Bloom Boutique | Waterfront Fort Kochi

The location near Mattancherry made it easy to see Fort Kochi and nearby attractions, and watching ships move through the port was a nice part of the stay. Breakfast was limited but manageable. The first day's poori tasted sour, perhaps because the dough or flour was old, but the staff brought fresh poori after we told them. We liked the authentic puttu and kadala curry; the kids weren't keen on the kal dosa. Our room was decent in size, though the shaky bed and sagging mattress made sleeping uncomfortable. The bathroom was okay, but could have been cleaner. Renovation on the ground floor also left paint spills and construction dirt in some common areas. There wasn't dedicated car parking, so we left our car roadside overnight. People often stood outside talking loudly, especially by the entrance, which disturbed the quiet. An average stay, with maintenance and comfort needing work.

Shivaji, the Front Office Manager, was eager to help and did an outstanding job. The location is amazing, the heritage atmosphere is cozy, rooms are spacious, beds are comfortable, and the food is decent. The small kitchen may struggle with several large orders at once. But hygiene was a real letdown: the rooms were musty, there were cobwebs, and housekeeping needs serious retraining. These problems seem fixable with some effort, and the property could become a great place to stay.

The property has a very good location, but it badly needs care and maintenance. We had 2 leaking rooms out of the 11 we booked, even though this is a place where it rains a lot for almost 5 months of the year and now and then in the other months. When we finally confronted the manager, he cheekily said, 'Sir now the rain has stopped.' If it started again in the middle of the night, I would have had to go find him while he was probably warm in bed at home. Parking is nonexistent. The road is very narrow, and people honk at you as you get in and out or load and unload. There isn't even space for a couple of motorcycles, so guests are left to manage with municipal public parking about a km away. The food, drinks, and service were so poor that there's little more to say. We've had better food and variety at an average roadside pitstop. None of the staff seemed to understand hospitality or hosting, and the manager seemed clueless about running a mid-segment hotel, which isn't cheap budget accommodation. It felt as if random people had been given a 2 hour YouTube tutorial and put to work. I organize riding trips and have hosted plenty of riders across India, Nepal and Bhutan for 10+ years, and I've never encountered a hotel managed so badly. I've stayed at other Bloom properties around the country and never felt this humiliated or disgusted. Don't ruin what could be a memorable Fort Kochi stay. Avoid this place like the plague.

The friendly, accommodating staff are what made the stay acceptable. My mum and I spent 2 nights in two charming, large downstairs rooms, but after the first night we had to move because heavy rain for about an hour caused a significant roof leak. Dinner service was disappointing. After waiting about 10 minutes, we had to get someone's attention to place an order, only to learn they were serving a limited buffet and wouldn't take menu orders. Dinner was meant to start at 7.30pm but wasn't ready until 8.45pm. A group of 18 had booked, so perhaps the staff were inexperienced with a crowd that size. Mum and I lost our appetite and went back to our room without dinner. There aren't restaurants nearby, and we didn't feel like leaving the hotel that late. The main shopping and dining street is walkable in the daytime, about 1.3 km away, but the lane feels dark and dodgy at night. Take a tuk tuk.