Karikkathi Beach House

A HUGE INTERNATIONAL PORT has been built and is STILL BEING DEVELOPED within an EXTREMELY CLOSE PROXIMITY to the accommodation. Construction style diggers are mowing the land. Large tanker vessels go past 24/7. Oil is visible in the water. Smoke fills the air with black soot. Noise and Health and Safety alarms from industrial vehicles reversing is audible - day and night. When sleep you hear ‘nee-naw….nee naw….. new naw’ on a continuous loop. Angry waves smash against the rocks and the sea becomes too dangerous to swim. Land erosion is evident and wildlife habitation is disrupted, litter washed up to shore. Advertised descriptions that relate to this property are ambiguous. This accommodation is not on a ‘private like beach’. Members of the public have parties at night and are able come with 3 feet of the property. You share the space with complete strangers. There are not enough loungers provided. The ‘kitchen adjacent to the property’ belongs to staff. Costs for food to be prepared are grossly inflated beyond sensible parameters. Facilities at the ‘neighbouring 5 star resort’ are not readily available – the door is locked to advise against resort guests from swimming in the sea. We had an upsetting stay and will look elsewhere when we next visit India.

What they charge is heavy and not equal to the facilities they provide. Pros: 1. The sea view 2. Responsive owner Cons: 1. To start with, one has to WALK, TREK, and CLIMB from the nearby 5-star resort Niraamaya Retreat Surya Samudra to reach here. 2. There were big red ants under the toilet commode 3. THEY TURN OFF YOUR ROOM'S AC SWITCH FROM OUTSIDE, SO YOU CANNOT USE IT. Then you have to find or call Mr. Vinod, and he will turn on the main switch. 4. 3-4 lights were not working in the room, so we raised a complaint, and then Mr. Vinod brought the electrician and solved the issue (this checking has to be done before allotting the room to your guest). 5. There are no white or LED lights in the room, so at night it feels dull and shady. 6. There were a lot of lizards inside and outside the room. 7. Only Kerala-style food is available. If you are not from Kerala or South India like us, you will not like the food here. 8. At breakfast, they served pineapple WHICH WAS STALE AND VISIBLE WHITE FUNGUS 9. The WiFi password was kept secret, and poor poor poor connectivity. 10. NO TELEVISION IN THE ROOM (which one can use in the night - as sea view is not available in the night) 11. Lints were all over the bed sheets and quilt. 12. So sometimes the resort's door remains locked from inside, thus someone has to climb the nearby wall to go inside and open the door, WHICH WAS A BIT RISKY ADVENTURE, (and it is the main way of IN and OUT of Karikkathi Beach House) 13. There is no wardrobe in the room. 14. Carry a lock, if you want to lock your room while roaming around Wonderful sea views from your room. That is the only & good thing to enjoy here. I think so many flaws and so much trouble to see the sea view. In the same of a bit higher price you can stay the adjacent resort “Niraamaya Retreat Surya Samudra”. You will get all the facilities and great food.

A cosy house by the beach, with sun-chairs and outdoor dining under the stars, a direct view of the sunset, and some healthy, homely food. Whats to complain about? Well if there is one thing it would be the strenous uphill/dowlhill climb to get to the location, with small kids in tow. It really was reason enough to make us stay at the location all day. But otherwise we had a peaceful stay. The manager Vinod was kind enough to accomodate our incessant requests and helped make our stay comfortable. Also we had an early moring flight to catch and the management made arrangements for a cab and for our luggage to be transported to the cab (its an uphill task) in the wee hours of the morning. Each Villa has two rooms. So its ideal if you're travelling with company as you will be sharing a house. The beach is closeby, but requires a bit of a walk. Food was homely and tasty. There was no air-conditioning, but the cooler was sufficient since it was December.