Vayalar Holidays from £325

We stayed here because the description says 1 minute walk from Peryvar Reserve, it is not. 15 to 20 mins out of Kumily up a very bumpy track. No atmosphere at all. No yoga offered. Evening meal not good, I complained but ignored. Chef shouting in the kitchen. Pool green. Restaurant service not good at all. The best feature is the great taxi driver who works for the hotel. Although it was a VERY expensive service. Check the details before you book.

Het is werkelijk een prachtig hotel. De locatie is uitstekend bij vele pittoreske winkels. Ik zal zeker weer boeken bij dit hotel

If you’re looking for the Relais & Chateau experience you won’t find it here. The hotel falls far short of all my previous R&C stays around the world. The hotel is generally a bit tatty and could use full redecoration. There are other issues too, like electric sockets that are loose in the wall, or that don’t work. We had several problems with our room, which were resolved but shouldn’t have happened in the first place. The restaurant service was very slow; dishes come out of the kitchen seemingly at random and we were left to wait over 40 minutes for tea and coffee at breakfast one morning. There is definitely a lack of attention to detail that I’d expect from a Relais & Chateau property. Away from the restaurant the service was ok, quite good in some cases but nobody went the extra mile as we experienced in other 5-star hotels across Kerala. One final point: the whole property felt really soulless with no atmosphere. I really wanted to like this hotel but unfortunately that wasn’t to be the case.