Veda5 Ayurveda Living Village - Health resort in Kaipamangalam - Thrissur, India

We stayed at Veda5 Kerala for the whole of June 2023. With no previous knowledge of Aurvedic treatments and food one month here could prove to be a great experience or a big mistake. Fear not Veda5, it was a great experience. June is the start of monsoon season but we were blessed for the first week as Cyclone Biparjoy delayed the onset and took most of the monsoon power north. Mrs M threw herself into the scheduled yoga sessions and really enjoyed it and as I type is continuing her yoga in Sri Lanka. A big thank you to yoga girl Era for her patience and assistance. The location of Veda5 is on the beach north of Cochin/Kochi surounded by fishing villages. It is 1 1/2 hour taxi ride from the airport and 30-40mins from the nearest town and shopping. Taxi to Y-mall is Rs1000,PS10,$12. I feel it is a little too far for a day trip into Kochi. We only had 2 Spa treatments each, an all-over oil massage, a reflexology session, which for some reason included a facial mask and oil leg massage and a fruit facial. We didn't get involved in the Aurvedic treatments or detox as did some fellow guests. The Ayurvedic food plan was interesting, we only had breakfast and dinner and it did seem quite repetative but we were able to shed the few pounds we were hoping to. We were present when a coconut or palm branch landed on the dinning hall roof, breaking the roof tile which landed near to the kitchen staff. A daily hazard of life in monsoon season I suppose. Also the occupant of room 6 foolishly left the large window open when the high winds started one morning which smashed against the wall. Thank you to Datchua and Geethu, reception management, Era for the yoga, Benetha and Mini for the cooking and Thomas on security who came in really early on the morning we left to say goodbye. Conclusion: Would we return? Yes we would but not for quite so long. We would combine it with a stay in Kochi itself next time.

The most heavenly place I have ever stayed at from the location, to the team running it, the delicious Sattvic Ayurvedic meals and deeply healing Ayurvedic treatments. Positioned on a palm-fringed beach, with a calm, warm ocean perfect for swimming, coconuts a-plenty and where you are made to feel like one of the family. The Veda5 team cannot do enough for you and really care about the wellbeing of their guests, or extended family as they like to call visitors. A piece of paradise you'll never want to leave. I came in January 2023 and returned with a group as part of India Calling (indiacalling.co.uk) for yoga, Ayurveda and meditation, and the group cherished every moment here, falling in love with Veda5 as much as we have. We have already booked our next visit in a few months' time!

So wonderful! I'll treasure my memories from my stay here for a long time and we have already planned on coming again next year. Before I get to describing my own wonderful experience; I would like to address a review I can see was left 2 days ago... I believe this person was staying at the same time as we were here. It's upsetting to make so many false/ exaggerated remarks to be made about a setting which promotes kindness, happiness and healthy wellbeing. One thing mentioned by them I can 100% advocate as being false information is "no pool," this complex does not advertise itself as offering a pool of any sort, so to expect a swimming pool seems ridiculous. I'm not going to dispute anymore of their claims, but I do want to say that even if they are true, they are highly exaggerated at the least. A review in my own words... 1) Amazing therapists! Jilly was mine for the 8 days I was there and immediately we struck up a great rapport. She put me at absolute ease when experiencing a range of Ayurvedic treatments which were totally new territory for me. She is a super experienced masseuse with the kindest heart. My dad was extremely happy with all of his treatments too and greatly misses his daily massages now that we're back on home ground. 2) The Ayurvedic doctors were incredibly knowledgeable and managed to fix a couple of ailments we started the retreat with! We had daily meetings with them and they would accommodate based on how we were feeling or what our needs were on that particular day. I'm so sorry I can't remember your name but the beautiful petite smiley doctor we used to meet with daily was everything you could want from a doctor - a great listener, proactive and empathetic. 3) Mr Dachu deserves a point entirely to himself. Fantastic resort manager, who was unbelievably attentive, efficient and responsive. My dad who has worked in 5* hospitality for 30+ years said "he's an absolute gem and a true asset to the Veda5 group." He's also a master magician and comedian - what more could you want from the top guy. 4) Perfectly clean rooms with the comfiest beds and plenty of plush pillows! 5) Lovely and very healthy range of dishes served 3 times a day, including a slightly cheekier afternoon tea snack - if you're having a sugar craving. Following the Ayurvedic diet prescribed at the retreat, we left feeling energised and having lost a couple of pounds . 6) Great range of yoga classes. Only thing I would suggest is for the meditation to be seated rather than lying down. I accidentally fell asleep during a 61 point meditation session, partly because of the heat, but I think the savasana didn't help either. 7) Communication was 10/10, anything you wanted or needed was dealt with straight away. We made a few visits out to temples, shopping and to local towns, these were all organised for us very swiftly and met with a great range of recommendations. Thank you again for a magical stay until next time Veda5 Kerala

An amazing retreat. Great vibe, lovely people. Tasty, healthy vegetarian food. Right next to the ocean and beautiful, wide beach. There are no other restreats/ hotels nearby, just a small temple and fishing village. Spacious rooms with bathrooms, comfortable beds, AC. We got the stunning ocean view room (see pics!). Two resident ayurvedic doctors and brilliant therapists look after guests. We really enjoyed our Panchakarma treatments, for example oil bathes, head massages and steam bathes. A little hiccup is the lack of hole for head in the massage beds which makes them rather uncomfortable for people with neck and upper back issues. The staff is super nice and helpful. At the beach hall there's daily yoga practice at sunrise and then late morning and usually a meditation in the afternoon/ evening. This place allows you to truly rest, destress, clear your head and reboot. I've never felt so well rested, calm and relaxed on holidays and afterwards. I highly recommend.

It's a nice vibes Ayurvedic Resort: great location - directly on a beach, nearby are only fisher villages, but if you are bored - it's a town nearby. The Ressort is relatively small, staff is very friendly and a manager Dachuta keeps a nice and unique atmosphere there; international guests come here from all over the world. There are different types of accommodation, if it's important for you - please check in advance which kind of room you will get: (1) deluxe accommodation - not all of them have an ocean /side ocean view, some rooms are located in a busy/noisy area and are larger than those which are located in a quieter area (pls see the attached photos: tiny wood houses ( extremely hot inside, but they are modern and AC works well). (2) superior accommodation is nice, the best one is room 6 (located on the second floor, the ocean view); room 1 (located on the first floor, also faces the ocean); other superior rooms have got a side-ocean view and are slightly smaller than the rooms 6 & 1. I did a panchakarma treatment there with Dr. Nishanth, he is an experienced Ayurvedic doctor in a second generation. There are many guests who are visiting the resort just over a couple of days and both a treatment process and a diet aren't so strict here compared to classical panchakarma regulations so that it would be possible to meet needs of both who are here for a short-term and those who do the panchakarma. Thus, if you wish to experience an authentic panchakarma - it's better to go to a place which runs exclusively panchakarma treatments and doesn't offer very short-term ayurvedic treatments/spa. WiFi is unstable, but it's manageable to connect time from time.

I felt unsafe at Veda5. Not just uncomfortable--unsafe. 1) The key to our room broke in the lock within the first few hours. We had to complain twice for management to do anything. They kept insisting it was "very safe" to leave our belongings unlocked 24/7. Absolutely not. Eventually, their solution was a very weak lock replacement that could be pushed open anyway. 2) While the lock was fully broken, they opened a gate next to our room. Anyone from the public could have come in and taken our things 3) We notified of management about my friends life threatening tree nut allergy several times. They knowingly fed her tree nuts. She threw up several times and broke a fever. No apologies from management -- they wouldnt even let us see the packaging to confirm. 4) A window just combusted. No warning. It just exploded. 5) A brick fell through the ceiling of the dining hall (see attached photo). It almost hit a staff worker on the head. 6) The treatment rooms were leaking very bad. During the monsoon season, this was really noticeable. My friend actually had to move rooms because the cold rain was just pouring in. 7) Our room had cockroaches. I expected some bugs ... but not cockroaches. 8) Several advertised amenities like the pool, blackout curtains, hair dryers, etc. were not available. It not even like the pool was closed for the season. It didn't exist. 9) Towels and other linens were stained from treatment powders. Not just discoloration but enough powder you could rub off some with your fingers. 10) When we checked out early, the whole process took over 2 hours. Even after we got a partial refund and signed a receipt, they made us wait to sign more redundant paperwork. We were told we could not leave until we signed everything they wanted. 11) The car Veda5 hired to drive us back was rough. The man slammed the breaks so hard my head almost touched the seat in front of me more than once. He also refused to take the highway which added considerable time to our car ride. My friend needed nausea medication.

This place is a heaven on earth. One of the most beautiful weekend escape and I would love to be back to make more memories. Staff is super friendly and overall experience was top notch. Fantastic service!! We stayed for 5 nights on detox package in feb. Wish we had more days to experience this wonderful retreat experience. Spacious rooms, homely food and rejuvenation treatments under supervision of a doctor who is always ready to talk on wellness.

Very hygienic rooms. Ayurveda Massage was good but can be better. Good food which is satvik. Private beach is there which sometimes has stranger visit but can't complain. Isolated place, so no disturbances. You will have your own privacy. Nice place for a couple too. Small suggestion- Lockers at the beach will give us a chance to keep valuables like mobile/camera before going into sea will be good.