Staff are really cooperative and polite. Cooking is really good with typical Kerala style food preparation. Clean inside, Mineral waters are provided for the traveller. Comfortable and quiet journey without any hassles. Tiger prawns can be made available from the nearby markets with additional cost. Cable TV facilities, Airconditioners at Dining room and bed rooms are really quiet and comfortable. Toilet is clean and ecofriendly. upper deck facilitate a conference hall. Life jackets are provided at upper deck. Kitchen facilities are hygienic compared to many other houseboats. Good value for money and good memories for heart. A queen in the Kerala backwaters.

We were very disappointed with this house boat. Hoping for a bit of luxury. I think a lot of house boats are very similar. Seeing a lot going up and down the back water’s they did not look any different. When we arrived the air-conditioning was not on, so very hot. Bathrooms where very smelly and not very clean. Beds uncomfortable, and dinning, living area was dirty, and even after our evening meal the area was not cleaned, the next morning food was still on the floor. Food cooked at the back of the boat, and not very nice, so we all left the next morning very hungry. Staff ok but could not speak alot of English and did not seem very interested in us.
Do your home work before booking a houseboat.

I was on the boat Cardamom about a week ago and was very disappointed. I booked it from this website: http://www.keralahouseboats.travel/premium-houseboat-cardamom-gallery1.html

The reality is NOTHING like the photos on the website. I have taken a few of my own so you can see what I mean.

Here are just a few of the issues we had:
- there were ants in the bed
- The bedroom must have had over 30 flies buzzing around in it when we arrived
- The hot water in the shower took about half an hour to get working and even then it was cold most of the time.
- the kitchen was filthy. The picture on the website simply cannot be the same kitchen.
- the upper deck is has a plastic covered cushion at the front where you have to lean against a broken railing with wooden splinters coming out of it. That is the only place you can really sit to be "outside".
- the only thing to drink on board was water!! (How can they describe it as a luxury experience?!?!?)
- The flooring on the upper deck was so dirty I didn't even want to take my shoes off.
- The route we were promised was a trip down the backwaters and then moored up overnight "anchored amidst the backwaters" . We we got was a trip into the lake with hundreds of other boat and then mooring up overnight where we got on the boat!!!! At this point I completely lost my temper and they eventually agreed to go on a bit to moor up somewhere slightly more remote.

I could go on...

One think I would say is that the food was excellent. Can't fault them on that.

Rs. 14,900 (£210) is a lot of money whatever country you come from and for that I would have expected something genuinely luxury. This was anything but a luxury experience made all the more painful knowing you have just been completely scammed.

PS - I would be very cautious about trusting the positive review on here... I suspect there has been some "marketing" activity going on.