“We have been to India many times and have been fortunate to stay in many wonderful hotels. But by any comparison, the Neeleshwar Hermitage stands out as among the best for its perfect combination of outstanding service, food, location and attention to detail.
Rarely do even the best hotels in the world get all of these right, every day.
Our main interest is in seeing and experiencing everyday life in India. For us, one of the attractions of Neeleshwar Hermitage is that there is a lot to see locally and it’s easy, with the help of the hotel, to get about. We found the manager immediately understood what we wanted to do, and was very helpful with the ideas and arrangements to enable us to make the most of our 6 day stay.
You don’t have to go anywhere of course, and when it is hot and the skies blue (as it was when we were there) it is tempting to head to the pool and stay there. It is a beautiful pool. It’s also very well situated, overlooking a long, wide sandy beach that is also used a lot by the local villagers.
The design and materials throughout contribute a lot to the feeling of a very relaxing, comfortable place to stay. And it is extremely well thought through, to maintain that special ambience.
The tables in the main restaurant, for example, are fixed in position, each with their own ceiling fan directly overhead, and there is a lot of space between them. This means you feel like you have a lot of space and privacy, and makes it feel very peaceful. The tables are similarly well placed a good distance apart in the excellent seafood restaurant by the beach. Juices, beers and local wine are all readily available wherever you are but there is no formal bar, either by the pool or in the main lounge area, which again helps to keep things quieter than it can be in some places. Smoking is not allowed anywhere, indoors or out.
All of these elements are important, but it’s even better: we found the service, without exception, to be outstanding. Every single person got it exactly right. They also work very well together. It may be an informal beach hotel, but there is great attention to detail.
This is not a hotel that is particularly easy to get to. We flew from Mumbai to Mangalore, and from there it is about a 2 1/2 hour drive. But if you like India, and don’t mind some dusty, bumpy roads, there is always a lot to see on the way.
The Neeleshwar Hermitage seems to attract people who are looking for peaceful surroundings. Only as we were leaving did we see one very demonstrative guest, who had just arrived, waving a mobile phone by the pool.
The rest was a beautiful silence, in what must be one of the best hotels in southern India.”
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