AVANTHI HOMESTAY

Spot clean rooms, twenty steps from the beach, what more can one ask for. And yes, it's budget friendly. You won't get a sea facing room, as sometimes advertised by this stay, but you can hear the sea as you wake up. Walking distance to everything interesting in Varkala.

3 days ago

Had a very nice stay for 3 nights in this small hotel. Rooms are clean and have good space. The service from the staff is excellent. I asked them if it was possible to arrange some place for working and they provided a big office table and chair in my room. I will be back 😊

a month ago

Avanthi Homestay is centrally located near the North Cliff in Varkala, with just a few minutes walk to the cliff side, beach, and the cafes dotting this area. Its entrance, however, faces east, away from the cliff and has to be reached through narrow lanes and streets from the main roads from the station. Travelling here with a big car (say sedan) may be difficult. The better option will be to park at the Helipad and walk to the homestay, which takes around 5 minutes. It is not directly accessible by a vehicle on either side. However, its roof has a beautiful view of the beach, and the rooms guarantee privacy and quiet, away from the bustling activity near the cliff side. The rooms, as such, are in excellent condition - with Wifi facilities, a TV, air conditioners, adequate storage such as a cupboard, bed side tables, tea tables, stools, and a coat hanger. The double beds can comfortably accommodate three adults. The bathroom facilities are good, with an attached western commode and a shower area. There is no adequate ventilation in the toilet, but this compensates with an exhaust fan, which needs to be switched on most of the time to dry the area. The rooms are sufficient to accommodate the needs of three adults. One of the rooms we stayed in (room no. 2) It was a big space and extremely comfortable. There is a restaurant (Satvik Restaurant) located right above the homestay that provides tasty and good quality vegetarian food. We ate most of the time from here as the food was affordable and agreeable, even for people who were sensitive to outside food. The only drawback was the service, which took a lot of time in some instances, as the kitchen had limited staff and servers. Payment was accepted in UPI/GPay or cash. No cards were accepted. However, there were a few things that we, as women travellers in a group, found wanting and thought the owners must take into account from the perspective of safety. The homestay, as noted, was facing a quieter part of the town, and its entrance was similar to a shop front. We had to enter it, climb a flight of stairs and reach our rooms on the first floor. In terms of security, there were no doors or grills to separate the rooms from the other facilities available in the building (such as the cafe on the roof, or the tattoo and massage parlour located in the same floor as our rooms). There was a continuous stream of visitors and tourists coming to the cafes and other facilities, and they could have easily accessed the rooms. A grill of some sort to separate the lodging facilities, which can be locked, is essential. We were also not sure if the shutters at the entrance were actually pulled down at the end of the day. Therefore, our rooms could have been accessible to any stray person who could walk in through the shop front. During our stay, they installed a CCTV camera near the entrance to the rooms, which was helpful but not assuring in itself. Another issue we were concerned about were the doors of the rooms. While there were strong main locks accessed through a key, the dead locks (such as bolts and latches) were not functional. They were misaligned, and we could only use the keys to lock the main door. The keys were also not fitting perfectly into the locks. This was a serious concern and was an uneasy situation for us from the point of safety. While the entire stay was pleasant, and without any untoward incidents, these factors must be considered while making rooms available for tourists, especially for women travellers. There were other minor niggles such as the homestay did not provide us additional water (except the two bottles given for our welcome) or provide tissue rolls in the bathroom or do regular cleaning unless requested for. They could have also provided facilities to dry our clothes in the balcony. The in-residence caretaker was young and extremely helpful. He helped us with our luggage and finding transportation to the station while leaving. Overall, we will recommend Avanthi for the comfortable and good stay during our v

2 weeks ago

The room is spacious and clean. The service is great. The terrace has a pure vegetarian restaurant with a fantastic view of the sea.The homestay is at a walkable distance from the beach.

3 weeks ago

This is one of the best budget friendly stay in Varkala with upstairs sea view. No one can match this homestay in varkala. We enjoyed a lot . AC is so good . Rooms are neat & clean . Special thing was We can have Milk powder , coffee , sugar with No extra money . The man there was so good of nature. We made coffee , tea in kettles. Overall loved it . Planning to visit next time again with family.

4 months ago

This is one of the best homestay in Varkala. Above the hotel there is a veg restaurant called Satvik. Even they serves hygienic and well made food. Homestay is just less than 500 meters away from the beach. One must stay homestay in Varkala.

a month ago

One of the best homestays in locality. Cleanliness exceeded our expectation. Would recommend this even to any family looking for budget stay nearby 👍🏻

4 months ago

“This home stay exceeded all expectations! Impeccably clean, wonderfully cozy, and thoughtfully decorated. The hosts were incredibly hospitable, ensuring every need was met with warmth and attention. I couldn't have asked for a better retreat. Highly recommend!”

8 months ago