Blue Bay Beach Resort, Vadanemilli Vilage, Before Crocodile Bank, East Coast Road (ECR), Mahabalipuram.
Without a shade of doubt, when I first
saw their website, I sure was impressed for it looked splendid. But when I
reached the property and saw things first-hand, I could see that things were
not quite the same. For a 17-year old property, age is telling as it is
creaking at the joints and requires some very urgent upkeep and maintenance. They
are so near to being amongst the best, yet they are so far removed from that
elite company. Let me explain why.
A nondescript signboard is all there is
for guests to locate this place. It is adjoining a more impressive ‘Shelter
Beach Resort’ to make it easy for visitors to find. Upon entering, you will be
welcomed by a barren parking lot.
The
property is laid in a constricted and straight train like layout, interspersed starting
with the Wooden Cottages, the play areas, the swimming pool, beach-side rooms,
the restaurant and the sea-facing dining area with a bar which for some reason
was closed. Beyond the seaside dining zone is the beach.
We stayed
in the top-of-the-line Wooden Cottage Double. The interiors and the exteriors
were a far cry from the pictures which were posted on the resort website.
Our cottage
door would not even open half its full way making us literally squeeze through,
because it was warped. The living area was okay, but the sofa-cum-bed was
broken and was not firm enough to even stretch on. Both the bedrooms, though
small were good enough. However, in one bedroom the A/C was dripping water, wetting
the mattress.
The two
bathrooms were functional, but by no means well-maintained or in respectable
condition. The washbasin countertops had come unhinged from the wall and were
broken / were peeling off. The door latch in one bathroom was usable as both
its ends were not aligned – hence the door could not be closed. The water
pressure in the cold water shower was a mere trickle, while the hot water
shower was gushing hot water, making it near impossible to have a comfortable
shower. The price paid for that place was definitely not commensurate with what
the cottage offered us in return.
The play
area for the kids is best left unused since the swings, slides and the
merry-go-round are all ill-maintained - rusty, rickety and surely very unsafe
for children’s use. There is a carrom board, a giant plastic chessboard and a
table tennis table all cramped and within arm’s length of each other.
The
throughout 4-feet deep swimming pool is nice, but given the crowds in the
water, it is anything but clean. So if you wish to enjoy some time in the pool while
it is still clean, it is better to be among the first to enter the pool. As
time goes by with more and more guests jumping in, the cleanliness and hygiene of
the pool become a serious concern.
The dining area
set on a raised platform, overlooking the beach is good. But the constantly
hovering crows waiting to snatch a beakful of food is a menace. The food
quality is not bad. However, the pricing seems rather steep and unjust for the dishes.
The
breakfast buffet was a colossal rip-off. For starters, it was not exactly a
buffet, where you help yourself to what you want. Here it was only a served
breakfast where they serve you what you should eat. The dishes on the menu
couldn’t get any simpler than what was served – idlis, watery pongal, tiny medu
vadas, sambar and coconut chutney, and omelette on toast slices. That is all.
There were
no live counters for eggs, or dosas, or pooris, or anything else. There was no
continental dishes section. There were no fruit juices. There were no bread
selections. And there were no dessert counter too. It was, like I said, as
basic as it can get.
The worst
was that, the flasked coffee and tea were served in tiny, cheap use and throw
paper cups which could hold just a mouthful. Again, for the tariff they are
charging, this is not what the guests should be served with. The whole
breakfast experience left us feeling short-changed.
But, the one
bright spot in an otherwise overall mediocre and disappointing experience was
their superlative customer service. From top-down – the resort manager Ramesh
Lakshman, to the front office executives Yeshu Raj and Tony, to the restaurant
and counter staff, and right down to the security personnel manning the
property, all of them were exceptionally responsive, polite and courteous to
customer concerns and needs. That was the best part of the resort !
Given the
property’s age, it definitely demands some basic refurbishment, renovation and
restoration to bring it back to its past glory – as shown in the pictures on
their website. Else, the promise of “an ethereal experience” which the resort
promises will only turn into a nightmare - as in our case.
