Kovalam Palace Hotel - Marketed thorugh Kovalam Hotel website

The imposing Halcyon Castle, the summer retreat of the Maharajas of Travancore, stand isolated from the other buildings of the beach paradise in its own grove of palms. The four royal suites in the castle form in the category of the most luxurious accommodation available in the handful of five star hotels in the entire state.

Constructed in full granite in the early 1900’s during the period of Amma Maharani H.H. Sethu Parvathy Bayi, mother of H.H Sri Chitra Thirunnal Balarama Varma, the last Maharaja of Travancore. Following the matrilineal hierarchy the palace came under sister of the Maharaja, Maharani Karthika Thirunnal Lakshmi Bayi Thampuratty. Col. Goda Varma Raja, husband of Karthika Thrunnal Thampuratty, was a great lover of the castle and Kovalam. Col.G.V.Raja, who was the champion of many modern developments in the state like Civil Aviation, Sports Infrastructure, Tourism etc. had contributed a lot in promoting the development of Kovalam as beach destination.

Situated on an elevated ground and facing the calm blue waters, each suite resembles a villa with all modern facilities. the first two suites are on the ground floor and the rest on the first floor of the castle. Suites1&4 have 79 Sq.m. each of floor space, while the remaining two (2&3) have 74 Sq.m. each. H.H. Sree Chitra Thirunal Maharaja

Antique finish furniture creates a part of the royal ambience. Royal suite sports a dressing table, ’Nettur Petti’, reclining chair, King Size Bed and upholstered sofa .Designer tiles imported from Italy during the royal period adorn the floors. Potted plants, painting hung on the walls and and huge lamps hung from the roof add to the touch of elegance.
Royal Suite 1&4 has spacious well furnished drawing room followed by a bed room and a dressing room. The drawing room of Suite 2 is separated from the rest by a glass panel. Suite 3 on the first floor has both drawing room and a bed room combined together.

As the imposing castle faces the Arabian Sea, guests can witness the panoramic view of the sunset from the first floor balcony of the Castle. For active and sporty holidayers ,the tennis court is adjacent to the castle and the Yoga& Ayurvedic Centre only a two minutes walk

Over the years ,the castle had the privilege to accommodate Presidents, Prime Ministers, Ambassadors of various countries and Heads of States apart from Celebrities from all the walk of life. A ‘special bed’ was made for the US Ambassador, Mr. John Kenneth Galbrnth, as none of the beds in the royal suites of the castle could accommodate him. The recent VVIPs to stay in Suite 1 was Lord. Swaraj Paul and Lady. Swaraj Paul and Mr.Konishiki,former Sumo Wrestling champion from Japan.

Charmed by the scenic beauty of the beach resort and the solitude offered by the Royal Suite, two business men from Saudi Arabia stayed with their families for over three-and-a-half months at a stretch in two of them in 1995.

Taj, Meridien may be Kovalam's lucky break
Economic Times — Dec 9, 2003

Thiruvananthapuram: The sagging fortunes of the beach destination of Kovalam, once the flagship brand for Kerala tourism, are set to be revived with the expected launch of two major hotel brands shortly. The Le Meridien brand is taking a bow at the destination through the Galfar group, after the latter acquired the ITDC property Ashok in the government’s divestment exercise, while the Taj group will be adding another property in Kerala when it ties up with the Muthoot Pappachan group for a luxury property in Kovalam, complete with floating cottages.

Muthoot Hotels and Tourism Ventures, managing director, Thomas John Muthoot, told ET that the company’s venture, in association with the Taj group, would take off early next year. Sources in Taj said the Kovalam property would have full-fledged operations by June ’04.

The Rs 1,000-crore Muthoot Pappachan group will have a management contract arrangement with the Taj group for the Rs 30-crore Kovalam property, which will feature 59 land cottages and 20 floating cottages, better known as floatels.

The official launch of the Le Meridien brand is expected shortly. The property, set in a 65-acre beach front locale, will feature 68 rooms in the first phase and have the additional attraction of the Halcyon Castle , which was once the summer retreat of the Travancore maharajas, on the premises. For both brands, Kovalam will be an extension of their presence in Kerala.

Le Meridien has a convention centre and hotel in Kochi , while the Taj group already has a string of properties in the state, including those at Kochi , Kumily, Kozhikode and Varkala. Kovalam is also looking forward to getting Dutch tourists from this season.

A team of 61 leading Dutch tour operators are in Kovalam, along with a group of tourists, and it is planned to have an Amsterdam-Thiruvananthapuram-Goa-Amsterdam operation which will feed Goa and Kovalam with tourists from the Netherlands

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