Terrace/patio

Reviews of XL Homestay

2.5 out of 5
XL Homestay
Rose street, Fort Cochin - 1, Kochi, Kerala

Reviews

8.4

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 23 out of 54 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 23 out of 54 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 5 out of 54 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 2 out of 54 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 1 out of 54 reviews" "

8.8/10

Cleanliness

9.0/10

Staff & service

8.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Abrar, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfectly situated in Fort Kochi - Judy is the perfect hostess - a radiant woman with a big smile, and a genuine personality - she makes a great breakfast with plenty of local coffee to your desired strength - entitled colonialists are not welcome - if you are an open and spiritual person with your heart in the right place, you will be - and that is the way it should be - all the sites are close by within a minute or two to walk, and the best restaurants too - Judy’s wi-fi is high speed and she has spent a lot on it - no problems with internet here. The rooms are large, airy, and spacious, everything is clean, the beds are large enough to accommodate the Dutch, the correct balance of comfortable yet perfect for the spine...highly recommended.
Stayed 7 nights in Jan 2019

10/10 Excellent

Steven

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Best location in Cochi
Great information. Best location. Love this place. Home made breakfast

10/10 Excellent

Martha

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Serene cool haven
This spotlessly clean guesthouse is a haven from the heat and dust of Cochin. I' had traveled in the north and arrived by overnight train quite exhausted and was so heppy to find this cool, quiet, comfortable place. The owner, Judy, is helpful and friendly. She will leave you alone if that is what you want, but I enjoyed our morning chats and learned a lot from her. Breakfast is excellent--cooked to order. Based on my stay I decided to return to Fort Cochin and XL after several more weeks of travel and fly back to the north from Cochin.

8/10 Good

Kirstie, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Nice hotel in centre of Fort Kochi
The hotel was clean and comfortable, staff very friendly. The shower and aircon were quite old and not working that well, but overall we had a good stay for the price

6/10 Okay

Khatija

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Nice hotel close to the beach
overall a pleasant experience apart from one occasion when there was no running water available in the morning. This was due to hotel staff forgetting to turn on the valve the night before. The problem was resolved within about 45 mins.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very quaint and attentive owner.
This homestay is close to everything, and Jody was there to assist with most anything you need.
Response from XL Homestay on 18 Jan 2017
Dear Guest , Thank you for your lovely review , was delighted to have you with us. wish you all the best and expect to see you in the coming years .

10/10 Excellent

Jose Luis

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

Greg, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Easy to find, easy on the wallet
It's a very convenient spot for travellers to Cochin. The fort is a good vantage point: quick stroll to the beach, the Chinese fishing nets and plenty of good eateries. Julie was a good host, helping us with alacrity where requested but keeping appropriate distance when judicious. the ferry across the water makes transport even simpler. The beach is fairly narrow with lots of rubbish washed up but the promenade is a pleasant walk.

8/10 Good

Emma, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great!
I had an excellent host who was happy to help me out with anything and the driver who does transfers for the himestay is lovely and very helpful. Lovely people- would stay again :)

10/10 Excellent

Carla, Sydney

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Relaxing stay with everything at your fingertips
We had such an amazing time in Fort Cochi. Judy and her son were a fantastic hosts! Sheldon was even kind to wake up at 4am to drive us to the airport. The place is very clean and spacious. The shower pressure wasn't great but the bucket and water way did the trick - there was plenty of hot water. Judy is so warm and welcoming, we were quickly made to feel at home. It's a great location and so handy, everything was within walking distance. We'd planned to stay there for a week and ended up coming back for more. Thanks Judy!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
very nice hotel close to most tourists attractions
we arrived very late 5.30am but Judie the owner who we had to wake up greeted us with a big smile and was lovely and helpful for the whole of our stay

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Place in Fort Cochin
The room was clean and tidy, all facilities worked well, breakfast was great and the staff were very friendly and helpful. I would be happy to stay again.

10/10 Excellent

Loretta, Sydney

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great stay at the XL Homestay!
What a great place in the heart of Cochin. Judy, the owner waited up for us as we had a late flight and arrived after midnight. Nothing was too much trouble and Judy made as feel welcome. We stayed on the bottom floor in a very clean large room with aircon and a fan. The was a TV and the bed was very comfortable. Breakfast was served on the rooftop which was an awesome way to start the day. Freshly sliced watermelon, omelettes with onion, toast and tea. There is a bar across the road, close to some awesome restaurants and the Chinese fishing nets. Overall a fantastic place, great value for money and Judy was lovely. A must stay while in Cochin.

10/10 Excellent

Llawan, Chennai

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Friendly welcome in the heart of the town
This b&b is near the main sights in Kochi. The rooms are clean, the service is friendly and breakfast is served a the rooftop terrace. Great place to stay for a relaxed visit.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Great budget homestay
This is a basic homestay, perfect for a few nights in Kochi. The room we had was clean, the owner is incredibly welcoming, kind, and hospitable, and the location is absolutely perfect. The Chinese Fishing Nets, restaurants, Santa Cruz Basilica church, Dutch Cemetary, beach, and main shopping district in Fort Kochi are all within 15 minutes walking distance. One note about the deluxe A/C room -- the air conditioning was preset to about 26C, a little warm for our liking and it was not possible for us to change it ourselves. It wasn't a big deal for us, but thought we'd mention it. The host provided toiletries, toilet paper, and a good deal of helpful knowledge about the area. She can also organize trips and transport. This homestay was about an hour and 15 minutes from the airport at night so you might want to budget 2 hours during rush hour (5pm - 9pm).

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Do yourself a favor and stay here!
This is a great place to stay at a very reasonable price very close to the Chinese fishing nets. The owner and her son are extremely friendly and helpful. The room I occupied was very basic but it was clean and had a/c and its own private bathroom. Breakfast is served in the mornings on the roof. I thoroughly recommend this place.

10/10 Excellent

hilary, united kingdom

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hood homestay just behind the Chinese fishing nets
The homestay is clean and cool. Judy is very welcoming. The rooms are tasteful , fresh and airy. The room with the balcony is great

10/10 Excellent

Harri, R

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stay here!
Wonderful introduction to India! Very helpful and friendly staff who gave tips about the local area and beyond. Moved people around to let us stay an extra night at peak times - new year. Lovely room with ac, en suite and tv. Had nice breakfast on roof terrace.

10/10 Excellent

charlotte, london

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely hotel in fort cochin ! Lovely owner!
Lovely hotel in fort cochin, close to everything ! Located on rose street, parallel to all the main streets in fort Cochin, without the added noise.... Can walk to all sorts of sights nearby and can net a rickshaw to the others....... Owner is judy lovely lady, I chatted away to her every day.... Very calming Andy friendly lady. She can assist you with everything. Rooms are lovely and lots of space.... And free filtered water available ! Lovely rooftop spot to eat and drink Will def come again ,

10/10 Excellent

Regina, Regina from Hoboken, NJ

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
CHEERY, CLEAN, AND CONVENIENT
This little "home stay" hotel is a clean, quiet, safe and cute place to stay in the beautiful little town of Fort Cochin in Kerala. Judie, the woman who runs it, is super nice and helpful. She bent over backwards to help us, booking us tickets in advance to the traditional dance show (great seats in front!) because she knew it would sell out, booking us tickets for the back waters jungle boat tour, and booking a car and driver (a wonderful, kind man named "Ronnie") who drove me to Munnar, showed me all the sights, such as the tea factory, spice gardens, waterfalls, churches, the wild animal park and even an elephant ride!) all for a very reasonable price. Judie makes a delicious daily breakfast - crepes with honey, fresh fruit, tea+coffee and toast, all served on a charming rooftop garden dining area. XL Homestay is in the middle of the best part of this colonial town, around the corner from the central park, the water front, many wonderful shopping streets, restaurants and Internet cafes, the colonial Basilica. There was also plenty of hot water in the showers - not so common in India. A great deal for the price!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness
Fine for the budget traveller
Nice large room in central location. Bathroom could do with an upgrade.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

10/10 Excellent

Greg, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
5 star comfort
Great location, spotless rooms, friendly helpful host - and an upgrade to a deluxe room to boot. It'd be impossible to find anything to criticise. It really was a delight to stay there. Recommended.

8/10 Good

BSP, Kochi

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Elegant Rooms
Very beautifully furnished elegant rooms and comfortable beds made our very short Fort Kochi getaway a very comfortable one. Despite showing up at a rather late hour for check-in, we were quickly received and shown to our rooms. Rather considerately, the sign-in formalities were deferred to the next morning since this was a completely pre-paid booking! The homestay itself located right in close proximity to the shoreline and fishing nets is a great place to base your Fort Kochi holidays from. The front desk had many things handy like a quick map of the locality with landmarks and even an umbrella (a thoughtful touch, in my opinion!). Overall a rather short but pleasant stay and would recommend for anyone looking for an elegant homestay on a budget.

8/10 Good

Paul, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good location close to beach
Only one night but our hostess was lovely and very helpful. Breakfast on the roof was nice.

10/10 Excellent

DandDC2014, Farnborough UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
You won't find better!
We had a great time at Judy's. She always has time for a chat. She organised our overnight trip to the Backwaters(really worth doing) and even took the trouble to ring us on the boat to know if everything was ok. Sheldon, her son, is also very nice and helpful. The hotel is small and totally feels like home. This homely feeling is totally due to the way Judy runs her hotel. She constantly goes out of her way to help. Although located right in the heart of Fort Kochi, it is very quiet at night. We would definitely stay there again.

6/10 Okay

Dorothy, winnipeg, manitoba

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice hotel, good proximity to lots of attractions
Host Dianne was very friendly & helpful with info re attractions, arranged a backwater stay efficiently, then arranged a taxi to take us to the airport.

10/10 Excellent

Robin, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Host
Judy is like a second Mum, even did my washing. Bar opposite is handy and not noisy. Great stay would stay agin if in Cochin and would not hesitate to recommend it.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Brilliant find....
Stayed at XL for 3 nights during our 6 week trip. Superb location in a side street just a few minutes walk from the Chineese fishing nets. Room was clean with excellent air conditioning and although we didn't have a great view as we were on the back of the building it was very quiet. Breakfast was different everyday and served on the roof terrace. Overall, an excellent stay and great value for money and Judy the owner was great with advise andhelping us with our onward trip to Munnar. Would recommend.

10/10 Excellent

terry, alberta canada

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Judy the hostess was wonderful to deal with. The room stay is close to everything. I would definitely recommend this location. It is a safe place for female travellers.

8/10 Good

pk, hyd

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Close to Chinese fish nets
very comfortable acommodation. I was very well looked after as I was the only one in the hotel at this off season time. Good dining choice in the near vicinity. Avoid the Taxi service offered by the hotel as it was very expensive.

8/10 Good

Tina, Exmouth, Devon, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Simply Fort Kochi
The homestay was in an excellent location, close to the seafront and famous chinese fishing nets. There were lots of restaurants, cafes, market stalls and shops and it was a short walk to the ferry. The owner Judy is very friendly and helpful and happy to assist you. The room was large and comfortable but as it was on the ground floor we were unable to open our curtains , some of the other rooms had balconies. Nice simple breakfast 400 Rps of fruit or juice, omelettes and toast with coffee or tea. We stayed 2 nights and the only downside was the noise from the restaurant across the road on the second night. Otherwise we would stay there again.

2/10 Terrible

Ilin

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Duur en slecht
Super de luxe Ac kamer geboekt. Ik laat zelden slecht feedback achter maar ik voelde mij hier echt opgelicht en snap de hoge Hotels.com score niet. TV werkte niet, douche werkte niet, hoofd kussen zat vol schimmel, slecht bed. Reactie van eigenaar beneden peil. Voor zoveel geld kan je veel beters vinden in de buurt!
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Simple and comfortable
Very nice hostess, the rooms are very nice, simple rooms. The toilets would need to be refreshed.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
アットホームなホテルです。皆さんとても親切に対応いただけたので、安心して滞在することができました。 部屋もきれいで、とてもリーズナブルなホテルです。
Response from XL Homestay on 18 Jan 2017
Thank you so much for your lovely review and we were delighted to have you with us. we wish you all the best and expect to see you in the coming years .

8/10 Good

Brigitte, Bordeaux. France

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Une bonne adresse dans un quartier sympa.
L excellent accueil de l hôtesse , ses conseils ,nous ont permis de connaître ce quartier animé et sympathique d'où nous avons pu rayonner aux environs: back waters ,filets chinois en soirée, centre culturel et ses spectacles traditionnels, multiples petits restaurants.

4/10 Poor

Amir, stockholm

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
amir Sthlm
Cochin är ett fattigt och smutsigt område hämsk första intryck. tänk över hur du väljer hotell

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Tourist prices
A bit pricey. There are better options in Fort Kochi if you're on a budget. Otherwise okay.

8/10 Good

A.O., Germany

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Friendly owner
The owner was very friendly and charming. She suggested us a tour to Periyar etc. and she could organize all tours (car, hotel etc.). Unfortunately we could not make it because of other plans. We would like to make such tours next time. Thank you, owner Jury (not sure if it's correctly spelled..)!

8/10 Good

Linda, Ås

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A very nice place to stay in Cochin
We stayed here for 3 nights and enjoyed our stay. The breakfast is good, ac works fine, the bathroom is not that big, but it is ok. The location of the place is very good close to shops and restaurants, but on a quiet side street.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Einfaches zentrales homestay!
Nette besitzerin, einfachvgehalten und nah an den interessanten spots

8/10 Good

Edith

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

arie, רעננהת ישראל

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
מיקום מצוין, תמורה הולמת לעלות
5 לילות חופשה בקוצין

8/10 Good

Victor, Luzern

Nice place to stay
Kochin was much more dirty as I expected. But XL homestay is like a cosy Iland in this messy world. When ever you have a problem in India Judie (the owner) will solve it for you. She really is a very nice and helpful person She changed my flight for Abu Dhabi for me, it took her more than an houre. She is really very very kind.

10/10 Excellent

Walter, Zurich

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Genau das Richtige für Budget Reisende
es stimmte alles: superzentrale Lage, Preis/Leistung, Judie ist freundlich, hilfsbereit, humorvoll

6/10 Okay

quetsche, Strabourg

Liked: Staff & service
hébergement rapport qualité / prix honorable
séjour dans un lieu agréable propriétaire disponible avis un peu limités et orientés

8/10 Good

Michael, Danmark

Liked: Cleanliness
Fint sted
Hjemligt

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfekt läge i Fort Cochin
Detta homestay var bra, men kändes mer som ett minihotell. Frukosten på takterassen var bra. Nära till färjan till Vypeen Island för bussfärd till en härlig strand på Cherai Beach.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
goede uitvalsbasis voor iedereen
XL Homestay is een goede plek om te verblijven in Fort Kochi. De lokatie is perfect (dicht bij het strand en de vissers(netten) en op het dakterras kun je je even terugtrekken van de drukte op straat. De kamers zijn erg schoon en netjes en de dame van de B en B kan je allerlei informatie geven die je nodig hebt om je verlijf in fort Kochi heel aangenaam te maken. Al met al zeker aan te bevelen, ook voor de alleenreiziger zoals ik.