Estuary Sarovar Premiere Poovar Island — Restaurant in Kerala

Disappointing Experience – A Decline in Standards

I will start the review by saying that I had rated this resort with a 5 star, in 2022. This time I visited the resort with my family and my brother's in laws as a group of 8 adults and 2 children, and booked 4 garden cottage roooms. Unsure if its because it was a sunday, but I was deeply disappointed by the unprofessionalism and lack of customer-centric service during our stay. As someone who has visited this property every one or two years—both personally and as part of corporate visits with UST—I was once a loyal fan. Unfortunately, this time, everything seemed to go wrong.

To begin with, we were not offered the customary welcome drink at the reception. Assuming the policy had changed, we waited, only to be told later—after we called the front desk—that we had to go to the restaurant and request it ourselves.

Next, I was shocked to see that the trampoline, which the children (aged 3 and 7) in my family wanted to use, had a visible tear on one side and was still open for use. Shortly after, the entire structure collapsed. Only then did the staff cordon off the area. This is a serious safety lapse and could have resulted in injury.

Next, I had to hail down a passing buggy service twice to find the way to the indoor activities area. There were directions left at some spots, but nothing to identify the actual building. Wish this was handled properly or arrange for a tour of the resort during check-in, like they do in so many other places.

Additionally, one of our rooms had a faulty toilet seat, and we had to request a room change. It’s surprising that basic room checks weren’t conducted before allotment.

During the dinner buffet—which cost ₹1,200 plus taxes per person—we requested a lemon tea. Despite repeated follow-ups, it never arrived, and we were left waiting for over 30 minutes before giving up.

The overall attitude of the staff was indifferent. No smiles, no warmth—except from the housekeeping ladies, who were the only ones who made us feel welcome. Sadly, the overall service felt cold, impersonal, and lacking any sense of hospitality.

For a resort of this repute, such a drop in service standards is unacceptable. Based on this experience, I would rate the resort no higher than 2 stars and that too because the rooms were decent and the location is still the most mesmerizing of all resorts I have visited in Thiruvananthapuram(one of the very few resorts with beach access, though the ferry service wasn't provided due to natural/climatic conditions during our stay)

After note(during check out) Everyone is already familiar with the fact that uber does not provide pick-up seevices from these out of town resorts as the taxi union drivers here forbids it/makes it dangerous for the uber driver. So I asked the resort to arrange for a cab. The taxi driver's fare was 2200 and the resort themselves charged an extra 800 for an unkempt sedan(these are not cabs owned by the resort, these are just regular taxis with whom the resort has a connection with)

We were finally offered welcome/farewell drinks when leaving :) Never to back down from a refreshment in the hot sun, we did have it. So thank you for this...

We, a group of 20 adults and 4 kids, booked 10 rooms at this property. Our accommodation was spread across two villas—Leisure Villa A with five rooms and Leisure Villa B with four rooms, plus an additional room elsewhere.

Check-in

The check-in process was smooth, and we were welcomed with a drink and a shell-neckpiece, which was a nice touch. Buggies were available for transport, and we were taken to Leisure Villa A, which was very impressive. The common area was cool and inviting, and the rooms looked new and well-maintained. I particularly liked Room 202, so we decided to give that one to the elders, while the younger ones with kids proceeded to Leisure Villa B and that’s when the disappointment began.

Room Conditions & Comfort

Normally, when you check into a room, you expect it to be ready and cooled, especially in this weather. But when we arrived, it was noon, and we were sweating like pigs. All the rooms were hot and stuffy, and it took forever for the AC to actually cool them down.

In one of the rooms, the fan wasn’t working, and all the rooms in this villa smelled like they had been locked up for a long time. We then took Room 208, where the fan worked, but the AC didn’t. We complained and complained, and finally, at around 9 PM, they offered us an extra room, in case the AC still wasn’t enough for us. We were told the AC wasn’t working at max power, and this was the best they could do. The key card system was another disaster, most of them weren’t working on the first day, which meant more waiting time to get things rectified.

The common area in Leisure Villa B was spacious and had adequate furniture, making it a good spot for family get-togethers, but probably in a different season when AC is less of an issue. One among the 2 ACs in the common area stopped working at night.

Swimming Pool – A Saving Grace

Thankfully, this was one area that didn’t disappoint. There are two pools, and the one near our villa had multiple levels—shallow areas for kids and deeper ones for adults. Easily one of the best parts of our stay.

Chayakkada & Outdoor Space

The Chayakkada (tea stall) was a nice experience. They had complimentary evening tea with snacks (kaya baji and unniappam) and cookies near the restaurant. Tea, coffee and milk were available. The kids had a great time playing in the sand, and there was even a small park. Watch out for crows and other birds. There were multiple swings too, which was a lovely touch.

Service & Buggy Transport

The buggies took forever to arrive, which was frustrating considering how big the property is. However, buggy captain Salem was excellent, and we really appreciate his service.

Final Thoughts

There is ample parking space, and the property itself has a lot of potential—the interiors are beautiful, the pool is fantastic, and small details like the Chayakkada add to the experience. But poorly maintained rooms, lack of readiness at check-in, AC issues, the key card mess, and the disappointing restaurant experience took away from what could have been a great stay. We were there for less than 22 hours, and in that short time, most of our energy was spent contacting them to fix various issues rather than actually...

The property is nice so also the location but usually it’s the people who make or break the place,Very unprofessional and not at all suited to the hospitality industry most of the people lie through their teeth,Service is really bad,Maintenence even worse ,Don’t ask about the food it’s like they give you something to eat .Reservations and front desk is the worst.Most of the time reservations don’t even know what they are speaking about and very tardy. Let me explain why I have made the above general remarks . On booking I had the impression that a late checkout was a real possibility and booked my flight accordingly,Ofcourse they would not give the same in writing as they wanted to keep their option of selling the room till the last minute,and my wrong impression turned wrong.Nothing wrong technically but guests be forewarned not to have an impression of hospitality and accommodation,You would be chucked out of any such impression and the room. Food I can’t even begin to talk so will keep it short ,It was bad food was the area where I felt sorry for myself having chosen the place and there are no reliable option near by else the next reliable shop would be Trivandrum. People here lie through their teeth there was no glass on the table I asked the boy for a glass and prompt came the reply they are washing the glass and will be placed as soon as it’s done whereas I could see the glass right in front of me. I had booked the pool Villa and found the pool full of dust,I was concerned it was pegion droppings blown from somewhere else as I found feathers along with the dust,I asked the pool guy to come and told him so he said that he has never seen a pegion around the property may be so it is from some feathered beign which has the potential to make you sick very sick if you have allergies,he also said he had cleaned the pool the previous day,I told him I had checked in the previous day,he has no answer. Initially when I talked to reservations one guy called dharman says property is fully booked when I went I saw my self and probably 3 other families,mind you property has 105 rooms. Maintenence The towels and sheets are quite old to the extent of being called ragged,so much for a room costing 20K a day in a so called 5 star property. The bathroom door accidentally got closed when informed to the front office here comes a man with hammers and screwdrivers not a key and some how he managed to open it,Look at the maintenance attitude,sheer unprofessionalism, The people at the front office are outright rude one Mohammed Hassan in particular didnot find him anywhere in line suited to the hospitality industry. I could go on...