Looking inland from the blue waters of the Arabian Sea, the Kovalam shoreline appears as a gently curving beach fringed by tall swaying palms.  Almost hidden behind the green of the palm founds,

 you catch a glimpse of Kovalam Hotels, a unique architectural concept that merges into the landscape, at one with the sea, sun, sand and the palm groves of Kerala.  The Kovalam Hotels is one of India's finest holiday destinations, set at the southern most tip of the fabled Malabar Coast, fanned by balmy breezes, its golden beaches washes by the Arabian Sea.

A  staggering mansion sprawling on the rocky cliffs, Kovalam Hotels juts almost into the sea providing breath taking vision of the vast and magnificent Arabian Sea and the golden Kovalam beach. 

The first, finest and largest Five Star beach resort of Kerala offers 193 rooms (386 beds) including 4 Royal Suites in the Halcyon Castle, the summer retreat of the erstwhile Travancore Maharaja. The hotel has three fresh water swimming pools and a large convention centre to accommodate more than 750 delegates. 

Drive up to the entrance of the hotel and discover that you are at the top of the hill. Elevators take you down to your room, with its private sundeck and spectacular view of the sea. Inside, the décor too is in complete harmony with the surroundings. Wicker and bamboo, coir and shell are imaginatively used for furniture and fixtures. But modern conveniences like air conditioning and telephones, hot and cold water in the attached bathrooms are perfectly incorporated to make your holiday a dream.

Further down the beach, a cluster of 40 kudils or beach cottages hug the shoreline, creating the village-like Kovalam Grove. Each cottage has two studio bedrooms with private sundecks which offer all the luxuries of the resort  

  
with a taste of cottage living. On the headland, the small summer retreat of the old Maharajas of Travancore, the Halcyon Castle, stands in its own grove of palms and offers a very private and exclusive holiday for the discriminating few.

The cuisine at Kovalam combines the familiar with the exotic. Fresh sea food naturally takes pride of place at The Shells Restaurant, served in Continental style or in some of the many delicious ways typical of this coastal region. The Coffee Shop is always open for light meals and snacks. And the Admiral Bar, overlooking the rooftop swimming pool, serves your favourate drink as you watch the sun set over the Arabian Sea. For Regional, Indian and Continental delicacies there is Grove Restaurant. Grove Bar is an ideal place to meet over exotic soft drinks. Beach Centre Restaurant serves Regional dishes and snacks.

There is so much to do and see in Kovalam. At the Resort, you can swim, sunbathe, ride the local catamarans, learn Yoga and Meditation, watch the exotic dance performance of Kathakali, or stretch out for the ancient Kerala herbal oil bath and massage which is the ultimate in relaxation. Or take time off to visit the Elephant Sanctuary at Periyar, the wooden palace of Padmanabhapuram, or enjoy a Backwater Cruise which is unique to Kerala.


The history of Kovalam Hotels begins with the Kovalam Palace (Halcyon Castle), the summer retreat of the royal family of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore. The royal family had handed over the property to the State Tourism Department to develop this area. In 1969 ITDC had taken over the property from the Tourism Department to develop India's first integrated beach resort here.  The conception of the Beach Resort was left to the Master Architect Mr.Charles Correa. 

In 1972, ITDC started the operation of the resort with 40 cottages at the Kovalam Grove. The project of this Five Star Resort of the state was completed in 1976 with the addition of 88 rooms in the Beach View Block, which is a unique architectural concept that merges with the landscape; at one with the sea, sun, sand and palm groves of Kerala. Since then, the history of this resort has been synonymous with the development of tourism in Kerala.  This resort is a classic example for destination development.  With this resort the destination Kovalam, once an unknown fishermen's village also became famous all around the world among holiday makers.

Considering the heavy increase in the demand for accommodation in the early nineties ITDC had commissioned a major expansion project of this resort in 1995 by adding 64 more rooms in the Sea View Block and the Rajiv Gandhi Convention Centre with state of the art facilities for 500 delegates. Presently the resort has got 193 rooms and it is the largest tourism industry unit in the state. 

The M Far Hotels has taken over the resort from ITDC through the disinvestment process of the Govt.of India on 11th July 2002 and the hotel has been renamed as Kovalam Hotels Limited. M Far Hotels also owns the Le Meridien Hotel & Convention Centre at Cochin

Over the years, Kovalam Hotels has played host to a galaxy of VIPs including the Presidents and Prime Ministers of India, internationally reputed high foreign officials and dignitaries and celebrities such as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Hollywood actor Richard Gere.

Dining

Shells Restaurant  : Regional, Indian & Continental cuisine
Grove Restaurant  : Regional, Indian & Conti nental cuisine 
Coffee Shop : Mini Meals & Snack   
Admiral Bar : Exotic Drinks 
Sea View Deck Restaurant : Sea Food Barbecue 
  
At the Beach :  
            
Beach Centre : Regional Dishes & Light Snacks. 
Restaurant Ice cream Parlour, Beer Parlour 

Conference

Conference halls of various capacities as indicated below are available along with all conference facilities.

Name of the Hall                                              Capacity

a) Rajiv Gandhi Convention Centre                       1000
b) Rajiv Gandhi Convention Centre - First floor        100
c) Rajiv Gandhi Convention Centre - Second floor     30
d) Beach view conference hall                                90
e) For, Beach Parties                                        5000

Special Conference Packages are available.   Please contact the Sales Manager (480101 Extn.7669) for more details.

Services

Aquatic Sports, Travel Agency, Money Changer, Postal Services, Fax, E-mail, Cyber Café, Safe Deposit Lockers, Shopping Arcade, Swimming  Pools, Tennis Court, Beauty  Parlour, Yoga & Ayurvedic Massage Centre Games Parlour, Cultural Show (on request), Doctor (on call), Institutional Member of Trivandrum Golf Club.


                      Kovalam Holidays / Room Tariff