Hospitality

A bit crunchy

Lush greenish terrace rooms. Mr. Dev’s hospitality

Comfortable bed, clean room and bathroom, with A/C and ceiling fan, wardrobes and a balcony (with windows) overlooking the alleyways. Kettle, tea, coffee and white sugar always available. Some crockery and a filtered water dispenser were available in the common living area. The best thing was the host family's hospitable and friendly approach; Arun and his father Devanand were always available to answer questions and share tips during our stay. They also ensured we had fresh towels and fixed small issues promptly which made our stay very comfortable! The accommodation is also conveniently located to explore Fort Kochin and Mattancherry, and around 40 mins by car/uber to Eranakulam Junction (train station)

These are minor things, overall we had a great experience! Sometimes the crockery and water dispenser weren't stocked up (e.g. missing spoons, dispenser ran out of water), but Arun was always quick to respond whenever we flagged something was missing. Milk for tea wasn't available, whereas in other places we've stayed around India there's usually a powder milk option. We would have enjoyed the balcony in the room more if it had nets to shield the windows from mosquitoes.

Pros - Good location, 15 min walk to centre or 2 min tuktuk ride for 70 rupees - Quiet at night and in the property - Free filtered water

Cons - Uncomfortable bed - Bedding and towels were dirty and stained - Room was very dusty and dirty, we had a few mosquitos which bit us at night - Room was barely big enough for 2 people & 2 bags - Bathroom was not very clean and mouldy - Though it was quiet at night, we woke up every morning at 5am due to the mosque prayer call that was nearby - We arrived at midnight and host said he’d be asleep and we’d have to check in ourselves, I had expected the host to greet us at that time. Other reviews say they were checked in during the night but we didn’t receive that experience, the host was quite anonymous during our stay. - It didn’t feel like a homestay, no kitchen or food served despite photos showing people eating together in a kitchen. We were under the impression before arriving we could have food served at the property.