Kaivalayam Retreat

We stayed at Kaivalyam for 3-nights and it was a wonderful experience. # While the property is a little old, it has been very well maintained and kept spotlessly clean. The rooms are spacious and provide a wonderful view. # The owner and support staff are very courteous and super helpful. # The food was excellent - the quality was great and the quantity (for a la carte dishes) was large enough for a family of 3. # Complimentory activities are well planned and interesting. # While overall location (Pullivasal) is a great location, the list-mile approach road to the property does need pro-driving skills. In case you are not an experienced driver esp. in hilly areas then strongly recommend taking help from the Kaivalyam Retreat for the last mile road. They do provide all the help so going down and coming up is not a big issue as such! Overall great time spent at Kaivalyam.

The stay was very good, location and rooms are very nice. The only issue is the road from main road to the Hotel is very poor and need some improvement.

We were so happy we picked Kaivalayam retreat for our a Munnar trip. Staff is very warm and courteous. They have several in house activities at no additional cost, they serve only vegetarian food which was excellent. Aashish one of the helpers and our guide was very sweet and happy chap. 5 start stay, we stayed at one of their treehouses.

Kaivalayam Retreat was a wonderful getaway - the room, food, facilities and staff were truly exceptional. Highly recommended.

The Kaivalayam Retreat is a lovely hotel. We took my in-laws there for a vacation, and the staff was so helpful and attentive. Their attention to detail is extraordinary, and they made sure we had a wonderful experience. Would definitely return!

My wife and I stayed at Kaivalayam for a long weekend. An excellent experience! Room was clean and very nice, and the staff was super pleasant and helpful. We enjoyed the local dishes at the restaurant and the guided tours around the property and adjacent areas.

I loved every minute! - there are some serious hills around if you want to challenge yourself to a bit of a walk or run... and the sound of birds & insects is magical

The owner was very helpful. Have to be careful when you take turn. They will bring their own vehicle. Yoga, clean food, water has made the stay memorable. The owner is too humble and helpful.

Kaivalayam is a fantastic resort on a mountainside of tea plantations and spices. We were delighted with the reception, our room, the surroundings, the yoga sessions and the meals. Our only complaint was no hot water for showering.

We stayed 2 nights at the beautiful tree house complex with a tree growing inside the room. We signed up for yoga in both mornings, as well as the tea tasting class. Harish was a great teacher and the sessions were informative and fun! The walk in the tea garden was amazing, too bad we didn't get the chance to stroll around the spice garden. Overall we had an amazing stay at Kaivalayam Retreat, Harish and his wonderful staff really went out of their way to make us feel welcome, would love to come back. Thank you so much!

This place offers the most exocitic experience of living inside jungle with great amenities. It's not like a regular hotel or resort it's and experience. You can hear the birds chirping the sound of river from your rooms balcony. The food is amazing too, they encourage vegetarian food and promotes yoga and meditation, infact there are free yoga and meditation session and few more activities too. The hosts are amazing and work hard to make your stay special. Thanks

Best choice in munnar for vegetarian families. Stay here with a good book for three days and forget the world. The activities offered by staff are good. Food is best, tasty and hygienic.

The hotel and surrounding tea plantations are so peaceful and beautiful. The hotel staff were so helpful and welcoming and arrange a schedule of free activities such as yoga, bird watching and cooking classes free of charge as well as help with organising other things to do. Our room was very nice with a separate seating area and lovely view but I would like to come back and stay in one of the tree houses they look amazing but were fully booked. They serve vegetarian food which was nice but a little bland, not quite as tasty as some of the meals we had elsewhere. Indian breakfast was good though and changed every day. Definitely recommended.

I chose this hotel because it was within our budget and had great reviews. But I was a bit skeptical since it was called a yoga retreat, which meant to me too many activities I wouldn’t be interested in and forced community building. However my experience was far from it. Location – The resort is located around 5 kms from Munnar bus stand and very close to the Pallivasal Tea Estate. A narrow lane goes downward from the main road and leads to the hotel. This road is quite steep at places and wide enough for only one vehicle. And the hotel staff suggest you to call for their jeep to take you down this distance. Ambience – The rooms are located in two floors of two buildings placed side by side on the hill. There are also some tree houses further down. The place is completely surrounded with tall trees giving it a forest feel. Rooms – We stayed in Luxury room which was in one of the main building. Tree houses were priced higher, so we went with this. The room was equipped with all amenities and decorated tastefully. The view from the window was absolutely beautiful, which could be enjoyed from seating area inside or outside balcony. Food – They have a different menu every day with a few choice for starter, main course, desert etc. As a yoga retreat they don’t allow non-veg and alcohol. So all items were vegetarian. But the food was quite tasty. Staffs & Activities – Activities were great and staffs were extremely amicable. Their simplicity made us feel very comfortable.

This was an amazing place to stay and rates as one of best hotel stays ever. The location is stunning and the activities offered great. Everything about this place was high quality and the food was outstandingly good.

This is an excellent location to stay to enjoy the peace and beauty of the mountains of Kerela! The location is one of a kind with yoga, meditation, bird watching, hiking, among many other activities. The food is very delicious, healthy, and made to your order. I highly recommend this location for those looking to relax and be in nature. Would love to return one day!

The perfect place to unwind and disconnect. Here you will find beautiful views, excellent service and delicious food while looking down upon the tea plantations of Kerala.

I had an amazing time here.. Staff is so friendly and polite. Just amazing!!!

It was not a very nice beginning. The road leading to hotel looked steep and dangerous, the TV in the room small and we had to take our shoes off to enter the reception area....... However, as we woke up the next morning, the beauty of the place dawned on us. Everything about this resort was done tastefully. Lush greenery all around and simple yet delicious breakfast started to change our opinion about this wonderful little place. The rooms are spacious, well-lit and well-ventilated. The highlight of the place is the cardamom plantation within the resort where they show you around. Mr. Joy, the manager, is an avid bird watcher and takes you out on bird watching trips early morning and explains about the local flora and fauna. This review will not be complete without a word of appreciation about the food they serve. Pure, clean, delicious, home-like vegetarian food. You cannot get such tasty food anywhere else in Munnar. If you want a luxury 5-star hotel, Kaivalyam is probably not your idea of a standard 5-star hotel. However, what it offers is pure pristine nature in a tastefully built little resort which fits perfectly a wond

The reviews understate the excellence of this "hotel". It was more an experience than a hotel. It was the highlight of our trip to Kerala. They provided an itinirary for the duration of our stay, the luxury treehouse is brilliant. The only noise is that of the jungle. The food is first class, healthy and made with fresh home grown ingredients.

Excellent food!

It was very good place and the service was very good. The staff were very helpful and it was a great experience. The food was also very good and the entire place felt homely. They were very helpful in arranging sightseeing, pick up and drop from main road to the hotel. The premises is very well maintained and totally in the middle of nature.

It's an amazing place, the ambiance, the greenery was just wow...Being living in states for 10 years but had not seen so much Greenery. Staff is very helpful, special "Satish" guy, he is really cheerful and helpful. It was like staying at home. Only thing I wish they had better was wifi connectivity, it's only limited to the breakfast area. But overall, amazing experience

As close to nature as it gets and on top of it owner of property makes you feel more than a guest in his home. Very well maintained property with all modern luxuries you may think of. Thanks for such a lovely hospitality and I am looking forward to see you guys once again soon :)

Very clean, great ambience, very well managed, courteous people, great food. Had an amazing and unforgettable experience.

Good one n classic only one miss is WiFi in room rest all superb @@@

Near to Munnar Bus stand and very excited and No fear to stay and super place

I am born and raised in Kochi, and have visited Munnar several times. This time, we checked into Kaivalyam for a 3-day retreat. I was struggling with some stomach issues, and was not well. The staff specially prepared food items on request to help me recover from this problem - That was excellent customer service. Kaivalyam location is remote, and getting there requires a strenuous ascent/descent, but the resort provides Jeep transportation upon request, any time. A traveler arriving from Kochi by bus should get down at Pallivasal Tea Factory stop and call for the resort Jeep, rather than going all the way to Munnar town and back-tracking 7-8 KM to reach the resort. There is plenty to see and experience at the resort, without ever having to leave it - it is a true Retreat. But, you can arrange for your trips with the hotel. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay.. .. a great family that manages the place, responsive staff and wonderful location. Will go back to revisit, and am happy to recommend to any traveler to Munnar.

Good place. Nice food. Cons - no non veg, and tough for old people or disabled people as there are lot of steps.

Friendly host, nothing much to see

The resort is overall very good. Surro

Excellent food

Very nice experience to stay here. Host makes you comfortable. Food is awesome and very light. It is very clean and tidy stay. Quality of material used in kitchen is good

Must stay place if you are planning for munnar. Extremely pleasing hospitality, great rooms, good food. They win hearts all the time by their service, can arrange almost anything for you. You do not find such places normaly in India. Keep it up guys.

Would have liked an in-house laundry. Otherwise, it was excellent. The view from hotel was just awsome.

we had a good time. The hotel is in a remote place... Strictly Vegetarian, Alcohol and Smoking Strictly Prohibited. You will enjoy if getting away is top on your agenda. if the touristy kind, its a strict avoid

We stayed here for a week. It's probably exactly the right amount of time to get the 'full experience', and the food (vegetarian) can get a little repetitive esp. breakfast, even though the ingredients are the freshest imaginable and it's all delicious. Most herbs and vegetables are grown just outside the restaurant window! Most people would have 3 meals a day here, though a trip to Munnar is easy enough for some meals or shopping. Part of its great value is that so many activities are included - ie free. Yoga for 1 1/2 hours six mornings a week, plantation/herb tour and many other things. The Yoga was conducted b a true master, and excellently paced (I've taught in the past, so can say this with confidence). The rooms were very spacious, and we had a huge balcony in our upstairs room (recommended!). The staff were professional, but much more than that - so calm yet efficient. We didn't miss having a beer or other drink, as we felt it was a great place to clear out the system. They are building more rooms, a pool, a spa and making the place a 'wellness' centre, which it really already is. They've done enough of the building work so there's virtually no noise. It's totally quiet at night. However, I'm sure their prices MUST rise after all the building's done, about October, as the value is too good now, so go sooner if money is tight. We will go back as soon as we can! Plenty of people brought their young kids, and it seemed ok for this but I'd say better for aduls of any age.

Wonderful hotel with nice staffs ... Food and guided spice plantation was excellent... Just wow ....

There are very few other places we've been so far that provide such feeling of peace. Overlooking the plantations from the restaurants, the room and walking around the property give a feeling of harmony. This accommodation, in combination with the peaceful Munnar views and the morning yoga that the owner teaches every day makes your stay in Munnar an unforgettable experience. I do particularly recommend this to families and couples, although in our three days of stay we have encountered also solo travelers.

My husband and I stayed here for three nights and it was perfect. The room was large and comfortable and had a balcony with a view, however there was no AC. The staff was wonderful, helpful, friendly. The retreat is located down a steep road about 7km from Munnar. It was quiet and peaceful and surrounded by nature. They offered tons of complimentary activities such as tea tasting, afternoon tea, bird watching, yoga, and a guided spice tour/hike to the river which I highly recommend. The restaurant served delicious food so I recommend you eat most/all of your meals there. Keep in mind when booking that it is difficult and long to get there from the airport/Kochi/Alleppey and you might consider hiring a driver for a few days to stay with you.

We recently stayed at Kaivalayam Retreat over the Valentine's day weekend. The retreat location is amazing, it is nestled away from the noise/traffic in the lap of nature, all you hear is nature, birds and silence. Truly relaxing. The hotel staff was amazing and took care of all the minor details to make our stay comfortable. Trul 5 star service. We ate dinner here and both the days it was exceptional. The rooms were spacious, clean and welcoming. The bathrooms were clean and well kept. Breakfast was good and they served a good variety of food each day. Plantation walk/river walk is highly recommended. Truly unique experience. Great for unwinding and relaxing.

Kaivalayam Retreat is in a cardamom plantation. Beautiful location. You get a free guided walk through the slice plantation - really interesting. You can either stay in one of the two tree houses or one of the new larger rooms with big balconies. Comfy beds. What we also really liked about this family run retreat were the friendly, humble staff and the delicious vegetarian food - all cooked very fresh and using many local ingredients. The retreat is down a steep hill but they run you up to the main road or to the starting point for a walk through the tea plantations down to a waterfall in a jeep. Being away from the main road means the hotel makes it nice and quiet. We would definitely recommend Kaivalayam and thought it was good value for money.

Hotel has no WiFi in rooms. WiFi in lobby only shuts off at 10pm. They nickel and dime fir stuff. Remote location of hotel away from city or shops or restaurants. Hotel restaurant overpriced. False advertising of hotel stating free shuttle within 30km. Free jeep only from hotel to main road which is a 2min drive and drop off at main road is in remote location away from everything. Staff very nice though.

We loved this place, great staff & location in a spice garden. Complementary yoga was fantastic, lovely walk through the cardamom garden, great food.

This is a wonderful place to stay. Start with yoga before breakfast, lovely meals, helpful staff.. Perfect!

Awesome...

The hotel, even though not near the town, is pleasant and nice to stay for unwinding and relaxing. Its in midst of greenery and also offers are great view and is a pleasure to walk around. The B/f and Dinner is served in the Dining Hall, and have a limited but very healthy and tasteful menu. The only issue is no non-veg is served.

Excellent, wish I stayed longer! Owner and staff are super nice. Worth paying a little bit more to stay this beautiful resort.

Had a great time! Excellent facilities, very friendly and caring owner and staff. Highly recommend to our family and friends too :)

Overall great experience. Only pure veg food is served and the drive between main road and this facility is little Scarry. You can request a driver if not very comfortable, they provide the facility.