First look of Villa Retreat gives you the feel of hotel with old charm. This property rates high with its central location, proximity to Kodai Bus Stand, Coakers walk and a short walk to Kodai Lake.

Coming to the rooms at the property, rooms are spread across two wings. The rooms in the old wing are not the best ones. They don't have any view of the valley. The rooms though are of decent size, comfortable bed and functional washroom. The rooms in this wing may make you feel a little claustrophobic.

The new wing rooms are more spacious and some of the rooms have valley view.

Overall the rooms in old wing seems to be overpriced for the kind of room and views it provides and rooms in new wing with valley view are definitely a splurge considering that only 1-2 rooms have partial valley view.

The in house restaurant in Villa Retreat is a small cosy place where you can have your breakfast, order you meals. The choice of food is decent and taste acceptable. The prices of food though is high compared to city standards.

My stay plan included breakfast. The breakfast had good choice of Indian and continental however the food served was bit cold.

Wifi is only available at the reception and not in your room. May come as let down for travellers needing access to internet in their room.

Overall a hotel to be considered if you are looking at staying centrally in Kodai.

Fantastic view of the valley and some great food on offer.
Rooms are near and tidy and the entire staff will ensure your stay is just amazing.
The location is excellent and although the streets are busy, one never feels it inside the retreat.
Food is a la carte for all servings and it was the highlight of our stay here.

There are good and not good points to villa retreat. The original house is attractive and has a beautifully kept garden with wonderful views of near and distant hills and valleys. The setting and location are excellent. We initially struggled with the menu but the chef, Shadab, was very helpful with good suggestions for us. He is clearly passionate about producing good food and was generous with his time and help in general info too.
This hotel cost us more than we have paid to stay in other, immaculate and beautiful ‘boutique’ hotels in India and more than a couple of the slick, modern 5 stars that we have occasionally used. We prefer small places if possible. On arrival the woman in reception looked at us as though we had interrupted her day and I’m not sure she managed a smile through the whole registration process. We were given a list of rules - everything we should or shouldn’t do rather than what it would be their pleasure to do for us. The room - although with a fantastic view - was poorly furnished and the bathroom had rickety old cupboards that wouldn’t shut so were a shin hazard. Everything seemed of poor quality - from the curtains to the loo paper. It felt as though everything was done on the cheap. We were initially told we would have to pay extra to heat the room (very cold in Kodai early a.m and evenings) but did manage to get an old fan heater - which they control from outside so you can only turn it on when they permit. Even at half the price this place is overpriced. Such a shame as the setting and Shadab and the restaurant staff were really good.