I stayed at the Marari Dreamz for 9 nights at the beginning of April with my 2 daughters aged 20 and 19. Our transfer from Cochin Airport, which was a 2 hour journey, was arranged by Allwyn and cost £50.00 return. On our arrival, we were served a refreshing lime drink by Jency. Allwyn gave us ideas as to what to see and do whilst we were there and was always there for advice. We stopped in Cocunut Leaf Villa, which is surrounded by tropical plants and the sounds of exotic birds. It was bliss! The villa was served by one room with a double bed and a single bed with a ceiling fan and air con, which kept the room lovely and cool. The open air bathroom is amazing. On the verandah was a table and chairs where we were served our breakfasts and evening meals when we ate there. In front of the verandah is a hammock.

We used the shared pool but the vast majority of the time it was like having a private pool because we were the only ones using it. What a God send the pool was! Everything is so clean. The rooms are cleaned on a daily basis. Bath towels are provided.

Previous reviews have already commented on the quality of the food prepared in the main by Jency. Breakfasts consisted of fruit, pancakes, omlette, toast, cardamom tea, and more. Evening meals, if you wanted them, were superb and were always fish and vegetable dishes. It costs 350 rupees per head (approximately £4.00). We were able to watch Jency prepare one of the meals in her kitchen and it was fascinating to watch. All recipes have already been emailed to me to try at home.

The beach is a 5 minutes walk away and was fairly deserted but lovely. The sea was like a thermal spa it was that warm, but a word of warning, it can be dangerous with the strength of the waves.

Whilst there, we used the free bikes provided and made early starts to watch the local fishermen bring in their catch, which is auctioned off immediately once it’s landed. We went on the backwaters on a small boat, which is a must. The tranquility of the backwaters was a great release from the chaos on the roads away from the village. Allwyn arranged the backwater trip for us, which included a tuk-tuk ride to get there. Initially, we wanted to go on one of the houseboats but on Allwyn’s advice, went on a smaller boat which was able to access the narrower channels. The boat cost 2400 rupees for the three of us for a 4 hour ride.

We also visited Fort Kochi, which was about an hour away. The transport was arranged by Allwyn and cost us 4000 rupees (approximately £45.00) for the driver to remain with us the whole day. We also had an Ayurveda massage, which was an eye opener but really good.

Allwyn, Jency and their dog Shanku, made the holiday for us. We have previously been to Goa but this was so much better being away from the tourist area. With their warm, friendly nature we were able to immerse ourselves into the culture and I have to say it’s probably the best holiday we’ve ever had.

Thank you for allowing us to stay in your home and hopefully we’ll revisit in the future.

Chris, Grace and Molly

We stayed at the Marari Dreamz Home stay for 3 nights. At our arrival we directly felt the warm hospitality from Allwyn and Jency. They showed us around their beautiful place and they gave us a lot of tips about our stay. We booked their upstairs room, the Luxury Sky Villa, which was a good choice. We liked this room because it offered a large terrace with a lot of privacy and a nice view on the grounds of their property. The room itself offered an outside bathroom and was very comfortable. Because of the steel pattered room we needed air conditioning 24 hours a day, but this was provided for free.

The grounds of this property were beautiful shaped with a lot of tropical plants and some South Indian decorations. The swimming pool was a big plus because temperatures are very high in mid March. They also offer free bikes to lend whenever you want. This was a great plus because walking at daytime was not a good option because of the heat and humidity.

Jency prepared traditional Kerala dinner for all the guests every evening. She also showed in the kitchen how she made these dishes. The food she prepared was really great. After we left she sanded some recipes to our home address.

Unfortunately I went quite ill during our stay. It was really impressive how much Allwyn and Jency took care of me. They prepared special food and drinks for me and they gave me medicines to calm down my stomach. They also brought me to a doctor who gave me Ayurvedic medicines (for free).