Budget business hotel in Cochin. Review on Taj Residency, Cochin

Taj group remains my favourite hotel chain but rest assured that my reviews are not influenced by it.

My experience so far says that ''Taj Residency'' brand is for budget business class hotels run by Taj. Sometimes, these properties were belonging to some other hotel chain and then taken over by Taj.

It was my first trip to Cochin and let me be very frank it was also my first visit to Kerala. So sad that it had to be a business trip, so it was short (only 2 days) and with no free time for any sightseeing. I visited in first week of December'05 so the weather was pleasent.

At the time of booking the hotel I opted for Taj Residency, Ernakulam. The other option was Taj Malabar but the rate difference between these two hotels was good enough reason for me to decide. The booking was easy and smooth.

This hotel is located on Marine Drive Road (not very similar to the Marine Drive of Mumbai) very close to the commercial area of Ernakulam. The nearest airport was Kochi (later on I realized that Cochin and Kochi is the same) and I arrived by Kingfisher's morning flight.

The hotel was ready to provide airport pick-up but at additional charge. My business associate was kind enough to arrange for a car for me. It took me about 40 minutes to reach the hotel. The drive was smooth and the road was running through lots of trees and greenery. This was only when I was on the outskirts, the moment we entered the Ernakulam part the roads were crowded.

The hotel looked nice with a very small lobby and two elevators. The elevators obviously had no logic controller installed. So both the elevators moved at their own wish.

The hotel has a approach directly to the sea side (please note here that Ernakulam is not situated directly on the beach but in the Cochin harbour). My room had a nice view of Cochin port and I could see many huge cargo ships docking there.

The hotel has a nice coffee shop 'Bubble Cafe' which has a clear roof for natural light to come through. It has a nice water fountain in the centre. The service in this cafe was not upto the mark. It was very slow at the beginning and once I complained about it, more than one waiter would come to ask me several times if I have placed my order.

Being a vegetarian, I tried Kerala style food and I liked the dishes made in coconut cream based gravy. I recommend Malabar parathas, if you have not tried it before.

The room was strictly ok. There was no tea/coffee kettle (as most of the hotels now offer it) in my room. The in-room dining was satisfactory in terms of service.

So if any of you are looking forward for a budget business hotel then this one could be a good choice. Hopefully as they said, they are improving the rooms and other facilities in coming days.