Outdoor pool, pool umbrellas, pool loungers

Reviews of Soma Palmshore Beach Resort

3 out of 5
Soma Palmshore Beach Resort
Light House Road, Kovalam Beach, Neyyattinkara, Kerala

Reviews

7.4

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 9 out of 64 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 32 out of 64 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 15 out of 64 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 5 out of 64 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 3 out of 64 reviews" "

7.6/10

Cleanliness

7.8/10

Staff & service

6.6/10

Amenities

7.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

7.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

harshit

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
Property was really beautiful,.light house and sea was clearly visible from the balcony, two downsides were that there was crack in the bathrooms door and the telephone for the room service, restaurant eas not working properly

6/10 Okay

Tarun

Disliked: Amenities
Ok for a day stay
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2023

2/10 Terrible

Neetu

Stayed 2 nights in May 2023

4/10 Poor

Satish

Travelled with family
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Unsatisfied for cost paid.
Recently stayed at Soma Palmshore, Light house Road, Trivandrum from 23 Dec 2019 to 26 Dec 2019 and my overall experience was unsatisfactory considering I paid Rs.6000/- per unit per night. Had booked 2 standard sea facing AC units 115 & 116 and the rooms were quite shabby to begin with. The pictures put up at hotels.com are quite misleading to begin with. The hotel is pretty old and is in need of some serious maintenance. To begin with there is no lift to reach the rooms. So if you have old parents with you, the stay is going to become horrible as they have to climb up stairs. The door lock of one of the unit was troublesome, one room had a chain type flush system, both rooms had no Wi-Fi and service is just OK. The hotel does not have a stretcher and wheel chair and one of the cleaning staff collapsed in one of my room and evacuating her took some serious effort and involved calling about 6-7 people from the hotel staff. Restaurant food is decent and some dishes like Chole Batoore, Puri Bhaji etc were good for complimentary breakfast. The staff at the hotel were friendly and helpful but that did not cover up for their unprofessionalism. Will rate the overall experience as 4 on a scale of 10.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
The bedroom was fine. There was a balcony and near to the beach. The bath room was in a state of disrepair and needing a deep clean with bleach. Tiles in bathroom really needed to be cleaned. Linnen and towels could have bèn cleaned better. The dining room was basic however the food was a good quality.after we got to know the staff they were friendly and helpful. Food in dining room was good and reasonably priced. We had a massage organised by the hotel, this was good value. I had a yoga class which was great. We would return here.
Stayed 5 nights in Nov 2019

8/10 Good

stuart

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Good location
Loved the gardens, the view and the temperature of the swimming pool, it was a good stay for the price we paid. The hotel is slightly dated but would only need a few changes to make it stunning as the location, a few minutes walk from lighthouse beach and you have your own Private beach is a plus. We felt there’s lots of staff around the hotel which could be updating things when they seem to have very little to do at times. The hotel is very clean which is the main thing, we enjoyed our stay.
Stayed 5 nights in Apr 2019

8/10 Good

Patricia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very enjoyable stay
Rooms comfortable, however the A/C was very noisy but we couldnt live without it. There is a kettle in the room which is totally unnecessary as there are no mugs or tea making equipment - we were told to just order room service which is very reasonable price. Food in the restaurant was good and the staff very helpful and attentive. Reception staff also very helpful - quickly changed our room in the middle of the night when we had a problem with the local wildlife. There is no hairdrier in the room but one was quickly available when I asked Reception. There is a super swimming pool with sunbeds and towels available and a willing pool boy to help put up umbrellas. The location is great with a beach on the doorstep down steps and a short walk to Lighthouse beach with all the shops and restaurants. It is a steep hill back to the hotel but a local tuc-tuc costs a very reasonable 100R. Overall it was good - I particularly enjoyed the yoga - but it is all a bit shabby and with some decoration and upgrade it could be 5*
Stayed 5 nights in Feb 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2018

8/10 Good

Anjana

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018

8/10 Good

Paula

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Beautifully located Hotel .
Great hotel with incredible views. The rooms are comfortable with a large balcony . However the bathrooms need a complete overhaul . The decor needs upgrading . However the location with private beach beautiful gardens and pool with walking distance to local restaurants public beach and tourist shops makes up for the dated decor . The massage spa gives fantastic value for money with wonderful services. The food was varied , very tasty and also good value. The staff could not do enough to help you. Checkin was quick and simple. Minor downside no safe in room nor fridge. However fridge was quickly supplied when requested for storage of medication. Overall we would recommend this hotel as good value and would stay there again. Would also consider booking the cottage if available .

4/10 Poor

Carol, New Zealand

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Tired Bathroom and Room Functional
The bathroom was small and tired and not clean i.e. stained shower tray and hair in plug hole. Room itself was ok but didn't have anywhere to put suitcase, no wardrobe, not tea/coffee facilities. The room had a balcony overlooking the beach which was nice.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2018

8/10 Good

lucia, london

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Beautiful beach view
Tucked out of the way in a beautiful beachside location, this fairly informal hotel with helpful staff is off the beaten track and an oasis if you want peaceful relaxation. Pleasantly weather-beaten with an airy spa on the top floor offering Ayurvedic treatments and yoga. Lovely garden and pool just above the beach. Pleasant balcony restaurant - just don't expect haute cuisine.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2018

6/10 Okay

denise, england

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
don,t expect to much and you will be ok
what expected in need of a refurbishment room nice cleaned every day noise from generator kept awake at night breakfast very good
Stayed 7 nights in Nov 2017

8/10 Good

Lohit

Liked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2017

8/10 Good

Travel Freak, India

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Decent hotel in a vantage location near lighthouse
Hotel is in vantage location close to Kovalam beach, light house and beach. The Ayurveda facilities, pool, private beach, sea facing balcony, cooperative and helpful staff made our stay memorable.

8/10 Good

TANYA, ENGLAND

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
LOVELY HOTEL AND VERY NICE HOLIDAY
WE THOROUGHLY ENJOYED OUR HOLIDAY .VERY GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY .ALL THE STAFF WERE DELIGHTFUL COULD NOT DO ENOUGH FOR US .ESPECIALLY MR DHANEESH ,R SIVARAJ AND RESHMA.WE WOULD RECOMMEND TO OUR FRIENDS .

8/10 Good

Jane, UK Worthing

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good location with private beach.
We enjoyed our stay here relaxing in the pleasant warm pool and on the private beach, although the waves are huge so swimming is not recommended. The cottages are very sweet and worth paying more for as they are larger and have a fridge, mosquito nets and a sitting area inside as well as out. The restaurant had a lovely setting overlooking the sea and the breakfasts and snacks were very nice though there is no pool service. The pool is very pleasant but could do with more sunbeds and sunshades. There were shaded areas in the garden though. The hotel is up a steep hill on the edge of the town and there are many steps down to the pool and beach. It is very close to Lighthouse beach with all its shops and excellent restaurants. Not really suitable for children as sea not safe and pool is small and has many rules.

8/10 Good

guerbac, moscow

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent place to stay!
Pros - Great front of house staff; room clean and large with a great view; restaurant food is 5*; great pool and private beach. Cons - A/C was intermittent (although I never ask for it to be looked at and fixed) and the sun beds could do with updating.
View from the restaurant and standard rooms
View from the pool

10/10 Excellent

Sunil , New Delhi

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I can rebook
A Very Good experience while staying in this resort. Be it stay, staff or food, everything was nice

6/10 Okay

Harpreet

Liked: Cleanliness

8/10 Good

Kishore Kanna, Bangalore

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good place for relaxation but little far from city
It is a nice comfortable place to stay. But if you are interested in visiting places like zoo, temple and place you have to travel. But if it is for relaxation it is a best place to stay.

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Terrible managerial show
We thought nice to start with then found we never got what we ordered electricity in room was sub standard and dangerous the massage packages were cut short and not really proper massages on leaving we were detained having to pay for meals we didn't get massages that were short and not fulfilled after manager had told us we would only pay what we received then causing a scene as we had our taxi waiting he locked the gate forcing us to pay unsigned bills otherwise would have lost our flight

10/10 Excellent

mahesh, new york

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent hotel
Excellent villas, nice beach view, walking distance to beach, shopping. Very helpful staff, tasty food. Hope the hotel includes local items during breakfast. Overall great place to stay..

8/10 Good

Michelle, Schaumburg

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Friendly and helpful
I chose this hotel because it had a pool and "private" beach that I thought might be more comfortable for sunbathing. (Turns out I would have preferred to stay at the main beach as tourists were quite comfortable there.) Pluses: The room was very large, the ac always cold, good hot water in the shower. Drinking water provided as well as a water dispenser in the lobby where I filled my water bottle and saved some plastic. Excellent service at breakfast and they would make me masala dosa or banana pancakes at no extra charge. Staff was always helpful and friendly. Not so great: bathroom is tight, older, and some of my shower tiles were corroded so water from the shower leaked into the bathroom floor. Nice balcony facing the ocean but as the ac unit blows out hot air out there you never want to sit there unless you turn your ac off. Pool water was hot and not refreshing. Steep 5-10 min walk up from the main beach and at night has some dark spots. As I was alone I was a bit concerned but was never bothered.

8/10 Good

Nigel

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

6/10 Okay

E Mathew, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Staff & service
Hotel location is great.. Hotel is very clean and odour free..hotel amenities are excellent as we'll..The quality of the service is not satisfactory as we didn't have water supply for couple of hours in the day time..we reported 4-5 times and then only they supplied the water...we booked independent cottage for our privacy..but the tourists who stayed at the hotel sat in front of our cottage and made noise...the hotel has to pay an attention about that as we are paying comparatively good price for our stay..other than these two issues, everything was fine... The staffs are very nice..the other services are 9/10

8/10 Good

cheata, suffolk

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location
I have been here before, so I like the location, the room is always clean, but there is never ant hot water, the breakfast there is everything you would want / wifi always works in reception area. The only down side would be, for some it is a long hill to climb to get back to Hotel . The staff is always helpful, I would go back.

8/10 Good

Ranjister, Kozhikode

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Good hotel
Great pool , beach access and food. Mediocre parking space and hotel entrance gate, Entering/ exiting the hotel premise is a pain. Will be lucky if able to park your vehicle properly.

8/10 Good

Deepanshu, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent view with comfortable stay
We had a pleasant stay at Soma Palmshore. Hotel is located at Light House beach, with its own private beach. Commutation becomes easier as it is very close to Trivandrum Railway Station. Its location near light house beach is overwhelming as you can have calm surroundings and enjoy your stay better. Hotel's restaurant is good and overall it was a lovely holiday at Soma Palmshore. I would recommend this hotel as value for money.

8/10 Good

Solo traveller, Greater London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
A lovely little hotel with its own private beach
I stayed at the Soma Palmshore for 1 night at the end of a two week tour of Kerala and after lots of travelling it was really good to find somewhere so peacefull and set in such beautiful surroundings.. I was pleasantly surprised by the helpfulness of the staff. The room was a little small but the balcony was a good size with a view of the pool and private beach. The hotel is within easy walking distance of the main beach and restaurants. A newspaper is put under the door in the morning and breakfast was very good.

4/10 Poor

Dr.Suresh

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Do not stay here if you want to enjoy Kovalam
Dont stay here if you want to enjoy Kovalam.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfect for lazy days
Position of the hotel would be the best in Kovalum! We stayed in room 415 which was separated from the main building in a bungalow group of 5 rooms. Brilliant position and wonderful to sit on the verandah and watch the surf roll in. Staff were friendly. Food was OK. Breakfast along the main shopping district is much better. Good value for money!

2/10 Terrible

SOMAN

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The whole hotel is mismanaged. there is no responsible person to see that everything is in order. The chef is terrible. Bathrooms, towels, rooms, bed sheets etc are not at al clean.

8/10 Good

sumesh

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
stay at soma palshore
located in a cool and romantic place... stay was really confortable and soothing. but the housekeeping staff were just terrible.. there was not water supply in the rooms atleast couple of hours before my check out... even though reception guys were co-ordinating to re-instate water supply, the housekeeping wasn't even aware about the water supply failure... in turn i had to check out even without taking a bath..

10/10 Excellent

Saravanan R

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very easy to visit Trivandrum City from the Hotel
Excellent sea view, Room services are suberb, All the staff are kind and pollite. I went with my wife its very safe and secure hotel also. Keep it up. I recommand my friends also for this soma resort if they are going to trivandrum. Total very very nice.

6/10 Okay

Travelfamily, Ohio, USA

Nice hotel,"cottage" overpriced
Good:-- Overall, ok hotel with nice view and private beach, Bad -- We booked a cottage on Expedia at the highest price listed and a deluxe room as well for our family. On hotel's website, it describes two cottages with a living room area, but we were given a regular room. When I talked to the manager, he said that we were in a "Kerala" cottage which was a row of 5 hotel rooms with no living area and did not exist in their website description. Nice location but disappointed that we didn't get what we paid for, not as described. Weak/nonexistent wireless signal in room. Bathroom had a strong smell..

8/10 Good

Beena, South Carolina

Liked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Try Soma Palmshore - it's great for couples!
The overall experience with Soma Palmshore was very pleasant. Upon arrival, I was treated with a garland of flowers. My second party was arriving the next day, and arranging a taxi for his pickup was uncomplicated (though a little expensive in comparison - all the taxi rides arranged were expensive, try to walk or take a rickshaw as often as possible for nearby locations). I was taken to a beautiful little room, with a breathtaking view from my cute porch. It was unexpectedly gorgeous for the price I paid. The room itself was great - clean, the fridge worked too well; the bed was comfortable - the hot water ran out pretty quickly, and the TV reception was variable, but otherwise, I was pleased. The private beach was perfect. No other words necessary. The pool staff worked hard to keep the pool spotless, but due to the other guests (who didn't clean before entering) using the pool, we refrained. The food was decent; breakfast could have been better (and cleaner), but overall, it was ok. The service was good, however I am able to speak Malayalam, so communication was fairly easy. I think it would have been difficult otherwise. Most of the service we ordered was prompt; I had to ask several times for someone to clean our room, and they never cleaned our plates from room service, which was annoying - The local men are generally trustworthy, and we took an incredible boat ride with two local fishermen. Many touristy locales are very close by, only a short walk away

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service

8/10 Good

Monty, San Francisco CA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Kovalam beach weekend
previous reviewer was correct. Great, nearly private access to a much less crowded beach right in front of the hotel. Yet just 50 meter walk to the main beach and the promenade.

8/10 Good

gaurav, New Delhi, Delhi, India

Liked: Staff & service
Awesome view ....
The acces to the hotel is through a small bylane and even entrance to hotel is very basic (very clean but do not expect 5 star aesthetics). The view of rooms is stunning and due to the location of the hotel it gets a virtual monopoly to the "Light House beach". Hence you can spend quality time on "Light House beach" as if this is the private beach of Soma Shore :). So hassles of crowd like other kovalam beaches. The hotel has 30 odd rooms whcih are again very basic. In addition there are couple fo cottages whcih should be the most premium rooms but unfortunately are in desperate need of renovation.... Finally there are 5 Delux rooms which offer best view and are the best option to live in. Overall a good hotel as it offers you the best view and access to clean and almost empty beach....

6/10 Okay

MIREILLE

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

6/10 Okay

Dag

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Stayed 9 nights in Dec 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Stayed 5 nights in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The hotel is a descent 3 Star Hotel. There is a small pool and an easy accesible semi privat beach. The beach is beautiful. The Ayurdeva applications are very professional with a comprehensive set of different treatments. The Soma is a small hotel and in no way can it be compared with his flagship mother Hotel the Somatheram..
Stayed 21 nights in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

eric, france

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Hotel vieillissant mais dans un cadre exceptionnel avec son parc et sa plage prive et surtout un personnel d une extreme gentillesse et toujours prêt a resoudre le moindre de vos soucis (reservation de bus avion hotel ...) ... une superbe adresse ...
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2017

8/10 Good

Ulla, Hillerød

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Dejligt hotel
Skønt hotel med rigtig god beliggenhed. Morgenmaden er fin. Dejlig park ned til standen og poolen er rar med rent vand og udlevering af håndklæder. Nogle af tjenerne er dårlige til engelsk, men generelt servicemindede. Jeg boede på et deluxe værelse, der er dog ikke meget deluxe over det, men det er ok til prisen. Rengøring er rigtig fin med skift af håndklæder og sengetøj hver dag. Hvis jeg tager tilbage til Kovalam, bliver det helt sikkert på dette hotel. Bemærk, den fabelagtige skrædder overfor hotellet. Hans syninger er af høj kvalitet.

8/10 Good

Kari

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Vastinetta rahalle
Paljon sähkökatkoja. Generaattori piti hirvittävää meteliä jopa 7:n jälkeen aamulla. Ei tarjolla olutta eikä muutakaan alkoholia. Ei naudan eikä sianlihaa. Yksipuolista ruokaa. Henkilökunta ystävällistä. Rahanvaihto koko loman aikana lähes mahdotonta.

10/10 Excellent

Наталья, Москва

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Хороший расслабляющий отдых в красивом месте.
Отдыхали с 15 по 29 февраля 2016. В целом отель соответствует категории. Удобно расположен. Хороший пляж. Питание хорошее. В отеле чисто. Номера убирают ежедневно с полной заменой постельного белья и полотенец. Площадь номера достаточно большая. Персонал очень доброжелательный и отзывчивый. На верхнем этаже расположена аюрведическая клиника. Хороший доктор и другие сотрудники. Отдыхать понравилось. Рекомендую всем, кому необходим спокойный отдых.

8/10 Good

pia, København

Disliked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Skøn beliggenhed. Uforskammet receptions- personal
Skøn beliggenhed - fantastisk udsigt. Personalet i receptionen var dog meget lidt serviceminded. På trods af reservation forsøgte de at give os et andet, dårligere værelse..

6/10 Okay

Ruppert, Sauerland

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Lage oberhalb des Leuchtturmes, schöner Pool mit Meerblick. Das Zimmer ist einfach und das Bad eine Katastrophe! Die Armaturen sind undicht und es plätschert und tropft die ganze Zeit. Die Sonnenliegen am hoteleigenen Strand sind gebührenpflichtig, Hotelhandtücher dürfen dort nicht benutzt werden. Im Hotelrestaurant gibt es keinen Alkohol und wir haben auf unserer dreiwöchigen Reise nirgens schlechter gegessen als dort. Da sich das Hotel oben am Berg befindet ist ein "Aufstieg" vom Strand sehr mühselig, im Hotel gibt es keinen Lift und es ist für Behinderte nicht geeignet. Fazit: Das Preis/Leistungsverhältniss passt nicht, es gibt in Kovalam bessere Hotels für weniger Geld.