Mr.Sukh Tiwana Family

Dear George, Apologies for not filling up the feedback form before we left… Here are our open feedbacks…

CGH Hotel Facilities

Always warmly greeted at reception. CGH resorts are pretty similar it terms of look and feel (which I guess is their objective). However, once you have been to say Spice Village or Coconut Lagoon you have seen what they are about and it may have been nice to sample something different with another hotel chain (as the case is say with Brunton Boatyard which although part of CGH has a different atmosphere). The food for example in Spice Village, Coconut Lagoon and Marari beach is all pretty similar and gets a little boring over 10 days or so particularly when only one restauarant is open in each case (see below) Rooms were of good standard with Brunton Boatyard and Marari Beach being the better ones. It was helpful that the hotels had internet / wifi access….this partially made up for the fact that they had no TV’s!! Overall, we enjoyed staying at Brunton Boatyard and Marari Beach the most.

Bungalow at Munnar

Whilst Munnar itself was a great trip, the Bungalow was a little disappointing as follows: Firstly there was no formal meet and greet. No “Manager” type of of person was there to welcome us and tell us what the faciliites were e.g. it would have been nice to know that the fireplaces could be set up; the details about the eating arrangements etc. The three members of staff did all they could whilst we were there and credit to them for making up the shortfalls of management. The rooms smelt of damp; it seemed that no one had stayed there for some time The settees in the lounge were very old and the springs had pretty much worn out It was generally cold and it would have been an idea for someone to perhaps have lit the fires in the rooms a couple of days earlier to warm up the place Our preference in future would probably be to stay in a hotel with all the facilities.

Travel times

Whislt I guess it is unavoidable if you want to see the best of Kerala we felt the 4 hour drives a little long although we had some great views of the landscape. We probably tried to pack in too much as we ended up living out of a suitcase for most of the time….in future will probably suggest dropping one of the hotels/resorts.

Houseboat

Probably one of the highlights of the trip – good accommodation, food and facilities. We boarded the boat around 1pm and sailed till about 6pm and then docked at the Spices Cruises offices and then sailed again for one hour the following day during breakfast.

Sightseeing

The trip to and from Munnar was one the best. Great landscapes showing the tea plantations, waterfalls and sheer scale and beauty was inspiring. We loved the Elephant rides near the Spice Village. The Tiger Reserve in Periyar was a little disappointing as we didn’t see any tigers or elephants….but lots of monkeys!! The spice garden tour was also great.

Driver

Ashokan was a great driver and guide. Showed high levels of integrity and care throughout the trip and a great asset for Kerala Voyages

Other

I think that it helped that we were in Kerala during Independence Day and Onam which made the trip that much more special and memorable. It was nice that Karan, the GM at Spice Village invited us for drinks and that I got to hoist the indian flag on independence day at Brunton Boatyard. It was also lovely to have met your parents and family. The services from Kerala Voyages was examplary and the small touches like the mobile phone, confirming the airline seats was appreciated, not to mention all the additional support you gave George to Harminder and Simran during their first week in Kerala and to all of us during our holiday…..which we will always be most grateful for. I hope this is a fair and open feedback. Overall we had a wonderful holiday and certainly the trip as a whole exceeded all our expectations. Best regards to you and your family and all at Kerala Voyages. .