The Bungalow on the Beach-17th Century, Tranquebar

We simply loved it and only wished we could have stayed longer! The hotel is exactly as dreamy as the photos suggest. The location alone: Nothing beats having dinner on the balcony overlooking the beach - and then waking up and watching the sun rise above the Indian ocean! The building, its exterior & interior, is nicely preserved and lovingly decorated: A lot of interesting maps, pictures & objects from another time; antique or old-style good quality furniture; nice little touches like extra candles with matches inside the room; very high ceilings and huge windows overlooking the ocean (but good blinds & drapes to keep the light out if you want). If you're looking for heritage, this is a good place to come. In terms of facilities, everything worked perfectly for us: My husband loves strong air conditioning and was very happy. I like the warmth and appreciated the well-working hot shower unit. (That may appear strange to point out, but in my experience with hotels in India, the hot water isn't always working, but here it did.) The food was good: I enjoyed the fish curry as a local specialty for dinner, my husband had the Creole Chicken Curry. For breakfast they did not only offer freshly-made South Indian dishes, but also several varieties of Western bread, decent jam & a delicious local fruit selection. Last but not least, the service was wonderful: very warm & welcoming. In short: How can this hotel only be classed as a 3-star-hotel on Google? We had a better stay here than in some 4-star places.

For an escape from the chaos and noise of Tamil Nadu’s urban centres, head to the Bungalow. Fronting a stretch of sunset-ready sandy beach and fringed by the fascinating Dutch history of Tharangambadi’s quiet village, this property has done a tremendous job at preserving and restoring a period villa whilst offering friendly and attentive service to in-the-know travelers looking for a bit of peace. My room was simple but elegant and packed full of art and old furniture, as was the rest of the hotel. The meals were very tasty. Staff were always on hand to assist and made me feel so welcome. There were plenty of common areas to enjoy either garden or sea views and all the historical attractions of the village were within a couple of minutes’ walk. One night is sufficient for a tour of the town but I wish I’d stayed a couple of nights longer simply to rest and enjoy the atmosphere, the room, the food.

Everything was great – from service to ambiance. ||A special shout-out to Chef Mr. Sathish Kumar and Chef Mr. Kumar for the excellent fish gravy – rich in flavor and perfectly balanced. Truly outstanding!||Thanks to Mr. Kapil (F&B Manager) for the smooth coordination and ensuring a great dining experience.||Also appreciate the service by Mr. Nitish and Mr. Vinoth, who were polite, attentive, and efficient.||Highly recommended. Will definitely return!

The location is superb. Rooms are good. Clean washrooms. Decent food. Staff are nice and humble people. However while trying to book the room, when i called, i was informed that it is fully booked. After around fifteen minutes my father called and then he was able to proceed with booking a room. Not just one room, but he was also given the choice between 2 available rooms. I just couldn't understand why this happened. On top of this when we actually went there on one day there was only one other guest, on the next 2 other rooms were occupied and on the third we were the only guests! Step stools must be provided in all rooms, as the cots are really high. It wasn't there in our room. When i asked for one, one was provided from the next room. But after sometime, a person came and asked if we could return that and instead he would give us a small table to be placed there, because they needed the step stool in the other room for the next day's guests. I had to refuse and ask him if we too weren't their guests. All this left a negative feel . I just feel that the staff needs to be better trained and equipped. Basically felt like they were nice and sweet people but lacked the required expertise to handle guests. One other thing the maintenance of the building can be improved. Considering the age of the building, the maintenance is decent, even good. However, there were gaps between the woodwork joining the walls and roof because of which water was seeping in during the rains and also lot of insects and ants were getting into the room.. I don't mean to complain, but these are just my suggestions for improvement. All in all i had a good and comfortable stay. Just the minor hitches mentioned above.

Our stay was truly palatable due largely to an enabling heritage environment filled with superb hospitality extended by the staff with cheerful readiness to serve with profound sense of humility. |Jebamalai |Former Principal adviser to the Director General of United Nations Industrial Development Organization Vienna Austria

On a day's visit to Tharangambadi, we decided to stop over at The Bungalow on the Beach for lunch. When we arrived at the gate, the security asked if we had made a booking and when we said we had not, he said the restaurant was fully booked out and we would not be able to eat there. No sooner had we got into the car to turnaround, the security said he checked with the restaurant and we could eat. So we went to the restaurant and except for us, there was not a soul in sight!!! We didn't eat there finally and this is why. I wanted to use the washroom and both I went to were not in a good condition - one outside had wet floors and the flush seat was all wet and the one near the pool had an unclean toilet seat and basin. I did not expect this from a reputed brand like Neemrana and thought if what we saw was dirty and in such a bad condition, the kitchens would probably be far worse. We didn't want to risk eating there

Let me start with the positives.|The location gives great access to the historical town and the surrounding areas. You can enjoy a crowd free beach at sunrise.|The room is spacious with lovely heritage touches.||Now the negatives|The service was abysmal! The staff are busy chatting away in some corner. During meal times, I had to go to the reception to get someone to take my order. |Looks like the room was renovated and still had the new paint smell which triggered an allergic reaction from my child. |The food was another story. I did a mistake of ordering a caprese salad from the menu and was given processed cheese instead of mozzarella. So good idea to stick to local fare of sambar rice/dosa.|The pool and the hotel grounds needs a lot of work with over grown grass that was just impossible to walk on and grime on the swimming pool walls. ||You pay for the location. The rest of the resort isn't worth the price

It's a awesome place for a family stay..Food is really good..||Beach view room are beautiful. Kids will have good fun..swimming pool is clean and well maintained