Kalaimagal Residency

I wouldn’t recommend this place. The room price felt far too high for what we got: ₹9,000 for three rooms over Christmas. I’d have been fine paying that if the stay had been worth it, but it wasn’t. There weren’t even water bottles, soap, or shampoo in the rooms. The blankets were dusty and seemed unwashed, and the toilet fittings were rusty and leaking. The flush spray wasn’t working either. One of the worst hotels I’ve stayed in.

There’s no lift, and the stairs to the second floor are narrow enough that I nearly lost my balance while carrying luggage in my riding boots. There were no towels or toiletries in the room either. And if you’re coming to visit Rameshwaram, keep in mind that this place is quite far away.

I arrived around 11 at night with my young kids and family, after paying in advance for three rooms for six adults and two children. The manager demanded another Rs. 2000, saying the website had sold the rooms too cheaply and the hotel wouldn’t honor that price. He told me to pay or cancel. It was late, there were no nearby hotels, rickshaws, or other transport, and my baby was crying while the rest of my family sat on the floor with our bags. I asked to sort it out with the booking site, Goibibo, and ****, but the manager refused to help. He was watching TIKTOK and laughing with another employee while I stood there with the baby. When Goibibo’s team spoke to him, he acted as if he couldn’t understand HINDI or English, then refused their request too. I ended up paying the extra Rs. 2000 and taking two rooms, which smelled bad. There was no room service, and although breakfast was included in my booking, the manager refused to provide it in the morning. I was furious. I’d read bad reviews before booking, but chose this place because other hotels weren’t available. Please trust the reviews and choose somewhere else. I can share an audio clip of the conversation if you comment or contact me.

The staff were no help at all, and breakfast wasn’t actually included, despite what the listing said. Even though I’d paid for it in my booking, I couldn’t get it. I arrived earlier than planned after booking through the Oyo app, and they asked for 600 rupies for an early check-in. I called Oyo and their worker told the hotel that check-in between 10 and 12 was complimentary, but the hotel still wanted 300 rupies. I refused and waited in the lobby for six hours. They did nothing to help, and there was no bathroom, Wi-Fi, or water available. It felt like all they cared about was getting money.