Accommodation

I thought it would be fun to show where we slept everynight for the whole year, from the most luxurious to the dirtiest (mostly the latter :()

10th January

Holiday Inn Ariel, London Heathrow 45.00
Lovely room as we got upgraded to an Executive Room. Room service disorganised with payments.

12th – 18th January

Hotel Lakshmi, Mamallapurum, Rs1100
Large clean room and bathroom. AC, TV and ineffective anti-mosquito screens. Large pool and hanging seats on balcony. View of pool one side and of garden the other. Attached ‘new cafe’ very poor.

19th – 22nd January

Park Guest House Ashram, Pondicherry, Rs800
Very basic dark room with our first cockroach. No TV. Pondicherry very busy so not much choice.

23rd January

Hotel Saradharam, Chidambaram, Rs1500
Total rip-off as it was a very dark and stained 3* hotel. Restaurant was very good through. Should have looked at Lonely Planet cheapest place first as it was much much cheaper and nicer.

24th – 26th January

Hotel Valli, Thanjavur, Rs378
Cheap so we could forgive the small green room. No TV and a bug problem due to the open drain outside. Clean enough for the price but lacking in natural light. Cafe had decent cheap food.

27th January

 

Hotel Femina, Trichy, Rs 990
A bit extravagant but we booked this for the day while we waited for our overnight train. Ok 3*, large room and balcony, clean and bright with TV. Hotel has a nice pool too.

27th January

Indian Train first class 2 berth sleeper Trichy – Kanyakumari Rs2412
Nice and clean, towels and soap provided, small sink too. Not a luxuriuos first class but good enough, probably the same as second class on our trip through Sweden.

28th January

Greenland Lodge, Trivandrum, Rs297
From the street it looked like a building site but it was tucked around the back. It looked like they’d made a real effort in the hallways but the rooms were very basic. The curtain rail came off suring the night. They has a long list of rules, from no washing clothes in the bathroom to not using the plug sockets for anything other than mobile phone charging. Think they need to get realistic!

29th January – 2nd February

Mini House, Kovalam, Rs1500
Great hotel the other side of the lighthouse from the beach with cafe over the shore. Big room with balcony and fantastic view. No AC no TV the only drawbacks and promised sea breeze died off at night so was very hot. Hotels with a view are expensive in Kovalam.

3rd – 4th February

MK Gardens Homestay, Varkalla, Rs300
Small pink room with spotless bathroom, but still had a couple of cockroaches. The hardest mattress ever! Stayed in family home but they have a building accross the street too that looked more expensive but better.  

5th February

Vrundavanam Heritage Home, Alleppey, Rs600
Awful – but a Lonely Planet Top Pick! Stayed in best part that was 180 years old and hadn’t been cleaned for as long. Dark with small windows and few light bulbs. There may have been some dark Keralan wood under the layers of brown paint. No AC or TV. Kitchen looked a health hazard.

6th February

House Boat, Alleppey, Rs5000
Fantastic! Had our own large bedroom and en-suite, dining room and upper deck. Food excellent. Wish we had paid for air-con as it way too hot to sleep. TV only played Hindi DVD’s (think this was for the staff when we went to bed).

7th – 8th February

Mooleppura Guest House, Kumarakom, Rs700
Lovely large clean room with TV, no AC. Friendly family who gave us some detergent and let us use their washing line. Family meals were wonderful and very generous. Nice location near the rice paddies.

9th – 13th February

Quadiriya Palace, Thekkady, Rs300
The best place in India so far. Second floor over shops with balcony. Can see into the park from the roof. TV and warm blankets. Old man on hand to make cups of tea who was very friendly. Shop keepers downstairs also very friendly. Just accross the road from the Lonely Planet top pick Coffee Inn which was expensive and had dark rooms.

14th February

Greenlands Youth Hostel, Kodaikanal, Rs700
Worst yet as it had no curtains, no shower and no view. TV went off for a few hours and manager was very argumentative when we started talking about refunds. Accomodation poor value in Kodai. Had a rubbish Valentines night!

15th – 18th February

Villa Retreat, Kodaikanal, Rs2250
Very expensive but worth it! Lovely big room with views on both sides. Big TV. Room service was the same price as the restauarnt so we took advantage. It was cold in Kodai and they could have done with some heating. Due to power problems in Tamil Nadu we could pay for a heater for only 4 hours a day. Warm blankets though and plenty of hot water.