The Ocean Park Beach Resort

I visited this hotel in a Tor to Kerala. The location of the hotel is not bad, it's very close to the Light House. The sea can be seen from the sea facing rooms even when lying on the bed. But the hotel's restaurant is very costly and not provides quality food even. The have complimentary breakfast but their cook never wakes up before 9:30 at the morning. So, you have to have your breakfast somewhere else. The behaviour of the stands is not even good, they starts to quarrel with guests and behaves rudely. They even do not fulfill to all their facilities.

The pictures look much nicer than the place really is. My room was dirty, with items from prior guests. The mattress was horrible and the bedding had a huge rip, and when I asked to be changed, the staff looked at me as if I was asking for something unreasonable. I finally got it done the next morning. A/C is very noisy and old. The bathroom was not well maintained and it was smelly. Bad towels as well. And the view: although you see the ocean, since you are on a second tier, you see the ugly roofs of the restaurant and shops in front of the hotel. There are some other nice place to stay in Kovalam Lighthouse beach, there is no reason to stay here and waste your money!

This small hotel is perfectly positioned on the beach with immediate access to all of the great stuff in Kovalam. The rooms are clean and very spacious, all with balcony views of sea or jungle. A mixture of independent and group travellers are accommodated. The rooftop Yoga Shala was perfect for teaching on our Yoga Retreat, as well as for private practice, listening to the sea and jungle sounds. The hotel staff are friendly, extremely courteous and your comfort and happiness is their priority. The hotel manager, Arun, helped our Yoga Retreat clients get the very best out of our time in India, organising bespoke meals for our group, arranging trips, some of which he accompanied us on or found a trusted guide. Arun also helped us solve some tricky situations, loved talking to us about history, customs and current news stories of/in India. Through his care, kindness and enthusiasm, he built good relationships with everyone on the retreat. I have no hesitation in recommending The Ocean Park Beach Resort and we are already planning our next visit!

I stayed at the Ocean Park Beach Resort for 10 days at the beginning of December 2018, as part of a group. It was my first trip to India so I was a bit apprehensive as to accommodation and its amenities. I arrived in the early hours of the morning and night staff were expecting me; on hand to answer any questions and to take me to my room immediately for some much needed sleep. I was staying in a sea view room so to wake up in the morning to a beautiful unrestricted view of the Lighthouse beach and sit out on the balcony in the warming Indian climate was just what I had hoped for! As previous reviews have indicated, its a matter of managing expectations, given its accommodation in India. That being said the manager Arun and his team are entirely dedicated in tending to all the needs of their guests. My room on the fourth floor was huge, with all the essentials available; fridge, power sockets working, wifi, AC and a fan, wardrobe and storage space with daily supply of running water. I did have an initial issue with AC however this was swiftly rectified by the staff upon notification. Rooms were serviced upon request and fresh towels were supplied. Although the accommodation is fairly basic, I never found an issue with the standard of cleanliness of the room or with any requests I made. As a group we used the rooftop shala daily which was a great space with a view of some amazing sunsets. The beach is literally on the hotels doorstep which is a lovely local clean beach, sunbeds and umbrellas available and a good variety of shops with plenty of opportunity to buy some lovely Indian crafts and unique artefacts. After a day or so being in the area, I quickly got a sense of it being a safe location, friendly locals with some great restaurants. I would enjoy an early morning walk along the beach, seeing the local fisherman bring in their catch and variety of birds so lots of photo opportunities! For me, Kovalam was a great location as the perfect introduction to India. The hotel has a lovely, open bar area with a sea view and serves a variety of drinks, yummy smoothies, cocktails, as well breakfast, snacks and meals. The highlight of my entire stay in Ocean Park Beach Resort was the exceptional meals we had as a group that were arranged through the hotel. The quality of the food (fresh seafood, fish, meat and vegetarian), beautiful presentation and its taste was on par with some of the food I have eaten in five star Asian resorts. It was truly phenomenal, in particular with the value of the meals given the choice we had. The chef and manager had gone to great lengths to ensure everyone dietary needs and preferences were met. It will certainly be a lasting memory of my time at the hotel. I enjoyed my stay here and and hope I have an opportunity to return again.

I stayed for two weeks as part of a group in Late November/early December 2018. We had a really enjoyable stay. Arun and the management team did everything they could to accommodate our needs. We were able to book group meals in the adjoining restaurant, arrange trips, change currency, arrange therapies and massages. Nothing was too much trouble. I had a first floor room with sea view. The room was spacious with a good size balcony and a comfortable bed. The room was serviced daily on request. I have stayed in a number of hotels in India and the very good level of service really marks this one out from the rest, As always when travelling in Asia, there is need to manage expectations. It is a two star hotel in India, so it is reasonable to expect some of the fixtures and fittings to be well worn. But everything worked (fan, air conditioning, power points). There was a an adequate supply of hot water, though at 34 degrees, water at ambient temperature from time to time is not really a problem. The proximity to the beach and a good range of local restaurants are strong points in its favour. The beach has regular lifeguards every day, sun bed/umbrella hire available and a really friendly and helpful fruit seller. In short, everything you need for a beach holiday. The hotel has a rooftop shala for yoga which was a big plus for us, We had a great stay and would certainly use the hotel again when next in the area,