Name: Hill View Beach Resort
Address: North Cliff Varkala 695141,, Varkala, Varkala, Varkala, 695141, India
Rating: 8

24-hour reception

Currency exchange

Garden

General

Shower/Bathtub

Bathtub

Shower

Wardrobe/Closet

Rooms

Laundry

Dry-cleaning

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Restaurant

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Car rental

Transfer

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Free Parking on Premises

Parking

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the resort

Room amenities

Varkala Beach

Trivandrum International Airport

Hill View Beach Resort

Varkala

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

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

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Staying at this “resort” was one of the most horrific and harrowing experiences of my life. So much so that Booking.com have launched an investigation into the safety and legitimacy of this hotel/business and the people that run it.  I have traveled all over the world, staying in hostels as cheap as $1 a night, and this was worse than all of them put together.

Our horrific stay culminated in us being trapped in our “cottage” while, 15ft from our door, 20ft flames were roaring through an area of approx. 400sq ft. Our door would not unlock and all the windows were barred.  There was no escape.  We were trapped, watching the fire in terror, with no way of escaping.  It was beyond traumatizing.  No staff came to help us.  We eventually managed to break the lock open and ran through smoke and falling ash.  No staff asked if we were okay later, even when they saw me sobbing (even though we’d had numerous interactions with them previously).  We were then asked if we wanted to stay in that room as it was “still standing,” despite there being no power or water (it was like this constantly before though), but we declined and were put in a basic room at the front of the hotel, which was actually much nicer/cleaner and less than half the price, however they still tried to charge us the “luxury cottage” rate for this room.

The Manager, Ranjev (?sp) was as sweet as he was able to be given the circumstances of his employment/bosses, but the owners are unpleasant liars who harassed us, lied to us (and Booking.com) and tried to take money from us that was not owed.  Furthermore, they promised Booking.com they would give us a large discount on the principal sum, which they did not do.  One owner, Javeed, admitted that they have not changed any of the information anywhere online since they took the property over, 8 months ago, thus admitting to false advertising.

The short review is that the “luxury” cottage we book for 7000INR a night was far from luxury (see the few photos Google allowed me to upload – I have dozens more).  A handful of issues are listed below. There were a lot more:
-Air conditioning does not work
-Bath is filthy and broken 
-Sink is broken 
-Shower/bath tap won’t turn off 
-No toilet paper 
-No hangers 
-No kettle / cups (advertised with this, told none available)
-No hair dryer (advertised with this, told none available)
-Dirty bathroom 
-Food and dirt on the surfaces of the bedroom
-Broken and dirty tiles in bathroom 
-Mould in bathroom 
-Ants all over the bathroom and bedroom. Crawling on us in bed.
-There is no King or Queen bed - only two singles pushed together in all the 3 rooms we were in.
-Multiple stains on the sheets 
-Cigarette burns in the blankets and sheets
-Holes and stains in/on the towels 
-Daily morning bonfires, built and “tended” to by 2 playing teenage boys, 20ft from our cottage and 5ft from the neighboring cottage.

Manager and owner refused to help us with any of the above, though we eventually got toilet paper and hangers.  No items in our room had been fixed. We ask again, and again and even emailed, but got no response or resolution.

Repeatedly harassed by staff for payment, even though our room still had no A/C and only occasionally had water, and was not remotely as described.  We were told by Javeed that only if we pay will he change our room. Not once was an apology offered.  We gave up and paid some money, too exhausted by this point, and advised to do so by Booking.com.

We were moved to a new room and all of the above applied, as well as:
-There is now no water 
-The bath is broken, scratched and dirty, sinking when you stand in it
-The tiles are dirty and broken 
-The cupboard is broken 
-There are holes in the wall, looking to the outside, with cobwebs in 
-Filthy, rusted fridge
-Hole through bathroom door

The next morning we are awoken by a man banging on our door screaming.  He then runs away and we see the fire.  The rest you know.

Please do yourself a favour and do not go near this property or these people.  


Avoid like the plague - not as advertised and VERY unsafe

My friend and I had a brilliant stay here for 7 nights in Varkala. We had no booking and so wandered the main street on North Cliff which we loved (very nice and buzzy and quiet in evenings just the sound of the waves). We wanted to be in the heart of it all and we are so glad we choose here to stay. We didnt go for the bungalows but one of the rooms/flats up a small set of stairs. All staff are so helpful (thanks for finding me superglue to fix my sunnies!) And it's linked to a lovely cafe restaurant next door which does amazing smoothies and food. Staff there are lovely too. As two girls we felt so safe and cared for. Thankyou for the great memories. Highly recommended. One tip: get all of the 2/3 wifi passwords on arrival as some drop and so there are backups.

Brilliant stay in large room/flat.

The hotel has a beautiful location and is surrounded by great restaurants. The hotel is pretty and pleasant, as are the rooms. But we had to air out the room when we checked-in, had to ask for towels and toilet paper, and were only offered cleaning services on our last day there.

Great location

Stayed here for 2 nights in February, fantastic location right on the north cliff, restaurants, shopping right outside on the strip so you are right in the heart of it. Hotel restaurant is really great & food very tasty. The manager Jauhar is really helpful he even let us keep our room after check out time until our taxi came in the afternoon. Hotel has lovely well kept gardens & rooms are quite comfy with large bathroom. There is Yoga at the hotel if you wish to practice. I would stay here again if I came back to Varkala 

Great Location & Friendly Staff

Stayed 3 nights in November 2018. Spacious well furnished room with comfy large double bed. Bathroom very modern and clean. Chose not to pay extra for a/c and the large ceiling fan worked well. 

The staff in reception were always there and helpful. Breakfast was included and served in the adjacent restaurant. 3 mornings of limited  choice were enough. Would recommend this place.

Great place

The resort is located in a superb place facing the beach just at the sea side of the cliff. You can sit in front of your room and enjoy the sea and the sound of the wave...even at night. The rooms are clean and bathroom has a bath tub. The restaurant service is also great. The sea beach is nearby, just few stairs down.

Lovely stay

my plan was staying for 3 nights but ended up staying there week . so there is no more explanation needed for the review.  the wifi , view , hotel , staff , atmosphere , everything was magical . definitely worth staying

Hill View Beach Resort

Main amenities of the hotel

Location

Available rooms

Location

Description of the hotel

What other amenities are there?

Policies

Check-in terms and conditions

Additional information

Payment