We did enjoy our stay at Beach at Pollethai. They seem to be relaunching under new management. We were lucky to be the only guests there for our few days - we had cottage number three which was very nice - decorated to a high standard and cleaned meticulously every day. We also very much enjoyed the private beach and the waters of the Arabian sea. The pool is large but needs a bit of sprucing up as do the sunloungers and patio area. I think the main problem is what other people reviewing have flagged up also - the service just isn't quite right. There are a lot of staff around but the 5 star service you might expect as a result doesn't seem to be there. It shows in the small things - having to wait a very long time for our luggage to be delivered to the cottage and being presented with stale cornflakes at breakfast to mention a couple. We were also a bit cheesed off when, on our first day, they presented us with a bill for dinner when we were supposed to be HB. We had had a snack at lunch time and they told us that that counted as the HB instead of the dinner in the evening, which obviously favoured them and smacked of a rip off policy. One real asset they have is a new chef who had arrived two days before us and really produced fantastic food for us at dinner time, culminating in a traditional Keralan celebration meal served on banana leaves on our last night. Hopefully, that is the sign of things to come and our negative experiences a legacy of previous bad practice, who knows? I think the problems with service are much more apparent in beach resorts in Kerala than any other sorts of accommodation because for many holidaymakers, the beach stay is the last stop before you head home and you do want a few days of real relaxation and peace. So a surfeit of staff appearing to be doing very little and waiting staff malingering around whilst you're trying to enjoy your food is really annoying.

The best thing about this place is the amazing beach - white sand as far you you can see in either direction and blissfully uncrowded. But there are much better hotels in the same area - we left Pollethai and went to the Abad Turtle Beach down the road - so much better.

The Beach at Pollethai would be fine if they were charging for a 2 or maybe 3 star hotel. But they are not. They are charging 5 star prices and it's simply not worth it. The accommodation is basic and slightly shabby. The canals in the property are full of rotting leaves and harbour swarms of mosquitos (the manager called them "crystal clear" - what a joke). Across the canal from our room were heaps of black plastic rubbish sacks. The manager claimed they were full of leaves not rubbish and could not understand why we had a problem with "the view". One of the doors to our room did not work, the safe did not work, the cleaning was poor. etc, etc. In common with other bad reviews on this site we found the staff - while well meaning - are either incompetent or powerless to do deal with a complaint as they are ruled by the "director" in Cochin who cannot be disobeyed.

If you are paying downmarket prices then you expect a place to be rough around the edges and you put up with it. But the Beach at Pollethai is having a laugh charging top dollar. It needs a makeover and decent management but until then I cannot recommend it.

We stayed for 5 days in April with our sons aged 7 & 9 and had a fantastic time. The bungalows are in a gorgeous setting between a river and beautiful beach. This is our 2nd visit to the area, we statyed at Marari Beach on our 1st visit and much prefer Pollethai for its personal service and attention to detail. We had use of canoes and were able to punt along the river on our own ticking off the amazing birds and flora we came across. Mathew is the perfect host and nothing is to much trouble. The Cooking lesson is not to be missed ....the food is delicious and maybe expensive by Indian standards but you are still only talking £3-£4 for a main course. The massage is sooooo relaxing and there is even a smaller version of a Chinese fishing net to try which the boys thought was great fun, though they did only catch a couple of crabs!

We have recently returned from a 27 day tour of India. Our last destination was Pollethai beach. We were there 3 nights. The cottage was spotlessly clean. (No 3) and had everything in it to make the stay a pleasure. The scenery is fantastic, the beach goes on forever, and the pool wonderful to swim in after the heat of the day. The food we found to be very good, and because it was cooked to order extremely fresh. We had stayed in 19 hotels through India, and thought Pollethai no more expensive than any other hotel . Matthew and all the staff were very kind and helpful. It was a haven of peace and tranquility.