More about Hotel Arches
Excellent Hotel
by TripAdvisor Member JnBeds
Date: 15th February 2007
We stayed at The Arches Hotel in Cochin Kerala India for 2 weeks. Our purpose there was to visit my son who was very ill in hospital and we found the hotel through their website.
The Front Office Manager, Guest Relation Executive and all the staff were the most friendly staff that my daughter and I have ever met. They knew the reason of course why we were there and they could not do enough for us. Their kindess was overwhelming.
The hotel was excellent. It is quite a new hotel and the en-suite rooms were very spacious.
It has a roof garden and we ate all our evening meals at the hotel. The food was first class prepared by an excellent chef and friendly waiting staff.
When my son was flown back to England we had a few days sightseeing. The hotel can arrange days out for you.
We did a day's backwater sightseeing tour on a houseboat with lunch and that was really relaxing. Then we saw elephants (including baby elephants) bathing at dawn which was wonderful and also went to two waterfalls which was brilliant. Also did a bit of sightseeing at Fort Kochi itself. There is definitely a lot to see and do there.
My daughter and I wholeheartedly recommend The Arches Hotel and would certainly stay there again.
Excellent staff!
by TripAdvisor Member Barbie7
Had an excellent stay at the Hotel Arches! Can honestly say I have never received such excellent service from all the staff as I did here. Nothing was too much of a problem for them. My Mum and I were staying in Fort Cochin due to my brother being taken very ill in the hospital there and the hotel staff were extremely supportive to us.
Also big compliments to the chef - amazing food, we ate there every night during our 2 weeks stay. And excellent waiting service in the restaurant from all the waiters!
Diane Duncan
Good, but not overwhelming
by TripAdvisor Member ianp1
After reading the reviews on this site, I had really high hopes of The Arches. After having stayed there, I must admit that I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong. There's nothing really wrong with the hotel. Our room was perfectly clean. There was mineral water provided. There was an A/C system, which worked well. The staff on the front desk were fine (though not as friendly as I had expected after reading about other travellers' experiences). The roof garden restaurant is nice and the breakfast was absolutely fine. Plus, the location is really excellent—right next to St. Francis's Church and near some boutiques with an excellent selection of Indian crafts. But, the whole thing just felt rather lacking in character and a little sterile. It was almost like staying in a motel in America. We'd actually booked in here because we planned to splash out on the backwaters in Kumarakom and felt that we should tighten our belts a little for our stay in Cochin. If I went back, I would honestly pay the extra money and go to the Brunton Boatyard instead. We went to check out that hotel during our time in Fort Cochin and it looks well worth the extra cash.
The hotel we've all been waiting for
by TripAdvisor Member IndophileSouthEast
Places to stay in Fort Cochinare limited but a stone's throw from St Francis church you can now stay at the Arches. This is a small, friendly hotel; quiet and very well run with clean modern rooms, a lovely roof terrace and good food - it is such good value you'd be crazy not to stay there.
not as great as i thought it would be
by TripAdvisor Member walkaboutnyc
Trip Advisor rarely leads me astray, and after reading the reviews of the Hotel Arches on this site, I also (like the last reviewer) was quite looking forward to our stay. I splurged a bit from our normal budget within India and paid about 60 euros for a double room. I don't think it was worth it though and I have to wonder where all the 5 star ratings for the Arches came from.
Generally, the staff was friendly and the Arches was pretty clean, though there were a lot of mosquitoes in our room when we arrived. Various parts of the room - sheets, curtains - had small stains on them as well. The rooftop is nice and served a pretty good breakfast. I just felt that, given some of the places we have stayed in India on a budget, that this wasn't the best value we got - by far.
Little gem in Cochin
by TripAdvisor Member RichardDH
Won't blow your socks off but a lovely little hotel worth going for.
We were travelling with our 2 year old and found it clean and friendly.
Go and eat at the Malabar House which is a short walk away.
Lovely little hotel in Cochin
by TripAdvisor Member DamnAllNamesAreTaken
Small and very comfortable hotel right in the heart of Fort Cochin' s historic distirct. The hotel is a stone's throw away from the historic St. Francis church and steps away from the Cohcin beach with all the Chinese fishing nets.
Rooms were spacious. Our's also had a quaint window seat where our 6 yr old daughter slept very comfortably.
Very curteous staff that go out of the way to make sure the guests are well looked after. The restaurant was not bad, but there are better ones around.
Affordable luxury
by TripAdvisor Member macks
Nice little hotel in Fort Cochin - 2 minutes walk from the Chinese Fishing Nets. Rooms are pretty large, the most comfortable beds I slept in during my trip to India - and a day bed that is ideal for that mid-afternoon siesta. Plus a fresh fruit juice was brought to our room on arrival - much needed after a long, hot journey.
The rooftop restaurant is reasonable value for money, although Fort Cochin seems to be expensive by Indian standards.
The hotel organised an overnight trip to the Backwaters in Allepey for us - this went as planned, and was a reasonable price.
The only downside is that the hotel seemed reluctant to take credit cards in payment but they did offer a discount for cash payment.
Pleasant hotel, helpful staff
by TripAdvisor Member PVH1
Stayed at Arches for 3 nights at start of fortnight tour of Kerala.
Room was available at 10am time of arrival (though not the balcony room we had booked), and a very welcome free breakfast was also offered. Room was clean & comfortable with good a/c and just what we needed to start us off in Kerala. Due to the room mix-up, after one night the manager upgraded us to the deluxe suite with double balcony & separate living room, despite all our attempts to stay put as we couldn't be bothered to move once settled! An act of kindness that illustrated the ethos of the hotel, we enjoyed our stay here. If your looking for a well run clean, comfortable hotel, well located, without too many frills, Hotel Arches is a good choice. It does not have the charm & character of some others but it makes up for this with it's very acceptable quality & nice ambience. Good mid-range choice in Fort Cochin.
perfection
by TripAdvisor Member indiadreaming
immaculate in every way. Great food. Clean, comfortable beds and the very best service from every single member of staff - from the cleaners, to the front desk and the kitchen staff. You are unlikely to find better anyway. Everyone was charming and genuine and very helpful. We just didn't want to leave. When we finally did the driver gladly returned to the airport (adding an hour to his journey in the middle of the night) with some precious belongings we had left in the car. They had even bought our 2 year old a farewell gift!
The full rates were fair and more than a bargain during our off season stay.
I can't speak highly enough of them. You rarely find such places anywhere in the world. They deserve every success.
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