Neeleshwar Hermitage

A lovely retreat in the North of Kerala and a welcoming centre of tranquillity. Our five night stay at the Hermitage was delightful. The location right on the beach looking across the Malabar coast allows a soft breeze to cool you down from the heat of the day ***** with spectacular sunsets. The food is delicious from breakfast, to lovely lunchtime salads to Keralan fish curry for dinner are all fabulous. They are made from locally sourced ingredients, and a variety of choices are available all prepared to order. Well done, Shani and colleagues! Staff at all levels are actively engaged in providing the very best service. Thank you, Jayan and your team. Dont miss the chance to spend a night on the Lotus Houseboat it is equally relaxing and therapeutic. This is a holiday experience to remember for a long time.

"My recent stay was pleasant, but the food prices were extremely high. The cost of meals exceeded even 5-star hotel rates, which was quite surprising. While the accommodations were comfortable, the steep food prices were disappointing."

Best beach property! Amazing location right on the beach,super clean and comfortable,great food and infinity pool.The treatments at their spa are par excellence and they also have a yoga room facing the beach.Can’t wait to get back soon!

This place was absolutely stunning. The location on the edge of the Arabian sea was beautiful, peaceful and unspoilt. The rooms were large, comfortable and well equipped. The whole complex was very well tended and the staff could not do enough for us. The infinity pool was lovely and we spent hours just chilling on the comfy loungers. There were two restaurants and we sampled both, and both were fabulous. There were lots of lovely touches, turn down service at night, mosquito fumigation at sunset, a lovely good bye message on the plate on our last breakfast, a seemingly endless supply of towels, an organised outing to a local temple, and so much more. After several weeks of touring southern India, this place was a lovely relaxing tonic. We were sad to leave.

This was our second trip here. Last year we enjoyed an excellent visit to the Golden Triangle in North India and spent our last week at Neeleshwar for total relaxation.This year we started in Chennai and drove across the country for 3 weeks…..again ending in the Hermitage, The location is idyllic , situated beside the Ocean , set amongst palm trees 17 bungaliws ioffer space, privacy and are beautifully equipt with air con outdoor bathrooms and comfortable beds. The food is superb ….mainly sea food served fresh everyday by an excellent Chef in 2 restaurants.Pricing is very much on the top side for India….but ignore this because the quality is there and such things as free afternoon tea compensates. As throught India it is the staff that truly makes the experience ..This is definately the case here. Peter ,front of house typifies the charm elegance and good humour of their culture.and is always on hand to help….This is aided by his excellent team. Above all it the place to relax and unwind……enjoy the amazing Spa treatments following a complimentry Doctors consultation by a lovely ,empathetic lady doctor or learn to meditate one to one…Neeleshwar has it all!

This is not our first visit to Neeleshwar, but normally we travel to India in January, the high season for Kerala, so a stay in October was a step into the unknown. October would probably class as shoulder season, and the hotel was not fully occupied, but the weather was still more than acceptable, day time temperatures around 28 – 30deg, and it was possible to eat outside in the evening in shirtsleeves. Everything else was as you would expect from what is an excellent hotel. The rooms are large villas, either facing the sea or in the gardens, well equipped, a very comfortable bed, tea/coffee making equipment, and an open air bathroom with high pressure shower and sunken bath. We were in Santosh, newly upgraded to a Pool Villa, having a small plunge pool in an expanded bathroom area, with loungers and high pressure water jets. With two restaurants one serving Indian food, the other freshly caught fish, there was no lack of choice, and the quality was excellent. The name of the hotel gives away its philosophy, Neeleshwar Hermitage, and it is just that, calm and quiet, with yoga, meditation and ayaverdic treatments available, and aimed at people who look for that, a Goan beach hotel it isn’t, no TV’s, no smoking in the hotel area, no activity areas for kids etc., and a request to all guests to respect others, so ideal for a wind-down after a frenetic couple of weeks exploring India. Even the beach is largely deserted! The staff are superb, senior management who have been there certainly all the time we have been going, and staff and trainees from the local area combine to provide an exceptional level of service, whilst at the same time remaining unobtrusive, not an easy task. All in all, an exceptional hotel, which is reflected in the very high rate of return guests they enjoy. Highly recommended