The Positives: The Grand Hotel's cultural significance to Kochi would be difficult to over-estimate. For over half a century, it set the standard against which many of the other hotels that followed it were compared. The weight of that history is evident in almost every aspect of the Grand: its unmatched central location, the generous size of its rooms, the Old World charm of its design and not least, the very good food served therein. The Challenges: That being said, the Grand suffers the bane common to many venerable "heritage" hotels: the inability to easily maintain and manage standards equivalent to its more modern competitors. The rustic interiors mean interior light is often insufficient; modern room amenities are few; hot water, often scanty; the furniture in the large rooms, sparse and the linen (while clean) worn and visibly well used. While the food is undoubtedly good, it is simultaneously not noticeably better than that available from many of the other restaurants nearby while being significantly more expensive. As such, the rationale for staying at the Grand is clear. If you feel the need for modern fixtures/services and a more reasonable room rate, the Grand may not be the best choice. If, however, your main consideration is a large room in the center of town with Raj Era charm, then the Grand is an easy recommendation.…
Grand Hotel is known for its food for long years now. Though, all the food on the menu is real tasty, we have taken a liking for the Fish Meals, available during lunch hours. The taste is absolutely amazing - the fish curry, the other curries, sambar, chutnies, even the pappad. We always look forward to a lunch at Grand, whenever we visit Ernakulam.
We visited the Lobby Restaurant at Grand Hotel for Lunch on a weekend. It is a very popular restaurant and need to wait for at least 20 minutes for a table. Veg and Non Veg Kerala Thali meals is popular along with local fish and beef preparation. But we found variety of dishes in the Tali quite less compared to previous visits many years ago. Ambience and service is quite good.
A very classy place with heritage and authenticity. Food has always been amazing and the signature dishes top notch. The number of rooms are limited but old school rooms and very spacious. Staff are very helpful resulting in great service. Default go to place while in Kochi.
What a joy it was to stay 2 nights at this wonderful hotel. Our group arrived a few hours earlier than anticipated, yet we were warmly welcomed and ushered into the dining room to enjoy a hearty breakfast. Not long after we were shown to our rooms - or in our case a suite. Upon opening the door, we entered into a spacious lounge room complete with a 3 seater couch, 2 armchairs, mini bar, desk and TV. Such a perfect place to watch a movie, do emails and simply relax. Down a short hallway, with the bathroom on the left and a large wardrobe to the right a well sized bedroom can be found. The bright room with large corner windows, a dressing table and further television was a cosy cocoon for a good night's sleep. This hotel provides everything a traveller could need: safe, hairdryer, fast stable WiFi and an iron & ironing board. Located on a main road with rail transport just metres away, and the beach promenade a couple of blocks away. The large dining room served up some good food, although the service was a bit patchy. All in all, a very comfortable stay was enjoyed.…
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