River Lap Homestay

I was planning to visit Kerala coastal area by car from Bengaluru. After seeing Riverlap Homestay reviews at MMT I decided to visit this place along with my wife. Location of this place is superb and easily accible. Three beautiful wooden cottages are there sorrounded by two lakes and a river nearby. Sea beach is 400 mtrs from the homestay. We were able to see so many beautiful birds at this place including three types of Kingfisher. Seafood at this place is awesome and hospitality extended by Mr. Vinod and Mr. Krishna was appreciable. They took every effort to make our stay comfortable. We stayed two nights in this place. One morning we went for a long boat ride with Mr. Shanmugham. Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this place.

We spent four nights here, could easily spend more - it's such a relaxing and tranquil experience. The cottage is beautifully constructed from wood and local stone and with windows on all sides, plus terraces front and back, is a place where you can easily while away many hours peacefully watching the birds feeding in the pond - right out the front. The show-stealers being the three species of kingfisher that we saw catching fish and sitting among-st the palms. The food is incredible - as vegetarians, we were treated to a diverse array of delicious, healthy and wholesome local veggie and fruit dishes with huge portions. We spent lots of time on the deserted beach (200m walk) and were also able to enjoy a sunrise boat trip on the backwaters with shanmu - it was nice to see the river jellyfish and the tea and biscuits on the boat was a very nice touch. The family are very welcoming. We especially enjoyed chatting with krishna about biodiversity, and visiting the local award-winning agriculturist scientist and conservationist divakaran who is helping repopulate the depleted and vitally important mangrove habitats over the last 25 years. A very humbling experience. The area is beautiful and the locals are all very friendly - having a couple of bicycles available would have been even better to explore the local villages and waters by pedal power. All in all, a brilliant restorative stay.

Amazing host and family make me feeling like at home. Beautiful location and facilities. Worth coming

Amazing hospitality. Fab location. Cooked jain food for us. Can spend time looking fisher boats pass or go to beach right in front of property.

This place is a true hidden gem of azhithala. Do not that its a very good place for a relaxed homestay and a bit out of main kannur town - so just plan your days and activities accordingly. The homestay itself is just heavenly. Be respectful of the fact that the place is as natural as it can get. Mr vinod and his family stays within the premises and as caretakers of the homestay - they have done an excellent job. The entrance is easy to miss but locals were helpful in finding the right path. Nestled within a ton of coconut trees and surrounded by lush green fields having small natural ponds provide for a great view no matter in which cottage you stay. However, the largest one provides a better view of the riverside where you can watch houseboats and other vessels drift by while you enjoy pure bliss. The beach is less than 3 minutes away - you just have to literally cross the road and a pristine - almost private beach welcomes you as you watch fishing trawlers and fishermen go about doing their job. As far as food is concerned, you just don't have to worry as mr vinod and his family caters to your every need - you just have to let them know beforehand about your preference. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner at their home - truly phenomenal dishes all locally sourced and absolutely authentic. Mr vinod, mr krishna were very helpful in finding places to visit during our short stay. We couldn't cover every one of their suggestions but we know where we will stay next time. Anything less than 3-4 days won't do justice to this experience. There are many other places that would charge a bomb for this kind of service. My recommendation: go for it !

Great ambiance in a peaceful place. Easily accessible location. Staffs were courteous and polite. Security arrangement was also fine. Clean and well-maintained room. I got all the basic facilities at the property. Their services were awesome, really Worth for money property.

River Lap is very clean, the staff are lovely but the proximity to ponds/lagoons is also perfect for mosquitoes/bugs. The bed is too hard for a cosseted european body. Some active anti bug measures and a mattress topper would change things significantly.

This place is very beautiful. The cottages are designed in such a way that they maintain harmony with nature. And the food they serve is finger licking good. Even five star chefs cannot prepare such good food. Location is perfect, next to both River and Beach. You can actually see sunrise from the hotel and watch sunset at the Beach which is just 5 minutes walk from this place. People are warm and simple. Everything about this place is outstanding.