Hotel Mesra Haiwan Peliharaan di Varkala

Staying at the Gateway Varkala was an amazing experience from the friendly staff to the authentic decor and the amazing views of the Arabian Sea. The grounds were beautiful and well maintained. Every guest was treated specially by the staff from Reggie the concierge to Ashwathy at reception, Sudeep head of security and Dhamesh the general manager. I have stayed at the Taj cove green in Kovellum which is beautiful also but the staff here at the gateway really make it feel like home away from home. A special thanks to the staff and chef in restaurant who were so polite and efficient, producing so many wonderful local dishes.

Villa Luca is a small, cozy resort with just 9 rooms, 5 mid size rooms on the ground floor and 4 wooden floor rooms in good size on the first floor. All rooms on the first floor have a good sea view and one room on the ground floor has the sea view. There is also a small swimming pool and a tiny restaurant with all the tables facing the sea. 1 room on the ground floor has a jacuzzi…..few deck chairs, a hammock and a good view point is a plus….visit atleast once in your lifetime for a peaceful and quiet stay for 2-3 days…..

La bienvenida no fue ageadable. Mientras nos entregaban la habitacion nos invitaron a tomar algo en el restaurante del hotel, preguntamos si se podia fumar y nos dijeron que no habia problema. Otro huesped ingles sentado en la otra punta del restaurante se levantó y se quejó de muy malas ***eras del tabaco. Vino una señora rubia (no india) y nos pidió que saliéramos fuera, después descubrimos que era la dueña pero jamas se presentó, nos nos dio la bienvenida, nunca dijo ni buenos dias y nunca se interesó por como fue la estancia. Las habitaciones son mini villas bonitas y limpias pero el colchon es tan duro que prefieres dormir en el suelo. La comida del restaurante es buena, el servicio del restaurante cuando no estan con el movil son simpáticos. Esta cerca del cliff pero los caminos para llegar son muy estrechos y llenos de barro. No tienen iluminación por lo que tienes que usar la linterna de tu móvil. El espacio en general de las villas es bonito pero le falta ***tenimiento. Hay muchas opciones de alojamiento en el cliff mas economicas que creo que pueden ser mejor opcion.

I’ll start by saying that we only booked this guesthouse as it was pretty much the only one available for our dates in Varkala that seemed well located and wasn’t a hostel in a dorm room (we are a married couple in our 30s and are passed the days of sleeping in a dorm bunk bed!). BIG MISTAKE! Following 7 weeks of travel in India and staying in almost 20 different guesthouses and homestays, this was by far the worst! One of the most expensive out of all the properties we stayed in and by far the worst in terms of facilities, value for money and management. Where to begin… 1. Frequent power cuts on our first day turning the lights and AC off in the room 2. We stayed in two rooms (one AC and one fan). Almost none of the plug sockets worked in either room with the exception of one 3. The shower was practically pointless and the water came out in a tiny trickle in both rooms. Not very practical for showering. We used the bucket for showering (which we have done many times in India, but not expected here considering it cost 2-3x more than other properties we stayed at in India). It’s also a wet room (common in India), but no mop/brush to push all the excess water into the drain (we had this in majority of our other guesthouses) so you’re walking into a soaking wet bathroom every time you enter 4. The rooms didn’t feel 100% clean - we were walking on sand before we even went to the beach and even felt sand in the bed! 5. Speaking of the bed, this was rock hard and super uncomfortable 6. We shared our AC room with 4/5 geckos each night. We are ok with nature and insects so this wasn’t a huge deal for us but just FYI incase you are not. There are vents in the room that allow insects in easily, despite them having some sort of sellotape over them to try and prevent this 7. There was construction work happening (either the property itself or next door). When in the AC room we were woken up quite early each morning with loud banging and drilling practically outside our window. The workmen also left their tools on our balcony 8. We were interested in doing the cooking class offered but were told that this was not available because the owner Suresh was too busy at his other property in Varkala (it’s called Gypsy Walker so will assume is also poor quality). Just as well, wouldn’t have wanted to have given another penny to this property! 9. The property requests that shoes are taken off before entry and left on the designated shoe rack. Respectful of the property’s policies and Indian culture we did just that. On the last day, one of our pairs of shoes was stolen from the rack. We know this happened that day as they were there late morning when we went out but not the evening when we returned to get them. When we informed Suresh of the issue, he was incredibly rude, shouting abuse at us down the phone and accused us of lying to get compensation out of him - incredibly insulting to say the least. We were told that no one has access to the property

Deluxe ac room aloha homestay is a well maintained property with a pleasant environment and safe to stay. The rooms were clean, spacious, cozy and comfortable, bathrooms are clean with a small sit out area which is relaxing. It's very close to the varkala cliff. The owner is so kind, attentive and helpful. They provide bike rental services. Overall we enjoyed the stay at aloha.