Aryavilla Heritage

Good stuff

I went with my wife in January and we planned to go again this time with our three kids. The property Manager Mohammed made things so smooth and easier for us. Room was nice and clean. Place is very close to beach and far enough to be away from loud music and foot traffic. We stayed in back building this time but personally would prefer front building for next time. We had no issues with guest house or service but were disturbed by some guests who were loud and noisy through out the night. I wish something could have been done about this as we were unable to get good sleep and felt bit disturbed because of the loud music and noise by fellow guest. Rooms are spacious enough and as mentioned if you have doubts or issues, just approach Mohammed (manager). I’m sure he would take care of everything for you and make sure you have wonderful trip. And please don’t forget to try their amazing home cooked breakfast.

I’ll start by saying that we only booked this guesthouse as it was pretty much the only one available for our dates in Varkala that seemed well located and wasn’t a hostel in a dorm room (we are a married couple in our 30s and are passed the days of sleeping in a dorm bunk bed!). BIG MISTAKE! Following 7 weeks of travel in India and staying in almost 20 different guesthouses and homestays, this was by far the worst! One of the most expensive out of all the properties we stayed in and by far the worst in terms of facilities, value for money and management. Where to begin… 1. Frequent power cuts on our first day turning the lights and AC off in the room 2. We stayed in two rooms (one AC and one fan). Almost none of the plug sockets worked in either room with the exception of one 3. The shower was practically pointless and the water came out in a tiny trickle in both rooms. Not very practical for showering. We used the bucket for showering (which we have done many times in India, but not expected here considering it cost 2-3x more than other properties we stayed at in India). It’s also a wet room (common in India), but no mop/brush to push all the excess water into the drain (we had this in majority of our other guesthouses) so you’re walking into a soaking wet bathroom every time you enter 4. The rooms didn’t feel 100% clean - we were walking on sand before we even went to the beach and even felt sand in the bed! 5. Speaking of the bed, this was rock hard and super uncomfortable 6. We shared our AC room with 4/5 geckos each night. We are ok with nature and insects so this wasn’t a huge deal for us but just FYI incase you are not. There are vents in the room that allow insects in easily, despite them having some sort of sellotape over them to try and prevent this 7. There was construction work happening (either the property itself or next door). When in the AC room we were woken up quite early each morning with loud banging and drilling practically outside our window. The workmen also left their tools on our balcony 8. We were interested in doing the cooking class offered but were told that this was not available because the owner Suresh was too busy at his other property in Varkala (it’s called Gypsy Walker so will assume is also poor quality). Just as well, wouldn’t have wanted to have given another penny to this property! 9. The property requests that shoes are taken off before entry and left on the designated shoe rack. Respectful of the property’s policies and Indian culture we did just that. On the last day, one of our pairs of shoes was stolen from the rack. We know this happened that day as they were there late morning when we went out but not the evening when we returned to get them. When we informed Suresh of the issue, he was incredibly rude, shouting abuse at us down the phone and accused us of lying to get compensation out of him - incredibly insulting to say the least. We were told that no one has access to the property

The manager of this property is running a payment scam, so please be aware. Following arrival I was asked for payment, I asked for the amount to be confirmed and asked the manager to confirm that payment would be taken in rupees. He confirmed to me that it would. After the card transaction was completed my card receipt showed that I had been charged in pounds sterling, with of course an increase in my charge. I asked for a credit to be put back on my card and offered to pay cash. He refused to credit my card and refused a correct payment in cash. He tried to blame his bank and said it was standard practice when customers paid with a foreign credit card. So, why did he lie to me and why is there no mention of this extra bank charge on their property page. I am an experienced traveler to India and have never encountered this scam before. It also contradicts the booking sites payment terms which states payments will be made in the local currency. It is not the amount but the blatant lies and dishonesty. I don’t like dishonest people, it breaks trust. So beware.