We have just returned from 6 days holiday at this hotel after touring India. We had one of the cottages in the garden which was a decent size with an indoor bathroom and it was quite adequate for the time we were there. Both the buffet and a la carte were good value for money, the choice for breakfast was also quite varied. Restaurant staff are very polite and friendly but not very well trained, very slow service. The main drawback was the fact that the hotel does not have a bar so there is nowhere to go after dinner except back to the room. A group of us sat outside one evening around the pool and asked the restaurant staff for a drink, we were told that they only served drinks in the restaurant up to 10pm and as it was now 10.15pm and we had finished eating we could not be served. As there are no bars or restaurants within walking distance of the hotel the evenings can be quite boring. Although the hotel has its own bit of beach which is kept reasonably clean, the rest of the beach is quite disgusting, the local men use it as a toilet so it is impossible to stroll along the waters edge without keeping a close eye on what you might be treading in.

I stayed here alone sometime back. The hotel has two categories one where you have the heritage villas etc. and one where you have the standard room. Although the standard rooms are much closer to the beach but the atmosphere of the other area is simply superb. The room in which i stayed in was a typical Kerala style cottage and also had a open to sky bathroom. The beach near to this hotel has a church which adds to its charm. This is certainly not as expensive as the other five starts but it can compete with most of them in terms of service, location, food etc. If I happen to visit Kerala again this would be my first choice. I simply loved this place.....!!!

Stayed here for 3 nights over the christmas period. Our room was at Beach Grove and was very clean and modern. The swimming pool in front was good, pool attendant excellent. Beach Grove is at the bottom of the resort and yes we climbed and walked to the equally as good restaurant where service and food waiting for us was worth the walk. We read that there are 141 steps to climb(yes some sado's counted 141 steps)we had better things to do whilst on holiday.! Excellent free wifi and taxi,s waiting outside the reception entrance to take you to Kovalam. Some reports say its 400 and 600 rupees each way, well they were robbed, its 200 each way and they wait all night for you to bring you back, I call that great service. All in all, stay at the Travencore Heritage, its location is beautiful, food excellent but dont trip up over the sad holiday makers counting the number of steps...!!!!

I stayed here for 3 weeks while on a business trip in Trivandrum.

Likes:
- The setting is beautiful. The landscape is well maintained by a very friendly gardener. I stayed in a cottage with a really nice view (from the porch) over the beach below where you can watch the fisherman every day.
- The beach is much much better in comparison to Kovalam. On the right end there aren't any fishing boats and it's a nice place to watch the sunset.

Dislikes:
- The open bathroom. If staying in a cottage that is split into two accommodations, then you have the joy of hearing every sound your neighbor is making in their bathroom and vice versa. It's basically like being in public toilet stalls. I would prefer more privacy, especially for the price. Plus, in the evening, the mosquitos will be waiting for you in there.
- The cottages are dark. They vary in size from reasonable to dungeon-like with only small windows. I suppose the beach grove rooms must be better in this regard.
- The airco does not really have a low setting. Says high-low, but it's more like superhigh-high. So at night you can choose between using the fan and sweating. Or being blasted from the airco.
- The food ranged from ok to bad. It was local food gone wrong. And the only times I ever felt sick after eating in India, were when I ate at the hotel. In the last week, I stopped eating there completely. I had far better food everywhere else in Trivandrum.
- There is next to nothing in the surrounding area. Couple gift shops and that's it.
- I had a few massages at the ayurveda center, which were just ok. Unfortunate for me there was construction work going on right outside the window which was pretty distracting. And people kept walking by the window. Unprofessional.
- Staff was generally unfriendly. Some waiters in the restaurant stare at you while you're eating. They try I guess to be ready if you need something. But it's very annoying. Front desk was not helpful much either.
- Laundry wasn't returned on time. First a day late. Then I was told it'd be there at 9am. Then 1pm. Then 3pm. Then 5pm. Then 6pm.
- The hotel charged me in Euros at their own exchange rate (dynamic currency exchange). I demanded to be charged in Rupees. They told me the Euro amount was only for information. I told them I am not stupid. They ensured me the charge would be in Rupees. Low and behold it was done in Euros, at their terrible exchange rate.
- Not once, or twice, but 3 times I received FILTHY towels. They told me housekeeping didn't notice. I'm not sure how you don't notice a towel entirely covered in dried blood stains.
- There was an ant infestation in my bathroom. I called to say I had an insect problem. On arrival they said "Oh, it's only ants." But there shouldn't be thousands of them in my sink.
- A smell began to develop in my bathroom. Couldn't be figured out. Finally it was unbearable. A rat had died behind the airco unit. They removed it. But then I had to call again because they didn't clean up the trail of maggots that fell off of it on the way out. There's not a lot we can do living amongst nature but they could still try to keep it clean and pleasant for guests.

Almost every morning while waiting for my taxi, there would be someone complaining about something at the front desk.

For the price, it really, really, really is not worth it. I guess maybe I was spoiled because I also stayed a week at a Taj hotel. Paid less at the Taj and the service was in a different league.