We spent 2 weeks at Kerala, staying at hotel Leela. It was a very interesting and enjoyable holiday.
The hotel: Perfect! There are more staff than guests, all very friendly. The rooms have sea views and air conditioning and furnished to a high standard. I wouldn’t go half board, beacuse there are so many other place to eat at a 1/5 of the price. The private beach also makes this well worth the extra cost, as other beaches we saw, were not quite as nice.
The resort: All locals are very friendly and you feel very safe walking around day and night. You get pestered a lot from people trying to sell things, but you soon learn to cope with this. The views are amazing!
Trips: Many different companies run trips, the most recognised will be more expensive. If you want to do tours on the cheap, local drivers are always willing to take you places. Alex from Restaurant Gazia on lighthouse beach does a good local fishing village tours. Must also see the Elephants, the Dam, the palace.
Food & Drink. Head to lighthouse beach, where there are over 30 restaurants, all very nice and reasonable. Although its a dry state, alcohol can be purchased in almost every restaurant, but wine is quite expensive.