Golden Sands Hotel

13 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from a very relaxing holiday at the Golden Sands Hotel in Kovalam.I found it hard to get much information about the hotel prior to our holiday. This was in part due to the fact that it appears to be called different things, depending where you get your information from. So, to put it in a nutshell- the Golden Sands Hotel is the same place as the Golden Sands Beach Resort and it is the same place as the Golden Sands Beachouse!! Dont know why it's called so many different things!! The hotel is very simply furnished, but the rooms are very clean and linen is changed every other day. What makes this such a wonderful hotel though is the staff. They are all an absolute delight and cant do enough to make your stay enjoyable. They are very friendly and all speak good english. The pool is great- not big, but plenty of loungers to go around. When we were there, the poolside was never busy.It was also a very quiet hotel, with no kids which suited us. On arrival in what feels like the middle of the night, the pathway down to the hotel feels very precarious, especially with your porters running ahead with your cases on their heads!! However, there is no real need for you to go back up that pathway until you leave as it does not really go anywhere interesting! It is VERY important to take a torch though, as the alleyways and paths that lead up from the beachfront are quite uneven and there are no street lights.The beach is lovely and not too busy. The shop owners are keen to get you into their shops and restaurants, but they are not pushy and appreciate a friendly response. They are a very friendly and smiley people- with lovely teeth due to the fact that the children dont eat sweets. Talking of children- please take with you as many pens (or pencils) as you can manage. That is all they want. So when they approach you they are normally asking for pens or occasionally chewing gum!We did'nt know this before we went, but it is something we all take for granted, but is a really big deal to them.There is quite a lot to do locally and Thomas Cook organise various trips. it is also possible for you to do this independently too. We went to watch a fabulous elephant procession, visited a tea plantation, an elephant sanctuary where we washed, fed and rode on elephants and also visited another beach north of Kovalam which was fab!! There is not all that much to buy in the way of souvenirs and it is not so 'touristy' as Goa. The weather when we were there was great, but very hot- especially between the hours of 12 and 4. There is a breeze though down by the beach and the sea in really warm. I hope this review as been of some use to some lucky person who is planning a holiday there soon. Wish I was going back!1