Eco Villa Palm Beach Resort — Hotel in Havelock island

Here on our 2nd honeymoon, for 2 magical days & full moon-lit “Holi” nights in Mar 2010, we had the entire resort just to ourselves, amidst serene palm tree trails & wicker-walled cottages, leading up to expansive white sand beaches strewn with boulder corals, submerged in the mesmerizing turquoise waters of the clear blue-green ocean, bordered by dense mangrove plantations, the gentle sunshine & the cool sea breeze caressing our faces all day long, while we lay idling sleepily on hammocks. Fourteen years later in Mar 2024, when we decided to revisit with our 12 yr old son, Eco Villa (running successfully for last 27 yrs since 1997) was our natural choice once again, and they have exceeded our expectations this time also, making every minute of our stay comfortable & worthwhile.

Located just on the beachfront (unlike most other facilities), right next to the timid waters lapping up during high tides, the breathtaking scenery visible right from our balcony & cottage windows as well as the open air dining was a welcome improvement from last time and added a lot to the charm of our stay. The landscaped garden lined up with Aparajita vines, figurines of sea horses, dolphin heads, mermaids & giant octopuses around a sparkling small swimming pool was a pleasant surprise too.

Perhaps more popular amongst foreigners, backpackers, bachelors & scuba-enthusiasts than Indian families, the serenity & seclusion of this well-kempt, well-serviced, immaculate & picturesque facility, its carefully cultivated laid-back rustic feel (replete nevertheless with all modern amenities & facilities including Wi-Fi, AC, geyser, electric kettle, fridge & mini-bar, toiletry, etc at an extremely reasonable & affordable tariff) was a wonderful rediscovery amidst the usual din & bustle, buzz & loud chatter of a busy tourist season in the more swanky, lavish, opulent & expensive tourist places around. The occasional buzz of a bee, marching of a line of red ants or the fall of pebble-sized tender baby coconuts from the tree-tops were a few additional touches to cherish, while relaxing on our personal hammock by turns, which they gladly took immense pains to hang up just for our pleasure.

The staff & service were exceptionally prompt, vigilant, ever smiling, extremely caring, helpful & forthcoming with suggestions, particularly fellow Kolkatan Manoj Naskar – always found to be on his feet, making an extra effort to make everybody’s stay extra pleasant & comfortable, not just ours. Not to mention the extremely approachable, affable & amiable young proprietor & director Sajan Pulinchery from Thrissur, Kerala – a devout ecologist, environmentalist, idealist & conservationist, a highly qualified marine biologist of international repute & exposure, a coral replantation & mangrove reclamation activist, besides being a highly-skilled scuba diving expert & instructor, with decades of experience. He reassured & guided us through every step of the way, right from booking, payments, billing, ferry timings, timely pick up & drop, arranging trips to Radhanagar & Kalapatthar Beach (where we were accidentally reunited with our old acquaintance from last time, Rishi of Riya-Priya Travels). Learning of our special medical needs (liver transplant donor & recipient on lifelong immunosuppressant drugs) he issued strict instructions to his kitchen staff to adopt extra precautions. He kept adding his personal touches whenever possible, from putting up our hammock to teaching us how to fasten the mariner’s knot. Our deeply philosophical interactions from time to time, even during our very brief stay added another dimension to the entire experience.

The food is fresh, healthy & tasty, served with care & thought, the variety on the menu endless. Only the complimentary breakfast perhaps could have been a little more filling & sumptuous, added as an after thought. In a word, felt thoroughly fulfilled at the end of our entire stay, both the times. Signing off with heartfelt thanks to the entire team from this doctor with the promise of a return very soon in the...

A poor man’s paradise at a rich man’s prices Terrible WiFi Terrible electric that keeps cutting out countless times in one night . Power surges and power cuts In the six nights at eco villa I didn’t get one single proper hot shower . One of the rooms was up a very steep set of stairs , the bathroom being on the ground level. The bed itself laid on the floor. The bed wasn’t a bed but a piece of yellow sponge with some bed sheets on it, and this room was 4,000 a night.

The curtains were pointless as they let all the light in. The WiFi is very unreliable and patchy so it’s impossible to work. We were forced to take a taxi daily to a different hotel to use a clean pool of a decent size and get decent WiFi and comfortable sun loungers! With cushions. The beach that eco sits on is dirty. With large old machinery left to rot and rust on in. Disturbing the view. And loads of seaweed and plastic. It was also full of rocks , rubbish and very small in size. . When the tide comes in it’s non existent,

No bedside tables , no bedside lamps, and only one working plug socket that was at the opposite end of the room. Thankfully I am very familiar with how poor hotels are in India by comparison with the rest of Asia so I had come prepared with an extension cable and my own travel lamp. Sad that you have to bring such simple basic things such as a lamp and extra sockets for a room that was 5300 r a night. Would never happen In the rest of Asia, India has a lot still to learn. Despite being told the hotel was full and I had to pay for a more expense room to just get something decent, we noted that for the entire six days we were there the place felt empty despite being told the only available room he had left was the more expensive one. How convenient tor him. we asked about diving I was asked when I had done my last dive. I explained it was 2 years ago. And he proceeded to tell me he wanted to charge me 4500 r to do a refresher course. And then went on to tell me what the cost of the dives were. By this point I didn’t have the energy to explain that I have a PADI and a dive master and have done hundreds of dives in very challenging conditions and been a dive teacher. I could see that he was simply using the fact that I hadn’t done a dive in two years to make some more money out of us. We were also told that if we wanted to go ona boat for the day to snorkel the price was 25,000 r as we would have to get our own private boat and wouldn’t be able to join other boats to make it affordable. In all the countries I have travelled to , and they have been Many, I have never come across a plance that doesn’t provide the opportunity to share a boat with other strangers. I was suspicious that he was making this up in the hope we might be stupid enough to part with 25,000. He also wanted an astronomical amount of money for the snorkel masksWhen this should have been included with the boat price. When we asked about other activities on the island it was quite blatant to learn that there was nothing to do. There were no excursions. We were also told that if you are over 50 years the hotel will not rent you any scuba gear or snorkel gear. Because after all, 50 plus is ancient 😂On my last full day I wanted to get breakfast on my balcony. Because I had back pain. And the chairs to eat breakfast at this resort are made of bamboo with rusty nails sticking out and have been really uncomfortable. Or they have some plastic chairs that are equally bad. However on the balcony there is only one chair. For a room for two people.And no table. So the server was forced to place the breakfast onthe floor next to my chair. Because the hotel hasn’t provided sufficient furnitre. The grounds of this hotel have a tiny pool. Which is filthy, the water is very very cloudy and stagnant and in the whole six days we were there we never saw the staff attend to the pool properly once. Despite often being sat around it for most of the day , playing games on their phone! We knew from the moment we saw it we would not be getting in it as I...

The below song Best Times by Bobby summarizes our stay Oh, we had the best days of our life, Chilling by the beach, fine danced all night About the stay The most serene, tranquil and peaceful beach. We were staying literally on the beach (check the pic) and the stay was a great blend of modern and rustic life. Rooms have all the basic amenities for a relaxing stay. The ground floor has no ventilation for the night once the doors are closed (though the ventilation of 1st floor does help for the movement of the air even in the ground floor). The rooms were so cool that we hardly use the fans and AC. Natural breeze was the best even in this hot weather. The stairs to go to first floor is steep so you have to be careful while taking those steps and the charging plugs on ground floor is at a height making it difficult to charge on the ground floor. These are certainly small areas of improvement. The rooms and linens were super clean and there were About the meals It’s one of the best place to have meals. Beach-side facing. Delicious meals, we had most of our meals here itself. Fresh food, great taste, less oily, clean cutlery made the meals must have here. Hot and delicious breakfast is complimentary (cherry on the cake). About Scuba Diving and Snorkelling We did scuba diving while our parents as they’re senior citizens did snorkelling. They are professionals and are extremely patient and encouraging. Stay, food, scuba diving, snorkelling all under one roof. This was one of the reason for booking this place. We wanted a relaxing vacation and that is exactly what we experienced. This is one of the best place to do these activities, we really felt on top of the world even though we were underwaters  The fish, corals, planktons and even an abandoned cycle were best scenes our eyes could ever meet. Both our guides were the best. About Sajan A great gentleman. He ensures every minute aspect of our happiness. An eco-warrior, it was great to have conversations about nature and the well-being. Very supportive w.r.t our travel plan and catered to our needs. Soft spoken and even less spoken but has a wealth of knowledge related to the marine life, trees, recycling etc. About Sajan’s Team Always smiling and greeting, polite, patient, hard working. Manoj served us the meal and was always on his toes ensuring that we get hot meals. All the housekeeping staff were at their best. Highest on Hospitality and creating a Heart to Heart Bond. We wanted to extend or stay here for more couple of days but due to the inflexibility of Air tickets we couldn’t extend our stay. I would certainly urge you to stay for atleast 4 days in this place so that you can immerse and be one with nature. This place made us feel at HOME, Thank you so much Sajan for hosting us....