Hotel Mesra keluarga di Kumarakom

We stayed two nights for a bit of down time at the end of a busy trip round South India. It’s a nicely designed and set out, and very attractive resort hotel. Accommodation is in traditionally designed units scattered throughout the property and they are comfortable if a little idiosyncratic - ours had an outdoor bathroom at the back and was on two floors, the bedroom upstairs; the stairs were a little perilous at night! It also was very creaky and the sound insulation to next door wasn’t great. There’s a very nice pool and it’s right on the lakeside, a great location. Your car drops you at a ferry point and the hotel boat takes you to the hotel itself - which was great although we needed to build time in for our early morning departure as a result. The hotel is a bit isolated - you might go stir crazy if there for a longer stay, there are two restaurants but one is buffet style and that might get boring. They put on lots of activities; the birdwatching was really good, the butterfly talk also, and we had a two hour cruise ***** backwaters which they arranged for the two of us which was really excellent. They do a complimentary boat trip out on the lakeside to watch the sunset which also was good. They do cultural stuff - dance performances, a traditional drummer and flute player as well as a band playing in the restaurant which was ok if you like that sort of thing - the Indianised western classics played by the band were a bit odd!

1. The reservation process was not so satisfactory as the employee gave me wrong information 3 days prior to check in. I was unaware about Tata neu silver membership which i had got, I knew it just few days before check in and asked the employee if i can get 30% discount on stay and food. He said i will get only on food as i have booked directly through Taj Kumarakonam. That was OK for me, but after check in they denied. Point to note here is I booked another room 2 days prior to check in directly, had i been told clearly, I could have booked through Tata new and had got discount on food too. More important is same person who booked the rooms earlier and had admitted i may get discount on food, denied and talked very harshly and cut the call. 2. During the check in, welcome was not warm and systematic. We had to wait long, I understand that 12 noon was the check out time, that is why we had to wait as we reached 12 noon, but there was no clear information and the booking personal clearly mentioned earlier that we can check in at 9 am. 3. There were huge number of mosquitoes in the premises and outside, perhaps they are not using propellants and adequate spray properly. 4. There has always been some communication gap, no body had informed the time of breakfast, evening tea time, evening cultural time. 1 day we failed to get evening high tea as we reached at 5.45 pm, same day we knew it was 4.30 to 5.30 pm, but next day when reached at 5.15 pm it was not there as there were less visitors for high tea, possibly they closed it soon. When this issue was raised, next day they provided till 6 pm. 5. The tea and coffee preparation was not at all good. They may tell it as traditional, but was very bad compared to outside small stores. 6. When my child had symptoms of cold on day 4th of stay I searched for provocative factors inside room and was surprised to find so much molds/fungus in the night lamps provided beside beds and there was water seepage in the wall of bathroom, which again had fungus. Being a doctor I have no doubt on this, and I was surprised for this, can Taj have fungus in their room!!!! 7. While booking my wife had transferred 53000 to Taj account before 1 month of check in. During check out, it was not reflecting in bills. I paid the whole 3.24 lacs amount while checkout. Next day when I came back home, we remembered that the advance money was not considered at all and I paid whole amount again. I called to Taj Kumarakom multiple times, no one received call, then called Taj customer care, there was so much waiting time, they provided alternate number which again no one received, finally through their intervention some one from Taj Kumarakom called. We got surprised, they had no information on their side for advance payment, when we shared the screen shot of advanced booking they said they will send back soon. After 48 hrs I got refund. I was really surprised, after the era of artificial intelligence, they simply said there was some

We had two nights stay at picturesque ILLKKALAM LAKESIDE COTTAGE right on the banks of the lake and were. pleasantly surprised as the nature unfolded before us. Good location with good facilities and access to all amenities surrounded by organic farm , nature at its best. Good service through out and personalised care by friendly staff. Freshly cooked homemade tasty food served to your room and relax in front of the room looking over the lake with boats passing by and beautiful sunset views. The best part was the relaxed private sunset boat ride on the lake for two of us with stunning views starting right in front of our cottage. Susan Salin and team have done a wonderful job in making avail of this wonderful property for fortunate few like us. Special thanks to Asha and Arjun who were always helpful and giving us information of local tours and cultures. Not to forget those amazing cooks who cooked meals as per our taste We will definitely going to return and recommend to our friends to visit ILLKKALAM LAKESIDE COTTAGES Thanks once again for serving is the best treat Keep it up 💕🙏😍

This place clearly is past its prime from the looks of it. Our Deluxe Lagoon view room is past its ‘best by’ date. The furniture is fraying, the mirror has big stains, the room had a stink when we checked in, the aircon works only at one setting - 19 degrees. The woodwork has been shoddily repaired, the glass door has turned yellow with grime. The maintenance and upkeep of the property evidently de***ds serious attention. Sadly, when I attempted to show some pictures of the room to the ***agement, it barely caused any concern. I was informed that the extended Covid lockdown - and the tropical climate and moist air, has taken a huge toll on the property. In other words, we really can’t do much! However, supposedly a revamp of the property is underway - doesn’t help us though. While the explanation maybe valid, the nonchalant response was galling and totally unexpected. And any way, why shouldn’t we, as paying guests, expect better? At breakfast this morning, the papaya was un-ripened, the pineapple was overripe and discoloured. And the best. - they couldn’t find decent, fresh and ripe local bananas to serve! At lunch, the Thai green curry was spicy - so spicy and none of us four could eat more than one spoon. We refused to eat it and asked them to take it back. Yet amazingly, it appeared on our bill - no apologies offered. Naturally, we refused to pay for the dish. Quite eventful first 24 hours.

الفندق جميل جدا و من أفضل فنادق كوماركوم لديه اطلالة على البحيرة و المسبح كبير جدا ، والطاقم متعاون و ودود و الخدمة جميلة ، و الغرف واسعة ، صراحة يستاهل الزيارة و بإذن الله لنا عودة لهذا الفندق الجميل ، شكرا لكل الطاقم ، أنصح الزوار بالسكن في هذا المكان👌👌🌹🌹🌹

It was a lovely trip. For us all the restaurant staff (especially Prisuna and Chef Arun) made the stay as memorable as possible. In a previous review, someone said the staff make up for the shortcomings of management and I can attest to that. We were there to celebrate my birthday and the F&B manager, Prisuna, and Chef Arun went out of their way to help my fiancé organise the most memorable and beautiful birthday celebration yet. I have many dietary requirements and they've always gone beyond and above to adjust the menu to my needs. I'm so grateful to all of them. The location is absolutely beautiful and serene. It's a real gem. You can also book a houseboat experience through reception. It was a nice touch and pleasant surprise to plant our very own sapling before leaving the hotel. The rooms are very comfortable. There are a few things that you'd expect of a five star that you won't find - i E: no minibar or slippers in the room, but it's not serious enough to knock off a star. The staff's kindness, attentiveness and willingness to make this the best stay possible is what stands out.

This resort has some very nice people working around the property, but unfortunately the head, the General Manager Mr. Sajish of this resort made our experience here the absolute worst experience we have ever had in our lives. When we checked in we were given probably the worst room in the resort, much worse than rooms that were less expensive than the one we had reserved. We had HUGE rats running around outside our room, the bathroom was an outdoor bathroom with NO DOORS, connected to the small outdoor pool that we had. We asked for blackout curtains, and they taped some pieces of black paper to some windows. All in all...absolutely terrible. When we asked to switch rooms, they refused, saying the resort was full. We changed our airline booking to leave a day early, and told the staff that we would only stay 2 nights instead of the 3 nights we had booked. But they refused to accept their faults. The hotel, and the GM Mr. Sajish refused to refund us the 3rd night and locked the main gate to the hotel, not allowing us to leave until we signed the credit card receipt forcing us to pay for all 3 nights. This was the most insulting disgusting experience we have ever been thru and I am surprised that the owners allow this kind of treatment to guests at a supposed 5 star resort. We remain very disappointed in the way we were treated and will never go back to any of their properties again.