Amritara Shalimar Spice Garden Resort & Spa

Sadly we were only able to stay one night but the whole experience was a delight. A magical setting in lush vegetation where every cottage is separate. The beautiful elephant grass roofing kept the rooms so cool.
The friendly staff went out of their way to welcome us and make our stay special.
We would highly recommend this hidden treasure!

The place is exceptional, the location of the rooms.from the restaurant, the service does not match the positioning of the hotel / price of nights.

Had 2 night stay with family. The villa with heated pool was good. Food was fine. Pptions in buffet were limited, but ok as such. Staff was very courteous. Very good service. Onnthe expensive side. Overall, a fabulous stay.

It's really wonderful experience and definitely you gonna lost in nature. Wonderful weather and greenary. All the staff members are really helpful and sweet people. Looking for next vacation to have at Amaritara.
Thank you Sneha, 2 Albins, Midhulaj, Anish and all. You guys made us so comfy.

Amritara is a beautiful property amidst cardamon, coffee and other spice plantations. The rooms are nice, cosy with a beautiful verandah. Place is quiet and one can experience nature all over the place. We visited in September first week and we' were delighted to stay there. Breakfast was part of the package and sumptuous with Dosa, idli, egg omlete etc. We also had meals which were very tastefully made but the quantity was less compared to the price charged. I would love to stay there again as I loved the peace and solitude of that naturally beautiful place. Periyar Tiger reserve is just 15 minutes away. Nothing is available outside this property but one needs to walk about 500 metres to reach the nearest shops.

Insects and mosquitoes all around the resort even in the room.
I booked A/c room but staff did not give me. They told its not possible. They accomodated in a room with fan. For the money you spend its not worthy

Rooms, location, staff excellent. Mr. Gireesh manager and the team did their best to ensure the stay was memorable one.

The resort provides outstanding staff and service, dedicated to ensuring guests' comfort. Nestled amidst peaceful plantations, it offers a serene and tranquil retreat surrounded by lush greenery. However, the common pool is unheated and too cold for comfortable swimming. The food is delicious and restaurant staff is extremely friendly and sweet, but the restaurant prices are on the higher side. The overall stay was very enjoyable and calming, however it may be more suitable and enjoyable for guests from outside Kerala.

Edit: I am changing my rating as the second day of my stay was perfect. The management reassured me in person, and prompt action was taken to re-brief the staff. I wholeheartedly appreciate that the senior leadership team is taking each feedback from the customers seriously.
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Original review:

Visited Shalimar Spice garden with Family. I had heard excellent reviews for Amritara hotels, so I decided to go with Shalimar spice garden. We booked two rooms for two nights and paid around Rs 38,000.
I had a horrible experience at Shalimar Spice Garden Thekkady, where we were DISCRIMINATED against. Groups of non-Indians were given reserved seating and better hospitality, and the dinner buffet we pre-booked was customized to their liking.
Timeline:
1. When we checked into the resort, we were shown the restaurant along with a tour of other common areas. It was mentioned that we could sit anywhere, both inside and outside. There was no mention of reservation of seats.
2. We called reception at 7 pm for dinner but they told us that dinner is not from 7 pm as communicated earlier and will start after the cultural dance from 8 pm.
3. When we reached the reception area for the cultural dance at 7: 30 pm, the non-Indian group was already seated at the best seats and having drinks. I am not sure if Indians are allowed to order drinks in the reception area. The dancing group was facing the non-Indian group during the entire dance, and Indians were sitting at the side area.
4. After the dance, we reached the dining area, but around 5 out of 10 tables had "Reserved" written on them. Mr. Aneesh and other restaurant staff told us that we couldn't sit at these tables as they were already reserved. There were only two tables left for us as other Indian customers had occupied 3 tables, and 5 empty tables were reserved.
5. We asked Mr. Aneesh if the tables were reserved for non-Indian customers. He denied this, but one of the reserved tables was later occupied by the non-Indian group, and the other table was still empty till 8: 45 pm.
6. We were not told about any reservation provisions when we checked in. If the table is empty, and everyone has paid the fair price asked by the resort, why can't it be occupied on a first-come, first-serve basis, as the restaurant is open till 10 pm? When we told Mr. Aneesh that this was not fair from Amritara's side, he changed this statement saying that we could sit at any empty table, but our evening was already ruined.
7. The other large Indian group had to arrange chairs themselves as there was no table reserved for them. They were also discussing that the chairs from their table were pulled and kept at reserved tables but didn't raise much concern and ended up asking for the chairs.
8. The menu for the dinner buffet, which we had pre-booked, was customized with a more western touch, and there were no Chapatis/Roti/Phulka but a lot of English salads, Chicken roast, some exotic potato dishes etc.
9. Even after this discussion regarding discrimination from the Amritara side, Mr. Aneesh kept attending the non-Indian group - asking them about the spice levels in the food, but we had to call the waiters to provide water glasses, bottle and papad (other items were self-service).
10. We asked Mr. Aneesh to talk to the manager, but the folks at reception were not even aware of the issue after 30 minutes of this discussion.
11. We requested the folks at reception to call their manager and share the email for escalation/feedback. We waited for 5 minutes, but no one came, and the person got busy with the other guests. I asked the person to send someone to my room, but no one came till 10: 20 pm (the time of this review).
12. There were no apologies by anyone from the restaurant staff to the reception staff during the entire discussion.

We loved the place! It would take your breath away and we felt we stayed for a short time only even if it was only for 2 days.
We earlier planned to stay only one day but looking at the actual place and the hosts and hospitality we extended our stay by one more day. There was a bit of an issue in extending it but at the end the staff was sweet enough to talk to the owner and arrange for an upgrade for us at the same rooms for further stay.

They patiently fulfilled all our requests and made us really very comfortable. I would for sure recommend this place and we wish to come back again to Shalimar resort again for sure!

There was really nothing that we didn't like. People here are very simple and trustable.

Thanks to Shirley and team to help us with our entire stay!

Location was a bit let down, but once u enter the property its a very pleasant experience. Food options are good and staffs were very friendly and helpful.

Reception was Good.
Nice staff.
Facilities including Ayurvedic provided.
Good experience

Shalimar spice garden is a beautiful property, you can see spice in this property also, breakfast is lovely,

Why we loved the Amritara Shalimar Spice Garden!
1) Warm, welcoming & helpful staff (particularly at Falling Leaves, the restaurant)
2) Gorgeous location surrounded by greenery
3) Excellent food!
4) The evening cultural program was a nice touch
5) Very comfortable beds
6) The woodwork including the traditional Kerala hinged doors are gorgeous
7) The early co-ordination and subsequent help via Whatsapp was most helpful and a nice touch
8) That entryway, specially at night!

A big thank you to the entire team for making our stay so memorable!

Really wish there was an option to give zero. They lack empathy.and are only money oriented. Go on man.live on the mercy of people's money

Amazing experience, it is situated in the admist of jungle.
Rooms were not that clean but staff cleaned it on request.
Very polite and helpful staff specially the one from the restaurant. He tried his best for arranging jain food which was very yummy. Many options available in breakfast.
Also good classical dance was arranged.
Only one issue since it was between the trees there were many mosquitoes but they tried their best by spraying the repellent. One has to keep the rooms closed all the time.
Recommended.

I really have no words to describe this beautiful place. Starting from the check in to check out, we have had amazing experiences. The property is located in the jungle and a little bit away from the city. So there is little issues of mosquitos and small sounds at night. We had booked a pool villa and it really was one of the best experience we had. The room was pretty neat and clean. The pool was very well maintained despite being a rainy season. Only complaint i had was the staff didn't let us know that it was a temperature controlled pool. The best thing about the resort was the food. The breakfast was really amazing. I would surely recommend the local coffee and onion tomato uttapam. The food was very delicious and was prepared very well. They also gifted us a small eye pillow which was really a sweet gesture.

Amrithara shalimar
WILL I VISIT HERE AGAIN? - NO

Stayed here from 23 to 24 july

I have seen some good reviews about this place and decided to stay here. But I had a bitter experience.

Access to the property- poor, roads are bad.
Ambience- really good. Picturesque I must say
Staff- very polite and friendly
Rooms- not well maintained, not cleaned well, no TV, intercom not functional like many other electrical items in the room.
Nothing in the minibar.
Activities- you can walk around the property, swimming pool is quite small compared to other properties I have stayed in Kumily/ Thekkady.
Photographs- will come out good, the place is full of natural beauty

Worst part - food.low on quality and quantity. High on prices. Eat outside if you are staying here. Two reasons- I ordered food at 7 pm and was served at 11: 15 pm- by then my kids had slept.pathetic taste and a small bowl of fried rice costs Rs 450. Other items are also priced so unrealistically.

Complimentary breakfast- the spread is too limited. Foreigners wont have much options.

For a lousy stay and food, It ripped my pockets?

The ambience was good and natural. A surreal experience it was. Yet It’s a bit expensive for the experience. The best part was there was no TV in the room. I personally liked it because it would improve the quality of time spent with family.

Costly.
(When compared to many hotels around)

Cleanliness = 5 star
Staff = kind, helpful
Room service = timely food delivery,

Ambience = 5 star

Not worth the money! Rooms are not worth the price they are charging. The location is good and that is it. Food is expensive and very few veg options. The staff was friendly. You could find better options for this amount!

Most homely beautiful and amid 100% Nature resort
Food is tasty and good portion served. From the entrance till we reached our room everything looked amazing. The restaurant setting is romantic and the cottage we stayed in was kind of secluded and peaceful. Seperate car park areas closer to each type of cottage. Feels like u r sleeping in Jungle with birds around. Staff is super friendly and arranged traditional dance evening

One the best place I have ever visited in my life. Wonderful ambience and great staff. Must visit place in keral for me.

The scenery was picturesque. The complimentary breakfast was good. The swimming pool was well maintained. The staff (Arun, Saraswathi, the receptionist) were helpful and friendly.

We had an amazing stay and experience at Shalimar Spice Garden last week! Exceptional staff, very friendly and polite. Special thanks to the restaurant staff who were amazing! Thank you and we will visit again!