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Near Adikadalayi Temple Kannur, Kerala, Kannur 670007 India
Costa Malabari
4.4 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
I had a lovely stay here. Kurian is very knowledgeable about the theyyam festivals and Annie's cooking is amongst the best I tasted in India - delicious and authentic Kerala food! The place is set in nice greenery and about 10-15 minutes walk to Thottada Beach
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Date of stay: March 2023Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
After being recommended to visit Costa Malabari by someone who had stayed there for three months we felt his opinions of great food and a homely atmosphere may have been somewhat biased but after visiting for ourselves we realized everything he said was correct.
As explained in the previous review the accomodation is spacious and very clean, arranged around a congenial dining hall- which is a great place to sit if you feel like a chat. Although at the top of our budget at Rs2000 a night it is full board and the food really is fantastic. We found it quite hard to sample real Keralan food in restaurants around the state so to experience such high quality home cooking- all served up on a banana leaf was quite special.
In terms of local attractions it seems to main reason visitors come to Cannanore is to search out a Theyyam. The owner has a wealth of knowledge on these spectacular rituals which he is more than willing to share with you around the table at supper and if you stay for a few nights you may even be able to see a few. They reach their peak in the early hours of the morning - but a taxi is usually arranged between a group of guests for the journey.
As well as visiting the Theyyam's the area is also a fantastic place to explore on foot. It is quite easy to get lost in the coconut groves but with incredibly friendly and hospitable locals this rarely causes too much of a problem. If, of course, you don't feel like doing anything there are 3 deserted beaches 5 minutes from the guest house to swim or sunbathe.
Getting to the guest house from Kannur station can be a problem as not all taxi and richshaw drivers know the place. However making a phone booking before can solve this as the owner will happily send a taxi to pick you up.
All in all, a real highlight in our trip around India, and even if you are on a really tight budget I would recommend splashing out on this place!
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Date of stay: May 2007
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Check-in / front desk
Service
Business service (e.g., internet access)
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Costa Malabari, Near Adikadalayi Temple, Kannur, Wayanad District, 670 007 Kerala, India This marvelous guesthouse in northern Kerala is located on a narrow dirt road a few kilometers from the nearest city, itself an enjoyable place to wander around and easily accessible by bus from the nearby temple. Mr. Kurian, the owner, is the best source for performances of theyyam, an ancient spirit-possession rite that is rife in this area in hundreds of variants. He knows where performances will be taking place and arranges transportation. The other point of interest is the beautiful and nearly deserted beach, a five-minute walk from the guesthouse. Walking on the nearby roads is enjoyable; you might see a mongoose or some curious birds, not to mention friendly local residents. Accommodations--now expanded into nearby cottages as well as the four or five rooms in the main house, each with its own bathroom--are clean and comfortable; the food is topnotch and copious; and the other guests--from various European countries and the U.S. when we were there--are themselves full of interest, with old-timers more than willing to share their knowledge of the locality. Everyone eats together around a long table, and chairs on the porch invite further conversation or quiet reading. We were glad that we had a cell phone with us when our driver, hired to drive our party of four from Kalpetta, was stumped after we got to the area. Mr. Kurian himself met us at the top of the road for reassurance. Book ahead through the tourist desk in Cochin.
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Date of stay: February 2007
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Check-in / front desk
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Costa Malabari, a beach facing property was our idyllic getaway for 2 nights and 3 days. Location is spectacular and the access to a near private beach is enticing.
Property – Average space. Worth exploring only for beach views. Rooms are small, amenities nil and bathrooms need better upkeep. Basics such as dustbins in rooms and restrooms are missing. Shared water heater for multiple rooms does not ensure steady supply of hot water. Nothing aesthetic about this traditional kerala home. Be it the furniture or the manner in which the building is done up. Broken or unused furniture piled up right at the entrance is an eyesore.
Food – for a connoisseur who has tasted and savors ‘naadan’ cuisine( traditional kerala), costa Malabari has nothing much to offer. Yes ! They serve local fare. But, not in the manner it has to be. Potato stew sans coconut milk and the likes. Foreigners and folks from other parts of the country who have no idea of what authentic Malabari cuisine tastes like, might fancy this food. But, their offering is definitely not what delicious and authentic kerala cuisine tastes like.
Host – Is definitely worth appreciating. Mr. Kurien is warm, welcoming, helpful and flexible. From the time of booking till checkout, Mr. Kuriens hospitality is commendable. He is the best person to guide a guest to the traditional theyyam dance and shares insights about Kannur and happenings around.
Location – The beach views and access are heartstoppingly beautiful. Sitting in the backyard, doing nothing, looking at the horizon is a must do. The stairway leading to the beach is dilapidated and in need of urgent repair. Tricky for kids and adults alike. Beach is pristine and picturesque. Can have a nosy local once in a while.
Overall upkeep – Garden area needs maintenance. Liquor and water bottles, baby diapers strewn around are a let-down. Maintaining a place in its natural setting and managing waste/cleanliness are essentially different. Green nets falling apart in the landscaped space add to the muck.
Service – Was prompt, fast and gives no room for complaint.
Kannur – A place infested with beaches. The drive in beach is worth a visit. So is the theyyam dance. The intensity and dedication with which the performance is rendered is mystifying. Indulging in fresh banana chips, tiny rectangular cakes and halwas are a treat to the culinary senses.
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Date of stay: October 2016
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed here for three nights on the recommendation of a friend who had visited several years ago. Our main interest was attending a Theyyam which the owner arranged for us and which was fascinating. HOWEVER, Kurian, the owner has simply checked on this property...he has two others....and leaves a young kid (about 16 years old I would say) in charge. The kid is clearly overwhelmed. The food is adequate Keralan cuisine, nothing exceptional, and we stayed a total of two months in Kerala so we have a pretty good idea of how excellent Keralan cuisine can be. The place is not particularly clean or well maintained. A sign of the owner's indifference to this enterprise is the decrepit outdoor furniture that is straggled around the property and the absence of any hammocks along the property's stunningly beautiful frontage along a sea side cliff. In contrast, the owner's own property, where he lives, is beautifully maintained and charming. And has wireless which this property does not.
Anybody considering a visit anytime anytime soon should also be aware that there is a MAJOR construction project going on immediately next door right next to the outdoor dining room. The noise was so great from the project site that we had to get up and eat on the other side of the property during one luncheon (they were pouring concrete on Sunday.)
We were disappointed enough in this place to check out the competition and found a small hotel called the Waves Beach Resort, which is a five minute walk away. It was recently constructed, has the same spectacular view, and an energetic young owner anxious to please who speaks excellent English. Her energy and ambition contrast very favorably with the burned out, slothful indifference of Casa Malabari. The prices were about 20% less also. Their rooms were clean with excellent bathrooms and some had beautiful ocean views. We did not sample the cooking but they offer three meals a day.
Anyway, we would not return to Casa Malabari and would check out other options were we to come back.
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Date of stay: January 2012
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Costa Malibari 1 is a charming,quiet,comfortable,immaculately clean and well maintained homestay perched amongst palms on a low cliff above a lovely little beach which you can access by means of steep stairs ,the view is lovely & there is also the fabulous Thotada beach a five minute walk away. Mr Kurian and his wife Annie have been looking after guests for about 20 years and whilst Malibari 1 is simple it is very well thought out with comforts often missing in more upmarket places. The windows and doors have efective insect screens , properly working fans, lots of hot water big bathrooms & the beds are very comfortable with good matresses and a toplayer of memory foam with nice well fitting hand loomed sheets.On the veranda are wooden deck chairs from which to admire the sunset and watch for dolphins also with locally hand woven seats . The food ,included in the price & prepared by Annie is very good we ate wonderfull Kerala veg dishes and fresh fish and at breakfast had freshly made juices and wild honey, and should you have any special requests she will endeavour to provide. Unfortunately due to the effects of typhoon Occhi we weren't able to swim after a quick dip on arrival as the winds became tremendous and the ocean very wild,but our stay was very atmospheric and it was quite something lying in bed at night listening to the gales and the raging sea only a stones throw away. Mr Kurian is also a very knowledgable and thoughtful host he will arrange outings and transport and is fascinating to talk to as he is an expert on the mysterious Theyyam rituals and knows a great deal about history.He also is invoved with local charities & initiatives to help with waste reduction roadside litter collecting and plastic recycling amongst other things . Last but not least I must mention Ranesh who helps look after guests and works hard at keeping everything clean and neat,he has replanted the garden with grass and is making a vegetable garden and he is the harvester of the wild honey a skill he learned in his home district of Wayanad . My boyfriend and I both loved this place and it reminded me of the rustic charms of the India of thirty years ago when I first came to Kerala,do go !
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Date of stay: November 2017Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Best room is on the front facing the sea.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Costa Malabari is 5 minutes walk from a series of incredible, quiet and clean beaches. Rooms are comfortable and the Homestay has comfortable communal areas. The host was very accommodating, he organised for us to watch local Theyyam performances and to book our train tickets from Kannur. The location is beautiful and quiet, a perfect place to relax. The home cooked food is delicious. 3 meals a day are served with fresh juices and lassi. Highly recommended.
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Date of stay: December 2016
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Costa Malabari 2 is one of the few disappointments of any accommodation in six trips to India. Whatever I envisioned, I should have lowered my expectations, other than for a beautiful view of a difficult-to-access beach. The grounds are lovely in an overgrown, tropical way. The ocean view, and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore at night was soothing. The lovely breeze through the windows and sound of windswept palm fronds, made for a very good sleep! But...
I've just re-read the "average" and worse ratings and agree with all. Perhaps at one time, more effort was made here. The few times we saw Mr Kurian, the owner, it was indeed pleasant. He's a dignified and helpful and interesting man. If only we'd have had more time with him! But he was rarely at this property. Instead, on-site staff consisted of a bewildered looking teenager whose main form of communication was pinching guests' cheeks (one guest said he pinched his ear). One morning, we had to wake this kid to get even the "included in the price" breakfast... or even tea. (There are no kettles in the rooms.) While dinner was ok (not memorable imho) breakfast was bland and forgettable.
The beach is way below the property. To reach it, you descend down a long series of metal steps (and go back up them of course ). You could take a ten minute walk south to easily access an unshaded very hot area of beach, but as a TA reviewer wrote several yrs ago, you must first bypass a local group of creepy young men oglers (probably the same ones).
Finding the place at night was nightmare. I don't think there are any signs to it, which would help, until you actually arrive. At any rate, it is so dark, you wouldn't be able to see anything without special illumination. The driver must have stopped five times for directions, pleading "Adikadalayi?" Just getting from the main road to Costa 2 takes ten minutes, even in day time. Add that to any travel times you have for the area. The rooms are quite basic, unenclosed shower spout spray which drains directly on to the floor. In and of itself that is ok, but the place was not cleaned, nor trash emptied, even once in the three days we were there. While this may be a question of unreasonable expectations, it was the first time i have seen this practice in a guest house which caters to Western tourists. i also think prices vary widely for guests. Some repeat guests paid about $8/night (which is what it was worth) whereas I'm sure we--or our travel agent--paid more.
Recommendation: IF you want to be in or near Kannur, stay at one of the other nearby guest houses/homestays which have easy walking beach access. If you are here just for theyyam, other places can help set up a cab or tuktuk to the temples. If you are seriously into finding a perfect beach hotel along North Kerala's coast, you could drive an hour up the coast toward the fort, in the Nileshwar area, where you can step from your hotel directly on to a sparkling clean while sand beach lined by coconut palms
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Date of stay: February 2015
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed at Costa Malabari 2 for 2 nights - great position on cliff top above secluded beach. Rooms were very clean and cool. The garden was lovely with hammocks for relaxing in the sea breeze. Food was good and plenty of it - be ready to stop the server before you get a huge pile! Make sure you request Keralan breakfast otherwise you get the standard Western omelette!
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Date of stay: April 2015Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
everything about it was super. the exotic theyyam, the beach that i sometimes had all to myself with the wonderfully warm and safe water, the nature including the howling of packs of foxes, the delicious meals three times a day, the sweet room in the old architecture - i was in heaven. so glad i found it!
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Date of stay: February 2015
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Kannur area.
ALSO KNOWN AS
costa malabari hotel kannur, costa malabari kerala, costa malabari hotel kerala
LOCATION
IndiaKeralaKannur DistrictKannur
NUMBER OF ROOMS
14
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