Top 10 Taj Hotel Hotels

This is my second stay at Niraamaya Retreats and once again it did not disappoint! My mother and I travelled from the UK for a weeks break and we did not want to leave! The retreat is truly a haven – serene, tranquil set in the thick of untouched nature. The atmosphere and surroundings are uniquely beautiful and retain the traditional Keralan style. Having travelled to Kovalam for the third time now and stayed in other major 5* resorts in the area I can confidently say Niraamaya outshines all of them. Niraamaya’s boutique style makes it an intimate and tranquil setting that is not overrun with lots of guests making it perfect to relax and rejuvenate. Niraamaya is committed to each guests individuals experience and works hard to provide a personalised approach to the guest experience. They made an early check in possible for us so we could rest, moved our room to somewhere more accessible for my mother and went over and above throughout to make sure we were looked after in every was – especially at mealtimes. I have stayed at ***y hotels internationally and am yet to receive the welcome and kindness I have seen at Niraamaya. I would like to mention some of the individuals who went over and above to make our stay unforgettable. Jobin – professionally leading his team throughout checked on us daily. Shiva and Samson for looking after us at breakfast and dinner each evening respectively. The outstanding cooking from Chef Senthil – cooked us some of the best seafood I have tasted! Nothing is mass produced at Niraamaya – all meals are individually prepared, catered to your needs, with huge portions. Nidheesha from housekeeping – who went above and beyond to help us with tailoring. We are incredibly grateful to you all. Just to mention construction from the port did not affect our stay in any way. Thank you for looking after us so well – Niraamaya is truly a home away from home for us now. Thank you for making us feel like family – we miss you all! We will be back very soon. Thank you Christina

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Turtle on the beach, the location is excellent, the resort is just a few mins walk away from the kovalam beach, if you have to go places there is ofcourse the hotel cab but there are also tons of cabs and autorickshaws available outside the gate, making your travel hassle free. The best part of the resort is the staff, they are super friendly and very hospitable and accommodating. We wanted to go to Varkala from the resort using public transport and the staff wrote down each and every step in detail from boarding a bus to a train where to get off etc etc, this was super useful as this by far was the fastest way to reach Varkala from Kovalam (even taxi’s will probably take double the time). They also readily accommodated our request for a late checkout, no questions asked! All in all a fantastic stay and special thanks to Rajesh, Srilakshmi, Shiju and Mary for the hospitality provided and making our stay super pleasant

Plus: - Very Kerala property - lush greenery everywhere - welcome drinks, free lagoon boat rides, high tea by the sea - Staff were great - Siva at reception was very attentive (thanks Siva!). others did a good job of taking photos and helping us capture memories - We had 3 rooms: 1 Cottage, 1 Deluxe Seaview; 1 Deluxe Plunge Pool room. if you can splurge, go for the deluxe plunge pool it is worth it! the rooms are large, having a private pool gave the option to jump in and out multiple times without having to traverse the property Minus: - Furniture needs an upgrade - TV not working in one of the rooms - Not great for elderly people - while there are buggy rides to take you around, still there are steps to climb to the rooms and even for breakfast (the alternative being taking the service elevator in a longer route) - Breakfast options were okay comparatively limited to other Taj properties we have been to - filter coffee and tea stand was good but overall very poor service across all days we were there. maybe not enough staff.

The Leela, Kovalam is an amazing hotel, which my 11 year old son and I would highly recommend! It is on a cliff top overlooking the Arabian Sea. We upgraded to Club Room, which provides you with access to The Cafe, a restaurant serving Club members complimentary breakfast 7-10:30am and High Tea 5-6pm and additional a La carts chargeable lunch and dinner. The Club room is exceptional, with a balcony with table and chairs overlooking the Arabian Sea, King bed with very comfortable mattress and bedding, fantastic walk in shower, sink and toilet, with all the toiletries. Rooms are cleaned well and the food is wonderful. We ate everything safely with no upset stomached here and the staff were wonderful! We would happily return!

Even though we stayed here just for one night in March 2023, yet we are carrying wonderful memories of stay and the culinary experience @ this little gem of Hilton chain. I asked for a veg burger for in-room dining to Lijo. Even on phone this guy was very polite, alert and energetic. The burger was really out of this world. Please try this Curried veg burger if you are here. Chef Rajneesh created this burger and he deserves my compliments. For dinner we were well served by a very polite and young *** Jayakarthick. The restaurant ***ager Vignesh was taking rounds of tables and it was very nice of him to ask about our food experience. We had ordered Meen Mulkittathu ( fish curry ) with Appam. It was high spicy to our taste and we rate it as one of the best. It was made by chef Sanal who deserves our compliments. We ordered Elaneer Payasam as dessert which was also top class. I would also like to thank Chef ***n to carefully note our precise instructions on the food. Mr Sarvanan was also very attentive and took good care of us. We were looked after so well by these gentlemen that it made our evening unforgettable. Thank you Hilton for suo-moto giving 10 per cent discount as Hilton Honors member.