Spice Village Reviews

The Spice Village was our 5th stop on a 7 part tailor made tour.

The accomodation is in thatched roofed cottages. The rooms are very spacious with comfortable beds, ceiling fan, fridge, table and chairs and an ample bathroom. Outside, there are chairs on the patio.

The hotel has excellent facilities including restaurant, fully stocked bar, swimming pool with huge gardens full of huge bamboo plants and countless colourful flowers.

The food here was exceptional. Overall we had 3 weeks in Kerala and had fabulous food nearly everywhere. Our 3 days at this hotel, the food was the best. Each meal was buffet style and the selection of food was extensive. The quality was excellent. The staff were efficient and very friendly.

The hotel is situated about 300m from the entrance to Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. One morning we went on a 3 hour jungle trek with an English speaking guide. It was an early start (6am) but still very warm. Within a few minutes our guide had found elephant tracks and fresh dung. We set off on a brisk walk before heading into the thick jungle. After about 1.5 hours we had achieved our target and found a group of 5-6 elephants. We didn't have totally clear views as we observed them through the thick bush, but it was a thrilling few moments. As we moved on, we slowly headed back towards the park entrance and we saw monkeys, wild boar, unusual insects and countless colourful birds. When we returned to the guides room, we found that we were the only group that morning that had seen elephants. We were chuffed!

We returned to Periyar later that day (4pm) for a 1.5 hour cruise on the lake. This time we saw elephants, bison, Sambar deer and again fantastically colourful birds.

The town of Kumily is about 3/4 mile from the hotel. It is a very busy and noisy town with hundreds of shops and as many street vendors operating from market stalls or working from the pavements. Indeed, we found a cobbler working on the pavement, so we returned the following day with a couple pairs of sandals which had the soles beginning to come away. We had them repaired (glued, followed by stiching) and it cost less than a quid. The quality was 1st class.

We really liked this hotel and the location. From here we moved onto Alleppey and a night on a houseboat......

Gray.