Blackberry Hills Retreat & Spa

The location was lovely and the staff friendly. It felt over priced however. The food was not the best I’ve had in Kerala. It was more oily than the light Keralan dishes I ate elsewhere. The breakfast buffet is fine but again not the best food I’ve had here although there was lots of it. I had room 303 which doesn’t have a view of the valley below. The room was very nice and there was hot water when I tried in the evening. The electricity when out twice during my three night stay. I had to locate the fuse box and reset it using my head torch. The staff were kindly but I felt perhaps needed better training and better English compared to the other places I stayed in Kerala. There was a slight formality which was different to the easy going warmth and engagement I’ve found elsewhere. And there was that ‘it will be ready in 1 minute’ type approach when something would obviously take 20 minutes. It reminds me more of other parts of India than of Kerala. It’s better just to be straight than to oversell something. So overall I really enjoyed the restfulness of the stay, and I organised trekking around Munnar through other people than the hotel. Perhaps it’s trying to be a higher class place but loses the things that actually make Kerala wonderful.

Comfy bed, lush surrounds, great views of tea plantations.

Climbing steps from and to the restaurant was very tiresome exercise. Not enjoyable at all.