Name: Raja Hotel
Address: Beach Road, Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, Varkala, Varkala, Varkala, 695527, India
Rating: 7

Air conditioning

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In-room internet

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Parking

Outdoor pool

Pool and beach

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At the hotel

Varkala Beach

Trivandrum International Airport

Raja Hotel

Varkala

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

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king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

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not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

We visited The Raja Hotel in February, as a group of 5 friends, 3 singles and 1 couple. The staff couldn't have been more friendly and accommodating. We were given the top floor, which has a lovely terrace and beautiful views of the coast.  The hotel is about to undergo a major refurbishment which it is in need of, if it it is to attract the mainstream, big bucks payers, but we actually loved it as it is - rough around the edges with lovely staff trying to give the impression that you are really staying in a luxury hotel. Scenes from the Faulty Towers frequently came to mind.

Cheap and cheerful

We found it enjoyable. At this price point you would be hard pressed to do better. Having booked into a hotel down the road which was detestably bad, friendly and helpful staff were a welcome relief. 
Some of the comments on here are justified, service in some areas is a little slow. 
One review suggests the Turtle across the road. That is not a budget hotel, not even close. It’s 4 times the price!
True, you need to be on a higher floor for a decent sea view, but climb is worth it. We’re sat at the moment in the balcony drinking tea made with the provided equipment. 
It is closing soon for a refurb when a lift is to be installed. So next season give it a go if you are in Kovalam. 
Breakfast is not buffet, toast and eggs are on offer. We find that highly acceptable when you are consuming spicy food the rest of the day. 

Good value

Hi Guys, im so happy to write this review.

we stayed there about 4-5 days. we loved this hotel - beautifully positioned, a story teller, all sea view rooms and amazing poolside terrace, the staff - very warm, delighted and helpful, food definitely- very authentic and original, 

yes, it's not a star hotel kind place but more of a guest house. very historic property and its sitting on very elevated ground providing beautiful views.

she's a budget hotel, doesn't have lifts, etc Like i said, its place for a good escape from the hustle and bustle of a typical hotel in a budgetary segment.

All we did was EAT, SLEEP, DRINK and of course lazing in the pool.

definitely this a hotel has a great potential for tourist attraction.

Best regards

Great escape, beautiful views.

This property exceeded my expectations in the budget category. It was worth it to spend 2 nights here. 
The rooms were very clean and the staff was very helpful. I stayed here for couple of nights before heading to our final destination to attend a wedding. The staff was very patient and tried to answer and help us in the best possible way.
The view from the room was nice too.
You shouldn't miss their delicious breakfast, it had the taste of authentic Kerala food.

They should renovate the bathrooms & ensure the proper hot water supply for shower and improve the wifi quality. But overall it was a satisfactory stay!

Worth a stay!

We have stayed at this hotel several times in the past, but this time we were truly disappointed. We booked in advance by e-mail and telephone, and booked the suite. We have seen the suite previously and had expectations, based on prior knowledge. We were also told that the hotel had gone through a recent refurbishment. On arrival we checked in and found there was no fridge in the room. We were told that none of the rooms had fridges. They had on our previous visits. We pointed out that we needed a fridge and would have to go elsewhere if one couldn't be provided, so a small fridge was installed later that day. The main room was spacious and comfortable, but the back room and the bathroom were a little grim, the bath was unusable, the bottom had cracks inches long and wide. There was no daily cleaning regime, so on the third day we asked and was told that the room would be serviced on request. Changing of towels was a bit hot and miss, again only done on request to begin with. On our first morning the breakfast on offer was a choice of egg (omelette) or toast, or both. We asked if it was possible to have porridge, or cereal (cornflakes), this was then made available from day three, and was automatically served until we asked to go back to toast and omelette, towards the end of our three week stay. On the morning of day 15 we found droppings on the work surface in the back room and on the edge of the bath. We complained and moved to an ordinary room upstairs. The fridge was moved up with us. Having pointed out some of the short comings of the cleaning programme in the suite, our room was scrubbed thoroughly before we moved up, and the room was cleaned and serviced daily for the duration of our stay. On the first day in the new room my wife took a shower, and when I tried to follow suit I managed to wet my body and apply shower gel and then the water supply to the shower ceased. I managed using water from the dwindling supply to the tap. I reported this the following morning, but by then the water had started to flow again. As there was water, nothing was done. Unfortunately, there was now only cold water from the shower. I reported this and was instructed to let the water run for a few minutes, however, the water continued to run cold. This was demonstrated to the staff and we were told that he back up water heating would be turned on. This didn't make any difference and further reporting didn't produce any results, so for the remaining five days we had to take cold showers. The wifi was very hit and miss, reception was poor, at best.  Although the staff were friendly and tried to be helpful, communication was difficult, and frequently not achieved. I asked for the bill the day before we left and the manager just told me that it would be the price I had originally been quoted. I pointed out that it wasn't our fault that we had to change rooms, so he adjusted the bill. I left to sort out my money to pay, now I knew the price, and on return was told that it was in fact 3000R/s more than informed earlier. I asked for an explanation but the manager was unable to explain the logic behind the adjustment, spoke to his boss and informed me that I should pay the earlier agreed amount. This was an unsatisfactory end to an unsatisfactory stay.   Perhaps for a single night booking this may be okay, but not for longer than that.

Raja Hotel

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