Summer Sands resort is located in a small town called Ullal.
Website: https://summer-sands.com
How to reach Summer Sands Resort:
From Bangalore:
Take the NH-48, preferably start early morning from B'lore,
head towards Nelmangala on NH-4. Take left at the traffic junction of NH-4
and NH-48 and head towards Kunigal and Hassan. As you reach 10 KMs from
Mangalore - watch out for the first big round-about called ''Mahaveer Jain Circle''
This circle has a cement structure of Pots and flowers. Take left to move
on NH-17 going towards Ullal / Kasargodu. Proceed upto 8 Kms, you will cross the
Netravathi Bridge. Watch out for Netaji Hospital on the left and for Ullal bus stop.
Opposite this busstop there is a road leading to the Ullal town. Take this road.
Keep moving on the road leading to Ullal town till you reach the circle with a
lady on the horse. Take left. Drive for a minute and you will see the Summer Sands
resort on the right side of the road.
Things I liked about Summer Sands:
Courteous staff. My appreciation to all of them. Right from the security guard to the staff at the restaurant are very courteous and helpful.
Nice landscape and spread out of cottages. The main lane seems to be the focus but SSR should provide same attention and care for the other lanes too.
Tasty food served at the restuarant. I did try out the local cuisine, chinese as well
as north Indian type dishes - it was good. However, the best was the simple fish
curry and white rice that was appreciated by one and all in my family.
Cottage room was ok and the double cot we had was good enough to accomodate 2 adults and 2 kids. The New AC installed was working good and had climate control. Neat and clean toilets.
The resort is located next to the beach. One can walk from their cottages to the
beach. Adeqaute facilities like showers are provided near the beach entrance.
The beach was never crowded. One can enjoy a peacefull walk during morning
and evening time. Most of my evenings were spent on the beach watching the sun set. It is very peaceful to watch the sun set -
especially without being bothered by nagging vendors or stray cows & dogs or nuisance beach visitor!
Early morning walks on the beach is very refreshing and the sound of the splashing waves is very soothing.
- Ease of communication. I could interact with them thru email and transfer the advance booking amount via electronic bank to bank transfer.
Things I did not like about Summer sands:
a. While renovating the cottages - the furniture seems to have been ignored. It was
sick to see the old rickety and disgusting looking chairs and table.
b. Parking our cars below the coconut trees was disturbing and a matter of concern.
Coconuts or leaves branch falling off from these tall trees can damage the car. So it
is best to see where exactly you are parking or park the car in the common parking
lot and hope for the best.
c. The notice board near the pool declares - ''Swim at your own risk''. A bit unnerving
statement and not comforting as there are no life guard available. No wonder that I hardly saw people swiming in the pool i.e in comparison to other resorts I have visited.
d. No news papers supplied to the room. Well for some it is good to keep away from the outside world, but most will feel lack of it - as I did.
e. Foul smell of rotting fish perculates sometimes. This is not the fault of Summer sands but from the nearby dockyard.
A note of caution - the sea waves were very rough even in the last week of December. So take caution even while walking along the beach nearer to the sea. Unless you are strong swimmer - keep away from the sea. The waves are very strong and can pull in a adult very easily.
As a summary - if I ask myself a question -- ''Should I be visiting Summer Sands Resort again?''
- perhaps yes but only if all my other options are exhausted. I am a beach lover. I love to play
with my kids in the beach rather than just sit and watch the sea waves and sun set. In this regard-
I feel that the beaches in Kovalam and Murudeshwara were the best.
Helpful pointers:
A. Pit stop for refreshing:
Hassan is the best place and situated almost at the the centre of the journey between B'lore and M'lore. Hassan town has good hotels and can cater to all crowds right from zero to 3 star facilities.
Another excellent place to take a break and refresh is the Cafe joint at Adhichunchingiri town. The Cafe is located on the NH-48 next to Adhichunchingiri bus stop. Try their Grilled Pudhina bread toast and cold coffee. The joint has very clean and well maintained toilets. My kids prefer to take a break at this joint than at any other joints in this M'lore-B'lore route. I prefer this as it is very clean and hygenic, I dont have to waste my time passing thru a town searching for a good hotel. Easy to ingress and egress in a jiffy.
Sakleshpura: On the NH-48 after crossing the Sakleshpura town (driving from B'lore to M'lore) - watch out for the restuarant on the right side of the road. It has good parking facilities and toilets are available. The coffee and tea served here is just excellent. Try out their set dosa.
If you leave M'lore early moring - it is best to have light breakfast at M'lore itself in a nice hotel. If missed - travell for about an hour till you reach BC-Road junction. You can find some restuarants here. I prefer not to take here as the ghat section becomes more challenging after this and can be a little hard for some who are not
used to travelling in twisting roads of ghat section. Best is to have light food in M'lore before starting the journey.
B. Carry musquito repellents. Terrible king size musquitos can haunt you at night.
