Date Travelled : November 2007 for 2 weeks

Review Title : The Leela, Kovalam Your Rating 5 Stars. Made By David on 03/12/2007
I have just returned from the Leela hotel in Kovalam. What an amazing hotel in one of the best locations you will find. We arrived at the hotel to be greeted by smiling staff and after being presented a garland of flowers and coconut water we were taken to our room. The Leela is in large well tended grounds on a cliff top between two sandy beaches. The hotel has its own passenger buggies to take guests from the hotel down to the beach and to and from guest rooms.

The rooms are large with huge comfortable king size beds and spacious modern bathrooms with rainhead showers. Bedrooms are cleaned twice a day and linen changed daily. There is always plentiful supply of clean towels and the hotel provides a turndown service.

One of the best things to say about this hotel is the service which is truly fantastic. Guests are served by an army of helpful smiling staff and nothing is too much trouble. The Leela also has 60 security staff protecting the grounds from curious locals who may want to check out the hotel out of curiousity.

The swimming pool is an infinity pool and the water temperature is just perfect. There are plenty of very comfortable sunbeds around the swimming pool and on the hotels private beach.

Food in the hotel is of excellent quality. Breakfast is a superb buffet and there is an a la carte menu for lunch and dinner as well as the Tides Restaurant which is down on the private beach. I can't fault the hotel apart from the fact that the prices in the bar and restuarant do not include VAT so that is added on to your bill, but apart from that The Leela is superb and highly recommended especially as the cost of the Leela in Kovalam is much cheaper that other Leela hotels like in Goa.

Date Travelled : November 2007

Review Title : Kovalam review Your Rating 5 Stars. Made By David on
Just back from Kovalam in Kerala. Kovalam is a small friendly town with plenty of shops and restaurants. Kovalam is situated between two beaches. The main beach is called Lighthouse Beach and the whole beach is lined with small shops and many good restaurants. Most of the shops sell very cheap clothing like scarves and shoes as well as bags, but you will find most things sold in the shops here. A typical meal in one of the many resturants will cost about 600 rupees including Kingfisher beer. Thats about £9 in total for two people. Lighthouse Beach looks better at night as the beach itself is a bit scruffy. Kovalam seems perfectly safe as a holiday destination. There are a few hawkers and every shop and restaurant you pass you are asked if you want to buy or eat. A polite no is usually sufficient to stop them asking more than once. Kovalam is a good place for a holiday. There are several good hotels, the best being by a long way The leela.