The Thiruvambadi is a lovely hotel. It’s in a convenient spot at the very end of the cliff ‘strip’ so, if you turn left out of the hotel, you’ve can walk along the clifftop past lots of shops and an endless choice of restaurants. However, turn right and you’re soon wandering along quiet, picturesque beaches. The aquarium’s good too. Our rooms were clean, spacious and comfortable with sea view balconies, modern bathrooms, comfortable beds and efficient fridges. The hotel grounds and garden were attractive and immaculately kept. The friendly staff were always available. Unfortunately, when we arrived, at the beginning of November, the swimming pool was being serviced and was only refilled and useable on the day we left. It was a very slow start to the season (Because of the floods in July) and the restaurant was only open for breakfast. There were problems with the WiFi and engineers were there trying to fix it without much luck. Fortunately, the manager provided us with a dongle which enabled us to get internet access in our rooms. Probably the most difficult thing was that there was no hot water while we were there. Staff would gladly bring us up buckets of really hot water when requested but that’s not quite the same. We were old hands at Indian hotels and understood that the hot water could be unreliable or only on at certain times but none at all was a...The Thiruvambadi is a lovely hotel. It’s in a convenient spot at the very end of the cliff ‘strip’ so, if you turn left out of the hotel, you’ve can walk along the clifftop past lots of shops and an endless choice of restaurants. However, turn right and you’re soon wandering along quiet, picturesque beaches. The aquarium’s good too.

Our rooms were clean, spacious and comfortable with sea view balconies, modern bathrooms, comfortable beds and efficient fridges. The hotel grounds and garden were attractive and immaculately kept. The friendly staff were always available.

Unfortunately, when we arrived, at the beginning of November, the swimming pool was being serviced and was only refilled and useable on the day we left. It was a very slow start to the season (Because of the floods in July) and the restaurant was only open for breakfast. There were problems with the WiFi and engineers were there trying to fix it without much luck. Fortunately, the manager provided us with a dongle which enabled us to get internet access in our rooms.

Probably the most difficult thing was that there was no hot water while we were there. Staff would gladly bring us up buckets of really hot water when requested but that’s not quite the same. We were old hands at Indian hotels and understood that the hot water could be unreliable or only on at certain times but none at all was a bit too much!

However, we did get the impression that these issues were all temporary and, as a rule everything would be fine. If that’s the case I would say this hotel is excellent value for money and an ideal holiday spot in Varkala. We would definitely stay there again.
Check things before you book, though!More