Maharaju Palace — Hotel in Kerala

I stayed here for 12 nights with friends after having spent time, previously, in Tamil Nadu.||||We arrived early Saturday afternoon and was greeted my Martin, who was very pleasant and accommodating. Having single occupancy I was allocated the Honeymoon Cottage!! What a bonus, self contained with a small kitchen area with sink and a fridge. ||||Outside was a seating area with desk, 2 chairs and a 2 seater sofa with cushions. Ideal for pre dinner drinks in the evening and of course a nightcap. Having the fridge was great as could make ice and keep the beers, Gin and Tonic water cold.||||Large comfortable bed 4 poster type in order to accommodate the mosquito nets which cocooned the bed. Although I did not have air conditioning I did have the benefit of a ceiling fan plus a portable pedestal fan, the latter I kept running overnight.||||The bonus of this fan being portable was that it could be plugged in outside the front door in the seating area during our pre dinner drinks sessions.||||Bathroom was good with copious amounts of hot water. But with temperatures of 34 deg c during the day and 25 deg c overnight hot showers were not the order of the day.||||Martin, the owner and Matthew, the Manager were most helpful and nothing was too much trouble for them. If there was something you wanted they would go the extra mile to help.||||Example: I own an Indian Tuk Tuk in the UK and wanted to know if I could buy me wheel trims (or wheel cups as they say in India).||||Later in the day one of the staff had a friend who owns a Tuk Tuk and I was taken into Trivandrum, 35min trip by Tuk Tuk to an accessory shop. To say I was like a child in a sweet store was an understatement. 7 sets of wheel cups and some other accessories purchased I did the return journey to the hotel. This is what I call service.||||Breakfast was fine, served 8am 11 am. Choice of eggs, fruit salad, porridge, toast, Tea or Coffee and freshly made fruit juices.||||One evening Martin but on a Film event where he showed 2 films on a large screen : Some like it Hot and the Marigold Hotel, nice relaxing atmosphere with other guests and a Juice bar on hand if you wanted.||||Rooms were cleaned every day (Thank you Raju and your lady helper) and bedding completely changed every 2 3 days.||||All in all a perfect location only 2 mins walk from the beach but sufficiently away as not to hear the activity.||||Would...

Arriving at Thirandrum Airport we where met my a driver as we had pre-arrange transport to the hotel for 1000 rupees, about £10. Although you can get a tuktuk for 400 rupees we had just arrived in India and it was easy and the manager Matthew was very helpful in arranging the transport.||Driving to the hotel feels like you are being taken into the middle of nowhere. Only later did we find the hotel is in a perfect location only about 100m from the beautiful beach and very close to the must-see lighthouse (amazing sunsets).||The rooms where of reasonable size. We stayed in a room with a double bed. There wasn't much other space but there was a desk, cupboard and ensuits. The bed was comfortable and the room and bathroom felt very clean. A welcome tea/ coffee was provided and each room had a bottle of water, towels, soap and toilet roll. The water pressure was good and there was hot water. One of the toilets wouldn't flush though and kept making noises. ||Having been staying in very cheap hostels in Sri Lanka before arriving here this place felt like a palace. There is a nice little seating area outside although the mosquitos do come out in the evening.||For an additional 200 rupees per person you can have breakfast at the hotel, however, we found it was more cost effective and was more scenic to go to the beach and choose from one of the many restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner.||Overall with the very friendly staff and clean and comfortable rooms, although slightly more expensive at about £7 per night, this lovely hotel is defiantly worth it to enjoy and relax on the South Coast for...

I fell in love with this room as soon as I saw it. It is a nice mix of old authentic furniture and eclectic modern touches like lamps, paintings visions. It has a nice and private verandah overlooking the garden. The hotel is close to the light house beach but quiet and away from the noisy sea-walk. There are bar, shops and restaurants at a short walking distance. The only difficulty: everything was too high in the room: The towel hangers. The bed, the mosquitoes net. Admittedly, I m a shorty. The owner, Martien has a great and pleasant sense of humour, great taste and a passion for his garden, Raju is your problem solver. The staff efficient and polite. I stayed on the ground floor at the cottage. I have not seen the rooms of the “palace”. I m sure they are super clean and simply, but nicely decorated. The breakfast room is spectacularly nice and breakfast is freshly made for you. There is no hair dryer or tv. There is a fridge and a boiler in the room. Organisation to airport in the heart of the night was impeccable. I will...