Taj Green Cove Resort & Spa, Kovalam — Hotel in Kerala

We stayed at Taj Kovalam for 2 nights. The place is a half hour drive from airport. It is needless to say that Taj properties will always mesmerize with its rustic charm. This is true to this resort as well. The resort makes you feel like you are nestled in the lap of nature.

Upon arrival we were greeted with a welcome drink and a chain of shells. Since we checked in at 5pm, we went straight to the seaside restaurant for their complementary high tea. The place is on the other side of the resort and there are buggies to take you around, if you wish. Else the walk is very pleasant as well. The seaside place has few activities for kids like cycling, kite flying and lagoon canoeing. So this property has sea to one side and lagoon to the other and is a sight to behold. This is also where their famous Bait restaurant is located.

We had opted for a meal other than breakfast and hence had buffet dinner at Jasmine restaurant. The spread is good,service is prompt. Special call out to Kungpao fish.

Rooms Rooms are built into a rocky terrain and each room has its own privacy. We opted for a garden view and was alloted one on the ground floor that opens into a private garden. Rooms are neat. Special call out to their prompt housekeeping services. Loved the Forest Essentials toiletries and neem wood brush. Cons: The closets are built into the wash area and not placed inside the rooms. The storage is mostly open and Im not a fan of storage in wash/toilet area.

Amenities We loved the 2 plunge pools and infinity pool. Infinity pool starts with shallow area for kids and goes upto 4feet. They have floats for kids, prompt service for towels and such and a dedicated lifeguard. They have spa facilities as well, a yoga centre and this amazing waterfall right outside the yoga center, which is a must visit.

Lunch On the second day we opted for lunch as the meal and got to know it was a la carte with no seafood options. So this can lead to fewer options and more food wastage. Service at lunch was poor. We were utterly disappointed. But Tanisha took full responsibility, for something that wasnt even her fault, and ensured we finished the meal on a good note. Take note that in this case several items like juices can be chargeable.

Breakfast Spread is decent but repetitive. On both days we found the menu to be very similar. French toast, waffles, pancakes, grilled chicken, masala omlette were very good and is on the made to order menu. Since we were travelling back the second day, Pramod ensured he packed few items to have on the go. Filter coffee also stands out.

Bait We visited Taj mostly for Bait, as we've been here before and made some amazing memories years back. We made a reservation for 7 30 pm on the second night for a 4 seater outside the restaurant facing the sea. Snapper in fisherman's spice marination was too good. But the grilled prawn, for which we had specifically made this trip, was disappointing. The masala was just not right. Creme brulee was good. Tender coconut souffle was good but just not prepared with the tenderest of coconuts. Since its cold outside food become cold the moment it reached the table. Our suggestions were well received by the staff. We were visited by the restaurant manager and chef later at night to offer their apologies.

Buggy service Very prompt and courteous staff.

Airport pick up and drop You cannot book ola/uber for airport drop due to some union issue. We took cab service from right outside Taj gate. Rs 1k or 1.2k depending on the type of car.

Service after booking We were contacted by the staff to check if we were celebrating any special occasion right after we booked the stay. Upon informing it was our child's birthday, they had decorated the bed beautifully with leaves and left a small cake for him when we checked in. I also love the way they have decorated their common areas very sustainably with local plants and flowers.

So there were certain hiccups during our stay, but the staff and management were ready to correct them and offer a very...

Review on Taj Kovalam , Presidential suite. 3 days May 2019. Booking name : Sairam Jayapal When I commenced hunting for 5* resort in trivandrum, I conclusively ended up culling between Taj and Leela for sundry reasons after doing lot of conscientious study over internet. Conclusively I decided to go for Taj as pictures in internet portrayed this as holiday vacation resort with style and theme reflecting more nature oriented plush green wood carved splendid suite. Let me start the review saying, yes indeed I made the best bet.Albeit I experienced minor hiccup during initial check-in, it was very well handled by the entire Taj Kovalam team and GM of the resort was very kind enough and polite and took every single step to ensure my vacation is Special Thanks Lalith for your kind gesture. Taj Kovalam team once again proved that when it comes to hospitality and customer royalty they don't compromise and don't think twice to even upgrade your suite.Pros - Lovely beach view, Cabanas, free buggy rides to roam around , infinity pool, jacuzzi, spa and don't miss out the lagoon boat trip ride. Oh yeah ! I missed to mention the tea and snacks season near beach side. I could still savor the tea in my mouth. Since I took my kid and age old parents, every single menu is custom and tailormade to match our taste buds. Thanks to entire team, you guys did a great job in even maintaining the same consistency, spiciness. It was well taken care off. You missing your favorite grandma's recipe ?? Taj kovalam will make you don't miss it out. You need to learn how it's cooked they can take classes and what's app the steps as well.There has to be cons or area of amendment don't you accede??This is just a suggestion- You may have to recruit a DSLR guy to get the best out of the digital lens, internet videos and pictures are not genuinely availing us here.. even the official Taj website or videos in YouTube not reflecting the resort the way it is. To be veracious , it's much more stunning with splendid landscape.What is so special about presidential suite?Guys, I tell you. If you optate life time experience etched in your recollections, don't even hesitate to drop in here even of it's going a put an aperture in your pocket. Every single penny is worth. Outstanding views, privare plush pool, spacious and I am sure the interiors will make you feel like Mr. President just like how it's marketed - presidential suite. Every single object placed inside the suite is well thought off to give you this experience. Duplex style suite with balcony to get the best view of sea view and what not.Thanks Taj team and special thanks to GM Lalith Restaurant team . It was indeed such a sublime experience! Hope to meet you guys soon.

PS: Special Gramercy to Sudhir, our restaurant manager, with whom we were interacting about the local places and it's heritage, made us feel like he's part of our own family. He was so kind and proactive in offering any kind of help or support on his own.

Special thanks to Chef Natesh and the other Chef (who was tall and handsome :-), sorry that I forgot the name) who were very much skilled to satisfy our taste buds with utmost care and overwhelming hospitality. These guys made us feel like taj kovalam was a home...

We recently had a very disappointing experience while dining at the Jasmine Bay restaurant here at Green Cove. A multitude of things went wrong, prompting me to write this review. We received a Taj Experiences gift card as a wedding gift, and we went in planning to pay extra as well. I had called a week before to make a reservation for the dinner buffet. When we arrived for dinner, we were told that the buffet spread was limited because it was made to cater to a party that was taking place nearby. This was off-putting but we were okay with going ahead with the limited buffet with the expectation that the food would be good. When we got up to look at the buffet spread the waiters rushed towards us with à la carte menus and kept repeating that the buffet was very limited in choice, and since it was custom it was 2500 per person and that à la carte would be the better option for us. We relented as we didn't want to cause too much of a scene. But coming to a restaurant planning to eat at the buffet only to be pushed towards the ala carte menu is incredibly annoying considering that a reservation had been made. What's the point of having a so-called reservation system then? It is the responsibility of the restaurant to let diners who have made reservations in advance know of such things.

Making matters worse was the subpar food. I don't know if this was just a fluke, but the cream of chicken soup was the worst I've ever had. A thin, watered-down, and inadequately seasoned soup is not what you expect from a 5-star institution. The fish and chips were the only nice dish we ate. The biryani was such a disappointment. Seeing an apparent 5-star hotel resort to the cheapest tricks in the book while serving customers is disappointing, as the biryani we had was just a mountain of flavoured rice. A 1300-rupee biryani without a single intact piece of meat is ridiculous. This was also the first time I had been so irritated by the wait staff at a restaurant. We kept being repeatedly asked during service if everything was great to the point that we just wanted to pay the bill and leave. Being asked once or twice is understandable. But 4-5 times? By different waiters who aren’t serving us? And the actual service itself was bad. Diners at a 5-star hotel should not have to ask the waiters to clear the table or bring sides or even a serving spoon.

This was a dining experience where every possible thing went wrong. Now could this be just a one-off thing? Maybe, but that doesn’t make such a deplorable service excusable. It also makes me question the Taj group in general, because this was the worst dining experience I’ve had amongst restaurants of the same rank. I guess if you are looking solely for accommodation, it's fine, but if you wish to dine there, please look through all the reviews. Many establishments are undeserving of the 5-star tag and seem to depend solely on the property and the Taj brand name. I say this because the failure here occurred across multiple levels, from the admin staff handling reservations, to the wait staff in charge of service and, the kitchen staff. If you want to eat good food while you stay in Kovalam, I’d suggest you find...