Ideal Ayurvedic Resort

Lovely place for a quiet stay, the approach along a mud path was a bit disconcerting but on arrival the garden opens to a beautiful palm fringed pool. Here the meals are served and the food delicious. The rooms of average size, basic and very clean. There was hot water available but could be missed if you didn't know to put the immersion on prior to your shower! This centre offers Ayurvedic treatment courses but for our short stay of 5 days we took a daily oil massage, which was lovely and certainly relaxing.The beach is a 10 minute walk away through a lane of Taylors, displaying wonderful textiles and other Indian crafts. It is down a steep path to reach the beach so no good for buggies or wheel chairs! The lane brings you to a wide open clean beach. NO facilities or food bars or restaurants, only a few pedallers of fruit and other wares, which is what makes it so nice and un-commercial unlike its neighbour Kovlam Beach BUT then it depends what you want,

Spent three nights here over New Years. Hotel arranged a free taxi to take us to the hotel from the airport which was great as we arrived very late at night. We actually stayed in the New Ideal Hotel - which was behind the Ideal. Not a problem - but it's down a dark dirt track off the main road - which was a bit odd. The hotel has a nice pool, the restaurant food was great, and the staff friendly and helpful. The bedrooms were a good size, clean and basic. There was no hot water - which was a big down side. There were AC units (not advertised) but they didn't work, although the remote was in the room. Chowara is a very quiet place - with no bars or restaurants outside any of the hotels (the main hotel by the beach lets non-residents in). Its about a 10 min walk to the beach down a very steep hill. Its probably about a 15-20 min taxi ride to Varkala itself - which was a bit too far for me personally. A nice, basic hotel - good value for money - but location-wise a bit to quiet and far away from Varkala for me. If you're looking for a very quiet holiday then this is the place - the beach is lovely.

Loved this small, tranquil oasis. Room beside pool,eating beside pool. Very friendly staff, great chef, Ayurvedic treatments available. Beautiful unspoilt beach 8min walk, 2 min tuctuc ride, away passed little shops. Very friendly people. Fishing village next to beach- fascinating watching boats going out and men hauling in the nets early morning. Ideal is the right word!!!!

Friendly, accommodating, family-run. Lovely food, including fresh fish served by the pool-side under coconut trees. Enchanting. Five minutes to sandy beach.

Well it was a complete disappointment. The first sign was no collection from the airport. Upon arrival the hotel room was dirty. No The bed linen water available, The shower room was not clean. The bed linen was stained . The showr room and toilet was grimy, There were large bolts on the hotel room door which did not engender a feeling of security. No advise regarding meal times or where to eat breakfast. Management were told of the problems and alternative room was offered on first inspection was okay but ants on the toilet seat and in the shower plus bulding work in the room above during the evening did not help and aided the decision to leave the hotel as soon as possible. The food served was cold and not fresh , there is no appropriate place to prepare and cook food. It seems like a ground floor room has been made into a makeshift kitchen The photographs are only showing the best side of the hotel not the poor aspects of the hotel. Tourist beware

For the low price, it was a decent place to stay. The staff is very nice, and allowed us to use the computer in the office for no charge. They also have free Wifi. The resort is set away from the busier/ dirtier town of Kovalam, and is a short walk from a beautiful white sand beach (Chowara). Rooms were ok for the price - nothing fancy, but ok. The included breakfast was good, as were other meals eaten there. Meals are served around the pool which is pleasant. Downsides were the very slow restaurant service (granted it was busy season), the strange layout (it says that the restaurant and office are in front, but they are actually about 100 feet behind the front of the resort, down a dirt path), the lack of presence of the office staff, and the lack of knowledge of the office staff concerning attractions/ taxis in the area. This last item is common in India though. There are a lot of other hotels in the area that seem decent are are around the same price point.

Long walk from main entrance of hotel to the rooms and other facilities;path is not made up properly and would be muddy in wet weather. Also restaurant is near main entrance though meals are served in pleasant open area near rooms. Site manager was more interested in organising outings and other activities as they earn commission?