Ayana's Homestay

Beautiful location and delicious meals. We'd booked for 2 nights but changed it for 1 because once we'd taken a boat trip and had a local walk there wasn't much to do, but great for an overnight visit.

The first floor of the building was being rebuilt while we were there though the work was quiet. Some of the grounds were messy.

Property is only accessible by boat (provided by host). Mr Gopal and Vishal are great host. Breakfast is good. Location is fantastic, along Pampa River and paddy fields. In the heart of Kuttanad. Tuk tuk can be organised by host. We walked along to river to witness local life.

It really is Kerala backwaters. Alleppey feels like a tourist hub with houseboats clogging the waterways. Although the Marari beach and churches have their own charm. When you get in the vicinity of this homestay you experience an unprecedented calm and beauty. The village life instantly transforms the experience. There are swamps and bridges along the way. I was fortunate enough to catch both sunrise and sunset at the property. The most beautiful bit was the boat ride from one side of the backwater to reach the homestay on the other side. It was also a gorgeous time of the evening. Birds were returning home. The yellow mansion sets itself apart amongst other buildings. I also went upstairs on the double storeyed building to take some better pictures. I was there for a single night so did not do it but their sunrise tour might be worth checking out. The host is personable and helpful.

The bathroom plumbing had a lot of limescale deposits. It did not give hot water so I was asked to use the bathroom in another room which was bigger. They also offered to shift me there for convenience. But I loved the cozy single room I had looking over the backwaters so I did not go. Only suggestion is the variety of Kerala vegetarian food options could be expanded. But whatever I ate was good.

Idyllic location in a beautiful home overlooking the peaceful Pamba River. Plenty of space indoors and out to hang out and watch the world go by. Our host, Vishi, was incredibly helpful, friendly and informative, and generous with his time. We learned so much about the area, Hindu customs and India in general. Vishi went out of his way to ensure we were happy, offering a variety of boat trips and fabulous local cuisine, which was different almost every meal and cooked beautifully by the in-house chef. We had many dishes we’d never tried before despite being well travelled. There’s a pole boatman on hand to take you across the water for rickshaw rides into nearby Ambullaphuza and Alleppey. He also took us on an amazing sunrise boat ride and we had a separate 4-hour tour of the backwaters proper on a small motor boat. There are also kayaks available at the house which we made good use of.

Bathroom fixtures were a bit tired.