Radisson Resort Pondicherry Bay — Hotel in Puducherry

The resort has very spacious luxurious and comfortable chalets. The bathroom with the dressing room is huge. Shower area and toilet are in separate enclosures with the dressing area and wash basin in between. The room is spacious as well with a very comfortable bed and a day bed for a third person/child. There is a work desk and a couch. The balcony is nice with another couch and 2 chairs. The room amenities are controlled by an iPad. Lights curtains A/c all can be adjusted from the iPad. There is a flat screen tv though it’s not smart as Netflix can’t be viewed on the Tv. That’s a necessity nowadays. The ground floor chalets have access to the garden from the verandah which is nice and better than the first floor chalets which have a balcony. Coming to the other facilities in the resort there is a nice swimming pool with a small child’s pool too. There is a gym and a play room. There is a ground to play cricket and with a volleyball court. The on site restaurant serves a multi cuisine buffet and a la carte dishes. The breakfast items were very tasty especially the South Indian fare prepared by Chef Shivkumar. The prices are bit on the higher side but that’s expected in a high end resort. The service at the restaurant was good. At check in which by the way is done in a lounge with some refreshing flavoured water, they offered complimentary non alcoholic drink vouchers which can be redeemed at the restaurant. They set up a tea coffee and snacks counter every evening at the garden overlooking the backwaters. This is another very nice arrangement for the guests. There is a spa on site. A 15 min foot massage voucher was offered as complimentary at check in too. There is a very nice and clean public beach at about 500m from the resort which is open from 6am to 6pm. The Eden beach is a blue flag beach which is listed in the top 10 beaches in India. It really is a wonderful beach with clean sands and seating area and nice sea waves. There is a backwater across the beach. So the location of the resort is amazing with the backwaters and the beautiful beach nearby. At check out the management offered us complimentary pizzas as take out which were tasty and a welcome gesture. They also gave us some T shirts and traditional gun powder and seeds as souvenirs. Very impressive and thoughtful. The negative thing I want to write here is that the reception staff need better training for smooth check in check out process. They were clueless about the billing/room type booked etc and needed to be prompted to do their job. When you are charging 12k a night which is at par with the pricing of a Marriott or an IHG hotel then you should provide efficient staff at the reception which is the first point of contact for a guest with the resort. The check in took a long time though the check in time was 3pm we got the rooms at 4pm. Take note the resort does not accept American Express credit cards.

Another issue we came across during our stay is that there are stray dogs roaming around the resort near the chalets. They come very close to you especially in the night when it’s dimly lit and dark. Not everyone likes dogs that too strays. It was surprising how these stray dogs got access to roam inside a private resort. The management should take note of this and clear this nuisance. These are a couple of reasons I have cut short a star from...

This is a relatively new resort that Radisson has taken over and refurbished. The 4 of us visited the resort for a couple of days before New Year and here is what's liked and did not like: What we liked: Since the resort is less than a couple of months old, everything you lay your hands on are new. The sports equipment, the amenities in the room, etc- everything worked as they should since they have hardly been used. The rooms are spacious and for a little extra, you can get a room with a patio/verandah where you can go for a walk on some freshly laid grass, play badminton etc. The rooms are all IoT-enabled. With a tap of a button on a Tablet, you can control the fixtures, TV, in-room dining etc. This creates a great first impression and the kids enjoyed this a lot Sports equipment- They have 2 TT tables, a putting kit, bicycles, a pool table, foosball, carrom, badminton, football and a bunch of board games for you to use. So we did not see a need to leave the resort during our stay. The size of the resort is not too big. So you can go from point A to B, quickly, which was not the case in Radisson Mahabalipuram.

What we did not like: Food. They may be understaffed and may not have experienced chefs. The breakfast buffet on both days of our stay had the exact same menu- not a single item changed. The in-room dining food quality was better but again, for the price they charge, the taste was okay. The saving grace here was that you could order food via Swiggy, Zomato etc. We had Tanto deliver pizza to us twice- so we had some good quality food. Covid awareness- We have been to Radisson Mahabalipuram in the past and all the staff over there were all masked up all the time. Here, most of the staff, including some of the managers wore their masks on their chin and did not cover their mouth/ nose. Service- The folks have the right intentions but don't seem to have strong managers/ leaders to guide them. On 2 occasions, I had placed in-room dining orders and when I called them 30 min later to check on the status, a new person took on a fresh order. Finally, I realized they were noting orders in the air and when I asked them to repeat my order, they were bumbling. In-room dining is such a good source of revenue but they seem to have royally messed it up here. But when I gave them a piece of my mind, I saw them hustle, FWIW. Beach access- So you have access to Eden beach, which is a public beach and gets crowded in the evenings. The problem is that the access path to the beach is not well maintained and is strewn with broken bottles and other litter. This again is something they can easily fix but have chosen not to prioritize. Unlike Rad Blu in Mahabalipuram, this beach is not a private beach and is not close enough to make multiple trips.

Overall, I'll give them the benefit of doubt that they are new and hope they improve on the above in the...

We stayed at this beautiful resort in the first week of Dec 2016 with family. All the good reviews that I have read about this property are true. The friendliness of the staff seems genuine. I have never seen such good customer service as I experienced poolside and the view...well; we were lucky and got a gorgeous suite with a balcony that opened straight out onto surely what was one of the best views in PONDICHERRY. The staffs were extremely discrete and highly professional, the breakfast superb, you'd be hard pressed to find a fault here. Room we paid for was probably the best hotel room I've ever stayed in. The overall decor and feel of the hotel was great and it served as an excellent base to explore PONDICHERRY. The maids ensured my room was immaculate on a daily basis and the reception was very friendly and also was very helpful. The room was very comfortable in every way. The pool was true to the photograph upon the hotel’s website, large, clean and warm too, it was a great way to start the morning. The entire resort were a lot more laid back and calm than other touristy coastal front towns in the southeast. From check in to check out, the staff is fantastic

Food: The hotel restaurant was exceptional, not only because every meal we enjoyed had a variety of options and was flavorful but also because the prices were so reasonable for an oceanfront resort. The food was absolutely wonderful, from preparation to presentation, very pleasing. The breakfast was top notch, and dinner was really nice as well. I was expecting the food here to follow in the old Southern tradition but was pleased to find the menus trending in a contemporary direction with emphasis on lean, fresh and organic fare. The chef Mr. Sendhil and his staff are staunch advocates of the farm-to-table concept. The food was fresh, properly prepared and a great value for the price. We highly recommend it. The breakfast brunch on Sunday was equally as great. Kudos!! To Chef Sendhil who is very dedicated in what he does.

Once again THANK YOU SO MUCH for everything! We had a great vacation, you and your staff helped to make it that way! We will be back next year! I’ll be sure to let you know in advance before we come again. Thanks again for all your hard work and consideration, especially for the...