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Reviews of Ideal Ayurvedic Resort

3 out of 5
Ideal Ayurvedic Resort
Chowara Beach, Kovalam, Neyyattinkara, Kerala

Reviews

7.6

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 18 out of 52 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 14 out of 52 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 13 out of 52 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 5 out of 52 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 2 out of 52 reviews" "

8.0/10

Cleanliness

8.0/10

Staff & service

7.0/10

Amenities

7.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

10/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

6/10 Okay

Badal

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
beautiful outdoor amenities, but the bathrooms were old-fashioned and not very clean with low lighting. rooms were in decent condition though.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

JULIA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely! Wonderful stay.
Definately worth the stay. Small improvements could be made. But staff lovely and genuinely helpfulx
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2018

8/10 Good

Team Langberg, USA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Peaceful poolside rooms with excellent food!
Highly recommended. Manager was very flexible and switched us to a downstairs room when we requested. Bottled water on request. Restaurant had excellent food which would be brought to our room if we desired. The chef even baked us a surprise cake to have with dinner on our wedding anniversary!
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Room comfort
Excellent Ayurvedic treatments, caring staff
The health treatments were just what I needed during a difficult time. I lost both of my parents in the last few months and the staff at Ideal were so gentle and kind. I felt so nurtured and safe there. Just be sure to go to bed early on Saturday as the nearby temple gets going at 6:00 Sunday mornings and goes until noon!

8/10 Good

Mark

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice Hotel
I really enjoyed my time at Ideal Resort. It was relaxing with really good food and a good pool. I didn't try one of the massages nor was I on the Ayurvedic cleanse so I can't comment on those aspects. The bed was comfy and fairly firm. Shower was good, once I found out how to get hot water out of it. Given the ongoing money issues here, there are two ATMs within a couple of minutes walking distance which were always stocked with notes. Very helpful at the moment.

6/10 Okay

Mark, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Good value resort
No need to go there for Ayuverdic treatment; you can simply go for a quiet and restful place to stay and to unwind. 20 minutes tuk-tuk ride from Kovalam beach/restaurants, and 5 -8 minutes walk to Chowara beach Only downside was being asked to smoke away from the pool area because other guests 'thought we're here to get healthy', even though it's an open area and you may be 20 metres away from anyone else! So be prepared to put up with the holier-than-thou attitudes of the 'worried well' from various parts of Europe. All in all, though, I'd recommend this place for a quiet holiday.

4/10 Poor

Tino, Berlin

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A former nice resort ruined by cheap tourists
According to the other reviews the resort wasn't so bad. Well, now it is. I booked the best room and got and outdated one half facing the pool and half facing a wall, so it was quite dark. At 6am in the morning hotel staff started moving furniture so I wasn't able to sleep. At 7am kids started using the pool with their clothes on. It seemed like they were washing it in there. The water is accordingly dirty. I asked to change the room to another one not close to the pool even though it doesn't have AC. The manager tried to help, but he was also limited by the bad resort he's managing. The new room was also noisy from 7:30am on. For the third night the manager offered to move me to another hotel. I declined and found one myself. He refunded me part of what I paid. Expedia didn't care about any of this and didn't give me a refund. I just got some self-loving text blocks back from them. Last time I used them.

10/10 Excellent

johan , johannesburg

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
My favourite hotel
My second visit to this hotel and not my last You don't go to Ideal for 5 star facilities but go for 5 star service, most pleasant atmosphere and tranquillity. Intimate hotel where every guest is important . All the staff from the Manager Shamer to Chef Binu to the security -seem to be hand picked . Great food , excellent therapist great hotel. Cannot wait for my next visit

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Good stay
If you don't mind chirping lizards in the room, the stay is good. Good ambience!

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very helpful staff
The Hotel Manager and staff are very helpful and always try to support where they can. Room at his cooperation Hotel pebble Beach Was Clean and had hot water:) The only thing I can not recommend is the restaurant. Maybe it is worth to check other options around.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very Relaxing Atmosphere
This was possibly one of the best vacations I had in a very long time. Not only was the atmosphere please but the environment complimented it.Would love to visit it again.Definitely worth a second visit.

10/10 Excellent

Dr Katherine, Riyadh

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Unique Ayurveda experience
We will always remember our stay at Ideal Ayurvedic Resort, as a blend of different experiences, mixing medicine, relaxed stay, short walks to the nearest beach and longer trips to the surrounding attractions. If you are looking for a luxurious stay, maybe Ideal Resort is not the one, but if you want to be pampered and looked after and offered high level ayurvedic treatments, medical care and stay in clean, comfortable rooms, in other words, if you want to spend a couple of weeks feeling like being part of a family, and not as a tourist, then look no further, and book your stay with Ideal Ayurvedic Resort. Advise: do not leave the hotel, unless you have tried the purgation treatment, among all other therapies. Uncomfortable in the beginning, it will gift you a new body and spirit. Abandon yourself to the sapient hands of the well- trained and qualified practitioners. Forget problems and misery of the city life. See the world through new prospective (everyone will always welcome you with a big smile). With special thanks to all of the staff, we greet you and renew our appointment for next year.

8/10 Good

Panky, Delhi

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Decent hotel close to beach
Hotel Manager was very cooperative and changed our hotel (different property) upon request.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness
Fantastic
My tour with friends went very fantastic & funtastic too.

4/10 Poor

trevor, Hull, UK

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
not to be recommended.
shower was very poor, very little hot water, the windows would not even close never mind lock. some guests complained about not getting any hot water at all on some days. the man that seemed to be in charge hardly ever seemed to speak to anybody but the rest of the staff were very friendly. overall i enjoyed the holiday because i just wanted a relaxing time but the hotel could have been a lot better and i would not book there again.

4/10 Poor

Darren and Rae, Somerset, UK

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fine if you want a hostel and not a hotel.
Lack of clarity about how much Ayurveda costs.There is a menu/tariff for treatments but you have to see a resident ayurvedic doctor before having any treatments and he adds costs on which you are not aware of until paying the bill. There is a very small kitchen which is not equipped to deal with around 30 guests. There is a large menu but what is on it is not available. There is a menu of the day, which is the same for every day. This consists of about 5 choices. If you want to drink a beer you have to request a day or two in advance and then it is warm. Food takes up to 2 hours to arrive after ordering and waiters do not speak very good English and may bring you something you didn't order. Breakfast consists of an omelette with white toast, fresh fruit juice (sometimes tastes of onions and garlic) and instant coffee. Hotel is very basic and looks nothing like the pictures they provide. The manager does not speak English and does not seem interested in the guests at all. We moved out to a very lovely hotel in Kovalam after one week. The room is very small and does not have anywhere to put your clothes, no mosquito net and a balcony so small you could just manage one chair on it. The beach is about 15 minutes walk away down a very steep hill. Basically we expected something different based on the previous reviews, which were posted due to the previous manager asking regular guests who go there just for the massages, to post a review. It was more like a hostel than a hotel.

6/10 Okay

Asimina

Ayuverdic quiet retreat
Despite my average reviews, I was very happy with my Ayuverdic treatments.The staff was friendly and the rooms were a good size, reasonably comfortable (not luxurious by any means) and offered basic purpose. The beach is walking distance, and quiet. There is not much to do close by, just a few other ayuverdic resorts. Perfect place for affordable stay to focus on your treatments. Service is casual and variable.

6/10 Okay

ujwala

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities

6/10 Okay

Sivani

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Short visit before dest. with ayurved.treatment
Hotelroom nice and clean, only room cleaning, when asking, nice beach with umbrellas and sunbeds, nice surrounding, very good ayurvedic treatment, good price, pool clean and nice. Restaurant could be much better, more meals for health, meals were much to fat and heavy to digest.

8/10 Good

Mohinder

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Overall very nice place to relax and enjoy ayurvedic treatment. But meal services need consideration and improvement.

10/10 Excellent

I.C

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I recommend this place!
A nice and relaxing place close to the beach. And the staff were so friendly and helpfull if you needed something. I recommend this place its a really good place!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Bon hotel, plage tranquille
Cooking is great for fish and seafood, but the rest needs improvement

10/10 Excellent

Sheila, London, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Paradise in January
Lovely place for a quiet stay, the approach along a mud path was a bit disconcerting but on arrival the garden opens to a beautiful palm fringed pool. Here the meals are served and the food delicious. The rooms of average size, basic and very clean. There was hot water available but could be missed if you didn't know to put the immersion on prior to your shower! This centre offers Ayurvedic treatment courses but for our short stay of 5 days we took a daily oil massage, which was lovely and certainly relaxing.The beach is a 10 minute walk away through a lane of Taylors, displaying wonderful textiles and other Indian crafts. It is down a steep path to reach the beach so no good for buggies or wheel chairs! The lane brings you to a wide open clean beach. NO facilities or food bars or restaurants, only a few pedallers of fruit and other wares, which is what makes it so nice and un-commercial unlike its neighbour Kovlam Beach BUT then it depends what you want,

6/10 Okay

Sarah, London. UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
A nice basic hotel.
Spent three nights here over New Years. Hotel arranged a free taxi to take us to the hotel from the airport which was great as we arrived very late at night. We actually stayed in the New Ideal Hotel - which was behind the Ideal. Not a problem - but it's down a dark dirt track off the main road - which was a bit odd. The hotel has a nice pool, the restaurant food was great, and the staff friendly and helpful. The bedrooms were a good size, clean and basic. There was no hot water - which was a big down side. There were AC units (not advertised) but they didn't work, although the remote was in the room. Chowara is a very quiet place - with no bars or restaurants outside any of the hotels (the main hotel by the beach lets non-residents in). Its about a 10 min walk to the beach down a very steep hill. Its probably about a 15-20 min taxi ride to Varkala itself - which was a bit too far for me personally. A nice, basic hotel - good value for money - but location-wise a bit to quiet and far away from Varkala for me. If you're looking for a very quiet holiday then this is the place - the beach is lovely.

10/10 Excellent

Suzanna, Cambridge UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Ideal Ayurvedic resort Kerela
Loved this small, tranquil oasis. Room beside pool,eating beside pool. Very friendly staff, great chef, Ayurvedic treatments available. Beautiful unspoilt beach 8min walk, 2 min tuctuc ride, away passed little shops. Very friendly people. Fishing village next to beach- fascinating watching boats going out and men hauling in the nets early morning. Ideal is the right word!!!!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Ideal in every way
Friendly, accommodating, family-run. Lovely food, including fresh fish served by the pool-side under coconut trees. Enchanting. Five minutes to sandy beach.

2/10 Terrible

Jane, Wales, UK

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A holiday of a lifetime turns into a disaster.
Well it was a complete disappointment. The first sign was no collection from the airport. Upon arrival the hotel room was dirty. No The bed linen water available, The shower room was not clean. The bed linen was stained . The showr room and toilet was grimy, There were large bolts on the hotel room door which did not engender a feeling of security. No advise regarding meal times or where to eat breakfast. Management were told of the problems and alternative room was offered on first inspection was okay but ants on the toilet seat and in the shower plus bulding work in the room above during the evening did not help and aided the decision to leave the hotel as soon as possible. The food served was cold and not fresh , there is no appropriate place to prepare and cook food. It seems like a ground floor room has been made into a makeshift kitchen The photographs are only showing the best side of the hotel not the poor aspects of the hotel. Tourist beware

6/10 Okay

Julie, Chicago, IL

Decent budget hotel
For the low price, it was a decent place to stay. The staff is very nice, and allowed us to use the computer in the office for no charge. They also have free Wifi. The resort is set away from the busier/ dirtier town of Kovalam, and is a short walk from a beautiful white sand beach (Chowara). Rooms were ok for the price - nothing fancy, but ok. The included breakfast was good, as were other meals eaten there. Meals are served around the pool which is pleasant. Downsides were the very slow restaurant service (granted it was busy season), the strange layout (it says that the restaurant and office are in front, but they are actually about 100 feet behind the front of the resort, down a dirt path), the lack of presence of the office staff, and the lack of knowledge of the office staff concerning attractions/ taxis in the area. This last item is common in India though. There are a lot of other hotels in the area that seem decent are are around the same price point.

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service
ideal Ayuvedic resort
Long walk from main entrance of hotel to the rooms and other facilities;path is not made up properly and would be muddy in wet weather. Also restaurant is near main entrance though meals are served in pleasant open area near rooms. Site manager was more interested in organising outings and other activities as they earn commission?

8/10 Good

Emmanuel

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2020

10/10 Excellent

Mark

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Zum erholen ohne Strandaufenthalt super!
Wir haben uns dort sehr wohl gefühlt. Die Leute waren sehr herzlich und aufmerksam. Es war alles etwas älter aber es hatte scharm. Da es Wachpersonal gab, fühlten wir uns sehr sicher. Der Strand war nicht so sauber und relativ schwer zugänglich!
Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Mark

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Preisleistung stimmt und Personal sehr freundlich
Personal ist sehr freundlich und hilfsbereit. Die Ausstattung ist gut und es liegt sehr ruhig!
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Willkommen heißende, freundliche Atmosphäre, erstklassige Ayurvedabehandlung, unkompliziertes Management. Die Fahrer für Ausflüge zuverlässig, manche Trips überteuert. Personal extrem freundlich, Anlage sehr kommunikativ eingerichtet, Pool mit natürlichem Palmenschatten sehr entspannend. Das fast vegane Essen sehr schmackhaft, immer wieder abwechslungsreiches Gemüse. Allein an Obst hätten es mehr Sorten sein können. Täglich 2mal leichtes Yoga auf dem Dach im Freien war wunderbar und der Kur förderlich. Toller Strand, aber Baden gefährlich. Die Leute im Dorf freundlich, manchmal sehr kontaktfreudig, aber nie zu aufdringlich. Ausflüge in die Umgebung sollten nicht mehr als 100 km weit sein, da man viel im Stau steht und die Straßen schnell voll sind. An den Feiertagen sieht man indische Familien im Festornat. Viele sprechen einfaches Englisch, aber nicht jeden versteht man auch...ein Aufenthalt mit Sonne im Herzen!
Stayed 13 nights in Feb 2019

8/10 Good

patrick, haarlem

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Basic room
Clean room, but basic. No tv. Nice swimming pool and good food. Quiet location. Very friendly staff makes you feel welcome
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2017

10/10 Excellent

Willy

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
3 semaines...
J'avais réservé 14 nuits et finalement j'y suis resté 3 semaines. ...le manager et son équipe sont aux petits soins, les chambres sont simples mais confortables, les soins sont professionnels, la cuisne est simple mais bonne! J'ai apprécié de ne pas être dans un ghetto pour touristes et de côtoyer des familles indiennes, situé au milieu du village donc proche des habitants Je recommande!
Stayed 14 nights in Nov 2017

4/10 Poor

christine, Magog, quebec

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Pas à la hauteur des commentaires
Chambre très désuète. Matelas vieux et défoncé et coupures de courant constantes. Jardin et piscine très agréable. Il ne s'agit pas comme annoncer d'un déjeuner buffet mais d'un choix entre une mini omelette ou des corn flakes avec café. Très décevant pour la bouffe

6/10 Okay

Filippa, Stockholm

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Mer "sjukhus" än hotell
Ett bra ställe att åka till om man vill gå all in på behandlingarna och ha lugn och ro. Trevlig personal, speciellt managern. Rummen är helt ok, lite för lyhörda och våra kläder började mögla av den höga luftfuktigheten. Restaurangen är inte särskilt imponerande och håller relativt höga priser mot vad man får. Stranden som ligger på 20 min gångavstånd har inget direkt utbud av restauranger eller barer (endast ett hotell). Vill man dricka öl, äta god mat och se på folk får man ta en taxi i 20 min till Kovalam, vilket vi gjorde i princip varje dag tills vi fick byta till ett hotell där istället.

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Endroit idéal calme très chaleureux Excellent service adore!

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
liebevolles Resort, megahilfsbereites personal
massagen sind unbeschreiblich gut und sehr effektiv. auf jeden Urlauber persönlich abgestimmt und bei Notwendigkeit auch sofort verändert,. die absprachen zwischen dem Arzt, den Masseuren, dem personal und dem Manager sind lückenlos und sehr gut. etwas schwierig war teilweise die Verständigung auf englisch.

10/10 Excellent

Padmini, Schweiz

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Wellness zum Superpreis
Tolles Hotel - Freundliches Personal

8/10 Good

jaume, mallorca

Liked: Staff & service
agradable, pero carísimo
tratamiento ayurvedico muy caro, nos sentimos estafados. el resto muy bien. lo mejor, el trato. Salvo el del chofer, persona engreida y detestable

8/10 Good

Shanti, Wiesbaden

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Oase der Ruhe
Ich habe mich im Hotel Ideal Ayurvedic Resort 2 Wochenlang wohl gefühlt. Alles lief ab dem Transfer vom Flughafen bis zur Abreise wie geplant.. Es war eine Zeit der Entspannung und ein Ort der Erholung mit Yoga Kurse und ayurvedische Massagen, die im Hotel angeboten sind. Das Hotelpersonal war sehr bemüht und nett. Der "General Manager" war sehr sympatisch und sprach sehr gut englisch, und stand immer zu Verfügung. Mein Zimmer war sauber und groß und verfügte über Ventilatoren. Wlan Verbindung ist auch vorhanden. Das Hotel befindet sich zwar nicht direkt am Strand aber der wunderschöne Strand ist nur 10 Minuten entfernt und der Weg dahin einen Spaziergang wert. Das Frühstück entsprach dem Preis. Tagsüber kann man auch im Hotelrestaurant essen. Da die meisten Gäste zur ayurvedischen Kur da sind, sind die Gerichte meistens vegetarisch. Für mich war es schmackhaft und ausreichend. Insbesondere habe ich die Zeit am Pool oder im Hotelgarten genossen. Eine wahre Oase der Ruhe.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wonderful holiday
I really enjoyed my stay in Ideal Ayurvedic Resort. The staff was ever so nice. Everytime we needed something someone helped us out. I can only recommand this hotel. I would book it again. Thanks to all the team

10/10 Excellent

Юлия, Москва

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
отдых в семейной атмосфере
Проживала там две недели. Тихо, спокойно, прекрасный, дружелюбный персонал. Все время нахождения там я чувствовала заботу с их стороны. В отеле есть небольшой бассейн, который чистят каждое утро. Раз уж тут пример про кровати - это первый отель за весь мой путешественнический отпуск, где кровати удобны. Достаточно жесткий матрас - спина отдыхает. До пляжа 10 минут прогулочным шагом. Особенно прекрасно что на пляже нет вечной толчеи - спокойно можно послушать шум волн, а не трескотню соседей под зонтиком. Прекрасное место для отдыха! О процедурах, следует сказать отдельно: Кавита мастер своего дела, после ее массажа чувствуешь себя заново рожденной. В целом, лечение принесло свои плоды: чувствую себя обновленной и отдохнувшей.

6/10 Okay

Heidi, 19.3.2013

Great ayurvedic treatments
This resort is one of the best places in India to have ayurvedic treatments - highly recommended! Addition to that there's a really nice beach about 15 minutes walk from the resort. There's a little spot in front of the Manatheeram Resort where're some chairs and umbrellas but otherwice the beach is empty and there're just some fishermans with their boats. Really nice! The Ideal Ayurvedic Resort's rooms are very plain and simply but good price compared to quality. We found a one cockroach in a bathroom but when we were complaining about it to the staff the rest of the time we spend at the resort was a bug free zone. :) Altough we heard that in the first floor they were suffering from cockroaches, but we stayed in the second floor at the pool side and that was okay.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good value for money
Considering the very low cost we found the hotel extremely good. Very friendly staff. Very clean room, toilet and bath. Good breakfast after choice. Other meals not interesting. We took our meals in Kovalam instead. Being retired people we found the local beach a bit too dangerous. The surf too high. People in the area were very helpful and the traders not obtrusive. We preferred to take a tuk-tuk or taxi to Kovalam beach every day. The fee very cheap. We find the hotel highly recommendable. We did not try the ayurvedic treatment.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort