The Landmark Pallavaa Beach Resort is located bang on the ECR just after the Nemmeli Seawater Desalination Plant, about 10 kms before entering Mahabalipuram town.
The first thing that strikes about the property is the vast expanse of the courtyard – from the gate to the reception building (that is, until one sees the backyard, which is even more impressive !).
The front yard has ample and well-marked parking spaces to accommodate enough and more vehicles. There is a small children’s play area nearby. But nothing too elaborate or exciting, with the basic swing, slides etc., to keep the children excited and engaged for some time. It would have been ideal if the resort had invested in some bicycles for children and for the adults too, to enjoy during these no-swimming pool days. With such a vast expanse of space, bicycling inside the resort would have made for quite an enjoyable pastime.
Upon my enquiry, I was informed that the property is set on 8-acres of land. It extends right from the road (ECR) on one side right down to the seashore on the other end. The open area behind the building housing the rooms leading to the beach is a 200-meter walk over a nicely laid, well-lit pathway. There is a large ground with meticulously maintained lawns to walk on if one so wishes to.
The property has two blocks of buildings. One
housing the reception, the restaurant, a recreation hall, conference rooms,
banquet, meeting, events hall, while the other block houses the 50-odd deluxe
and super deluxe rooms. I should say I found both the blocks very well
maintained with the floors swept and mopped at regular intervals to keep it
neat and clean. However, outside many rooms the leftover dishes from overnight
dinners and morning coffees were piled up high which should have been long
removed, but were not.
Prior to my arrival, I spoke on the telephone with John Bosco, Sasikaran and
Ram. I found all three of them to be very attentive, exceptionally polite, and
really courteous. Above all they went out of their way to offer all help and
assistance with my booking. Ram who handled our check-in kept his word and had
our room readied by the time he had committed. Our check-out was equally efficiently
handled by Ruby, who too deserves a word of appreciation for her admirable and effective
handling of the front desk.
I truly appreciate the delightful customer service and the keen customer focus that was evident even before we stepped into the property. Upon my arrival, my feeling was fully validated and confirmed as genuine and authentic. Despite the heavy weekend rush, the entire team of employees managed to exceed our expectations with their excellent hospitality and impeccable service.
However, I must mention that when I checked in none of the said Covid safety precautions or protocols which their website claimed they do scrupulously were done or followed. None of us had our temperatures taken, nor was there any social distancing maintained. Yes, there was a bottle of sanitiser on the reception desk. That’s about it. Also, I carried our luggage myself from my vehicle in the parking lot to my room with no disinfection sprayed on the luggage, as their website says they would.
The room was spacious and was kept neat and clean. The only issue with the room was the mini-fridge which was kept there but did not function despite the restaurant staff’s assurance that it would. The dinner dessert of ice cream that we had ordered melted by the time we could have it and we had to drink it as it had turned to liquid form !
A word of caution folks ! The water force of the health faucet in the washroom was so fierce and powerful that unless you watch out you could get your family jewels blown away ! Thankfully, after a little investigation, I managed to reduce its force to usable levels.
The TV in the room was fully functional with all the needed channels working without any hitch. The safety locker too was an added benefit.
The restaurant had a very limited set of items on the menu – just a paltry handful – and they were over-priced too. Here are some samples from the orders we had placed during our stay (cost per portion) : Coffee Rs. 60/-, Fresh Orange Juice Rs. 120/-, French Fries Rs. 180/-, Onion Pakora Rs. 160/-, Chicken Fried Rice Rs. 230/-, Kadai Chicken Rs. 350/-, Chapatti (3 nos) Rs. 60/-, Ice Cream Rs. 150/-, Mineral Water (1 Litre) Rs. 35/-. The dishes served were all prepared fresh. The breakfast spread had just the basic south-Indian fare and some bread, butter and jam. Eggs were made to order. Likewise, Dosai and Pooris were served on order. Fair enough, because the day we had our breakfast all the other guests had left and only a couple of rooms were occupied. So no point in having a large spread of food – agreed. The overall quality of the food was average. It was not too good, nor was it bad. But the very limited options and menu choices given sure was a big dampener especially given the cost of each dish and the portion sizes.
On account of the State government’s Covid containment protocols, the swimming pools were not operational. There are three pools of 1-foot, 2, 3 and 5-feet pools abutting each other. If the pools were open, the time spent at the resort would have been that much more worthwhile. But, alas.
The access to the beach was easy and direct, with a functional shower provided for the guests to wash themselves of any sand from the body before walking back to the rooms. It must be noted that the sea around there is quite rough. With nobody else around to assist of help, utmost caution must be exercised by the guests not to take any risks or chances to avoid any untoward incidents.
Some areas of improvement that the management should consider are having a better-equipped play area for children, bicycles for use inside their property precincts, improve the F&B menu greatly. Given the vast open space and the compound wall, it would be very easy to breed Geese, Ducks and Guinea Fowl. Also, a nice pond with some fish like Koi Carp, Golden Orfe, Pond Sturgeon, Plecostomus, Goldfish, Mollies, Guppies would be nice (having a large aquarium in the reception area too would be a welcome attraction), besides building an aviary with lovebirds, parrots and parakeets. It would also give the guests a lot of quality time to spend at the resort with their kids. For kids, it could prove to be quite an educative and enlightening outing too.
To summarise, Landmark Pallavaa Beach Resort is a fantastic resort for the entire family to enjoy peace and quiet away from all the hustle and bustle of the city. While it is mostly good, there are still some areas for improvement to make it a great and must-do weekend destination for the entire family.
