Radisson Blu Temple Bay, Mahabalipuram

Last weekend we stayed at the Radisson Blu, Temple Bay. We went out that way to see the temples in Mahabalipuram – also known as Mamallapuram. It can be done in a day from Chennai, but with two little kids in tow, it is better to have a home base for some downtime. 

When we arrived, check-in took some time, but that seems to be standard in India. The lobby is nice and we were adorned with leis of shells and offered some iced tea (I politely declined because I think iced tea is disgusting.) 

We were there quite early and our rooms weren’t ready – we hadn’t arranged early check-in. They looked after our bags while we explored the grounds. 44 acres is a fair bit of space, and the playground we were headed to was right at the end of the land near the beach. 

The playground is set in sand and has no shade at all. A couple of shade sails would be lovely, but no. The equipment is typical of playgrounds in Chennai, with faded (unsurprisingly in this sun) steel bars and a large plastic twirly slide. The occasional breeze from the ocean is welcome, but it still feels like a playground in the middle of the desert.

Right next to the playground is The Wharf restaurant. We decided it was time for lunch. The menu has a great variety and the prices are reasonable. I had the spaghetti bolognaise which was awesome! Hubby had something hideously spicy and Indian. The welcome drink we received was a gorgeous pink guava concoction that hubby didn’t like and the kids only drink water and milk, so I drank all four of them. Yum!

The service was slow but friendly. The food was delicious, and the view of the ocean just gorgeous.

Once our room was ready we went inside and started unpacking. The first thing we noticed was the twin beds. We had booked a double room and asked for an extra bed for Millar. There was no extra bed, but after a quick inspection of the couch, we decided he could sleep there and we wouldn’t worry about the extra bed. One of the twin beds had a stained sheet, some rusty droplet stains, like from a curry or bolognaise sauce (or at least that’s what I hope it was), we called house-keeping and got it changed immediately. We also got an extra sheet for the couch.  

Then we went for a swim. The amazing pool is by far the best thing about this hotel. The longest pool in India and one of the longest in Asia, but it’s not a boring rectangle, no siree bob! It’s a meandering pool of blue awesomeness with inlets and bays. It has a swim up bar at one end and two kiddy pools inset into the main pool. Our poolside chalet was 5 steps from the pool. I could have handled staying a few more nights just to take advantage of the pool more often.

There is also another pool near the beach, an infinity pool, as well as several villas with their own private pools. 

Then we set off to explore Mahabalipuram which I wrote about here.

When we got back we packed up and checked out. It would have been awesome to have another swim but the free late check out is only available when the rooms are available and unfortunately, ours was not available. So after we checked out, they stowed our bags and we went to the Waters Edge Cafe for lunch. Another buffet, the food was great but it was the most expensive meal we have had in India. The service was dismal – a lot of staff standing around doing nothing. We had to ask to get our plates cleared and ask several times for another drink among other complaints. There is a duo with a keyboard and a guitar playing some horrible 60′s muzak-esque tunes. This place is not worth the price. We didn’t try the other two restaurants on site but out of the two we did try, I would recommend The Wharf restaurant over the Water’s Edge Cafe. 

We spent the rest of our waiting time playing in the cubby house and chess set and trying to get a good photo of the many squirrels but only getting photos of bits of grass where squirrels were just a second ago.

Another weird thing here is that inside the walk-in wardrobe in our room was a bathrobe. Just one, very small and tatty and dirty bathrobe. I can only imagine that it is some kind of beachy decor thing. Fail.

Overall, a great place just for the pool and the rooms are nice enough. Food overpriced but good. Close to the temples. Plenty of cheaper guest houses closer to the temples and still right on the beach. We chose this place because of all the mixed reviews about other places on tripadvisor, and didn’t want to risk a horrible place with kids. 

We were glad we went, but we were glad to get back home – or at least, our home in Chennai, another hotel.