Kerala Accomodation - Tips on Hotels and Home Stays

Good to Go Season

Just after the Diwali season of lights and just before the Christmas season of lights. That’s late October, beginning of November to mid-December. This is not exactly the off-season but it’s not peak season either. So you’ll get reasonable rates. The weather is cool. You can experience the rains in Kerala coz the winter rains start around this time and in full flow by December. 

Tips for Hotel Booking in Kerala

• Book well in advance as tourists arrive in droves to Kerala and you’ll be hard pressed to find a room at the nth moment. Going through a travel operator will get you discounted rates or you can negotiate them but travel operators can really get you discounts and rooms even in the peak season because they have developed a relationship with hotels over time. Individual emails may not get a reply speaking from experience. 

• Hotels will offer rooms and free breakfast. Lunch or dinner options depend on the plan you opt for. 
• Trying to cater to tourists from the globe means they will rarely have Kerala cuisine to serve. It will be on offer on the menus but when you ask you’ll be told it’s not available at that given moment. Or that the menu is being changed etc. The houseboat is the most likely place you'll get it. Or en-route at dining places. 
• Check whether they offer a la carte menus or only buffet for lunch/dinner, especially in Munnar because hotels are way away from the main town. A la carte is a better option as buffet costs Rs.300-450 plus tax and may be more non-veg than veg and buffets are strictly okay. The food is rarely hot for one thing as the days of keeping the burners below the steel containers are long gone. 
• When they say breakfast again check if it means a table with an array or only select dishes. It’s often an array - South Indian idli, sambar. Jam, bread. Juice. Tea/Coffee. 
• Most hotels come with fans and air conditioners. Most. Not all. They offer washing, pressing, laundry. Check the fine print. Laundry may mean washing, not dry cleaning. And they’ll still charge you dry cleaning rates. So if push comes to shove, dry clothes under fan at full blast. Where hotels forbid you to wash clothes, don’t. That means they have a water scarcity problem. 
• Most offer TV in the room and wireless. If it’s deluxe, they’ve tea/coffee maker. Extra bed is usually a proper rolled in bed not a mere mattress.
• The view could be the cement building coming up next door or dirt road or hills depending on location. Location is everything in Kerala. So check which view you’re getting for your buck. 
• Some hotels in Kerala have the reception and then rooms move below the reception. So 2nd floor means two floors below reception not above. Check this when doing the booking. Hotels don't have lifts.

Tips for Homestays in Kerala

• Homestay means following the rules of stay. Check if they allow eating in the room you’re staying in or at the family dining space. Extra bed means mattress or bed. Since it's for the family, the homestays don't offer king size beds that come in hotels. The rooms are also smaller. So make sure to check the pix before booking.
• The rooms may all be the same and yet they’ll charge extra claiming it’s deluxe, it’s their choice.
• When they say breakfast what does it include? Some will give the eats but charge extra for tea/coffee which should be but isn’t part of their defined breakfast. Plus they may not be early to rise. So you can’t demand early breakfast. It’s not a hotel where kitchens open at 7 am/7:30 am. 
• Sundays may be kitchen closed days so you have to fend for yourselves. And no, you may not be allowed to cook for yourself in the kitchen. 
• Since lunch/dinner is not offered, as homestays are mostly Bed & Breakfast, check if they invite you to their lunch and dinner and evening tea/coffee and how much it will cost. If you want another eating out option, how far you have to travel for it, walking distance or not. 
• See how far the homestay is from the market, the tourism spots. Sometimes homestays help to arrange with the local autos to ferry you, in case you don’t have your own wheels. Check if they can do so before you go. 
• There usually is no TV in the room, but in a common space. The host/hostess may ask you about yourself which hotels don’t. As in what do you do, where you from etc. 
• If it’s near the port, you’ll get the smell of fish and the view will be of the fishing nets. So check what homestay type you want. Scenic view, near to town…Location is everything in Kerala.