaurant and bar as well. We stayed 4 days, and the breakfast was almost the same for everyday. For the breakfast, the omelette station is very slow, and please keep that in mind. We took a dinner buffet and it was very good I would say. Lots of varieties were there at the dinner buffet and the price was reasonable. The bar serves a good variety of liquor and finger-foods can be ordered. The hotel is very famous for weddings and corporate events and similar family-led activities. Since the hotel is very much isolated from the busy bustling Kochi, this is very ideal for the weddings. During the weekend there was a wedding happening and the whole hotel was booked by the wedding family. The place is quite and away from all other disturbances. They have a beautiful lawn, a garden and a small swimming pool. The picture perfect for the wedding people. The rooms are extremely spacious. They have all types of amenities in the bathroom and a beautiful spacious balcony is there in each room. The hotel is just 2 floors and therefore does not have a lift. Furthermore there is a ‘golf course’ name board, but I don’t think anybody is playing Golf there. But it is a wonderful view and scenery. To my surprise there is no proper gym at the Hotel, however you can always come out for morning or evening walk or jogging. In this island there is no other eateries or places where you can take a walk. You need to get a taxi or three-wheeler to go out for eateries or shopping. Please keep in mind always that this is a separate island. The only option to move around easily is by vehicle or a bike. They have a buggy-cart service and if you request them, they can drop you to the entrance gate (which is like 3 mins walk). The staffs are very friendly and professional. Since this hotel is managed and operated by the Kerela Tourism Board, they are maintaining a good professionalism among the staffs. If you are looking for a peaceful and quite holiday, or a wedding celebration or even a corporate event, this might be the best choice. Last but not least, please keep in mind that this is a very historical hotel. This is the Palace of post-colonial era. If you love history and culture, this is a wonderful masterpiece to have a look. The Palace is located in a sperate building and can...

Hi I am Nisha Nair working in a reputed Travel agency at a good position in Kochi. As aTravel agent I wanted to reveal a very bad exposure that I got from Bolgatty Palace. I had called the Bolgatty front office manager Ms.Sindhu to book a one day Onam theme Photo Shoot for 6th August, 2023 with few of my friends.During the conversation with Mis.Sindhu I got a very pathetic experience as initially during the call she was refusing to give the permission for Photo shoot in palace lawn area but later she agreed to provide us room as favour for a cost of 4000/- including room for wash and and change.

However, the experience we got after reaching the Palace was very pathetic as the front office officer behaved very rudely to us and again refused to avail the facility even after agreeing for the Photo Shoot as she was nagging continuously and restricted us to use the palace for the Shoot.After arguments she gave us the Palace Lawn for the shoot as favour for a cost of 4000/- and she agrred to give one room for wash and change at that time.

She didn't even ask me, though being a travel agent to ask that I belonged to which Travel firm which itself shows how bad she is in her profession and due to her behaviour it will affect the Palace which is nothing but run by KTDC. This defines that Private firms are far better than this.

The worst part is that after our Photo Shoot as per the norms we should be provided room as we had paid for it but shockingly we were not given any room to change also as the Front office manager refused to provide us rooms saying that rooms are full but later after lot of request she provided us rooms as favour but that too Used rooms by other customers which were in a very bad condition but as we not no option as per need we had to use it, the room was not at all hygienic to be used as the rooms were untidy and very ugly and moreover the washrooms were not even flushed which is such inhuman action to a customer. The Front office manager Mis.Sindhu also lied to us that no rooms were available but we could see vacant rooms in the palace.But I think it was the Front office manager's grudge that she made us use the used rooms even after paying for it which is not at all commendable. It is really a very bad experience that I faced in 13 years of my career where such a bad front office manager deals with the customers in a rude manner.

Being a Travel agent I will never recommend the Bolgaty Palace to my customers or to my loved ones as the experience which I got is really worst and unimaginable to a common man. I think KTDC should rethink before hiring such bad managers like Mis.Sindhu who are a hindrance on the growth...