Hotel Aquarius

Vaikom doesn't have many places to chill out, and this can be one of them if there's nowhere else to go. Nothing special, but the rooms are good and there are mid-range options.

There were so many mosquitoes in the room that I couldn't sleep until 12:30. I asked to move to a better room and was charged extra for an AC room, then another 100 for staying past 6 a.m., even though standard check-in is at 12 p.m. The hotel gets very hot, and without AC it's hard to stay there.

On June 1, 2024, after checking out in heavy rain, I asked the rude receptionist to call an auto for me, but he wouldn't even do that. There was no way for the rainwater to flow, so we had to walk through wastewater from the whole town.

As a place to stay while getting around viakom, this is nearly ideal. It's affordable, cozy, and comfortable, and probably the closest hotel to the Mahadeva Temple, about a five-minute walk away. Even local people don't seem to know it well. Since it's above a bar called Pearlspot, most people seem to pass it by. The staff on site are well mannered and soft spoken, but they're badly short staffed, so don't expect much room service. We only had tea and coffee there and didn't use the dine-in service. I really missed having an electric kettle in the room. Still, it's a hidden gem in a very convenient spot.