Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Andamans

I can't say enough good things about our family's stay at Taj Andaman. Again and again I was impressed by the personal attention and gracious attitudes all around. I expected this to be a once in a lifetime place I would come, but this experience was so incredible and the Andamans are so lovely that I'm planning a return journey, despite this being half way around the world for me. I want to call out some staff that were above and beyond in their level of care and service: 1) Arjama who took care of each and every need promptly and with a smile. I especially appreciated the surprise garden tour and tea she arranged for us, as gardening is one of my passions. 2) Shukracharya drove us around the property and his tour was so appreciated because of his knowledge of the flora and willingness to share that with me. He also arranged to have the beach gate opened for me before sunrise and some of my favorite memories are watching the sunrise alone on the beach. 3) Santosh and Raja at the beach looked after us so well when we relaxed there, offering us towels, cold washcloths and water without being asked. They made us and our belongings feel secure when we went out for a swim. So many wonderful staff at the restaurant I really need a separate space to list them all! 4) Sai was excellent serving us at dinners, answering all of my mom's questions about food patiently and attending to us with grace and ease. Since my daughter is gluten-free, Sai took special care to make sure anything she ordered was safe for her to eat. He also called the kitchen when we were at tea to check what she could eat there. 5) Shubham was likewise excellent at dinner as well as breakfast. He organized a goodbye cake cutting for us on our last day and decorated the table-so kind! 6) As Americans, we really like our coffee, and Marina at Shoreline made my daughter and me the BEST vanilla iced lattes every morning at breakfast. 7) Vishal served us promptly and greeted us with a smile in the morning. 8) And finally, I had the good fortune to meet Joydeep who although works at the Spa was at the pool on the last day, and gave me a wonderful book about trees on the property. Priceless was the valuable information he gave about touring the Andamans. You should put him in a position to allow him to share his passion and interest in tourism throughout the Andamans. He made me excited to come again and explore more than just Swaraj Dweep. Although of course I must come stay here again. :)

As usual Taj exotica, Andamans lived up to our expectations. Starting from the time we were picked up from the jetty until the time we were dropped back, we were made to feel special. Mr Subhadip followed up with us and provided us with all the required information before our arrival in Havelock. The welcome song on our arrival at the property was the highlight. Apart from warm hospitality, Mr Joydeep at turtle house and Mr Raja at the beach front provided abundance of information about the place as well as the activities we could indulge in during our stay. Mr Abhishek and the rest of the crew at the front desk were extremely attentive to our needs and helped us with a seamless checkout. Overall, our stay at Taj exotica, Andamans was fabulous.

Wow! Wow! Wow! What an experience! What service! What people! From the very moment you arrive at the hotel to when you depart from the Jetty, they are there to help you all the way! Some pro tips at the end of the review. All the staff is great, but some people made our stay specially memorable. Shubham made our breakfast & dinners very special. Rajeev ji, Sandeep & Vikas, the restaurant managers took special care of our dietary requirements. Chef Devendra from Bharatpur made our meals very special! Santosh ji, the lifeguard at the beach was also very friendly & made us feel very safe with our toddler at the beach. The dives organised by the activity center, Lacadives was also amazing. About the resort: The resort has been made very thoughtfully so that no trees were cut while building the resort & it is clearly evident once you see the restaurants, reception etc. The hi-teas by the beach are pretty amazing! & best part, it is pure vegetarian! Toddler friendly : The staff is very courteous & very kid-friendly. We visited with our toddler & they made sure we had a very comfortable stay. They have kid bicycles with support wheels too. Freely available beach toys, lifeguards on duty & delicious vegetarian kid food! About the dives : The diving instructor, Ravi & the divemaster Anand were very good! Really enjoyed my first experience Scuba Diving! Pro tips : Dive : Turtle Beach dive site had amazing corals & marine life to see! We saw an octopus, variety of fishes & corals! Food : They have plenty of vegetarian options & a lavish breakfast buffet! If you have any special dietary requirements like vegetarian food, vegan food etc., just ask them & they will help you out. The staff is also very helpful as mentioned above. Arrival & Departure at / from the Jetty : Taj has porters at the Jetty to help you with the luggage at the Jetty when your ferry arrives / departs. Remember to send Taj your ferry details well in advance. Kids : they have lots of free beach toys in the resort for the kids, so that is really great to keep kids busy. Also, they have kids bicycles with support wheels for toddlers too. Beach : The beach is very clean (& let’s keep it so!) & the sunset views are beautiful! Rooms : the rooms are huge, bigger than some apartments! & kids can easily play inside the room, there is good space. Pro Tip for Honeymooners : The private pool villas are not so private as the pool faces the coomon pathways. However, the mangrove facing vills, especially villa no. 82-87 are very private.

We had a fabulous stay at the Taj Exotica Havelock Island last week. I am glad that we chose Taj to mark our 10th Anniversary and everything was so well laid out. From welcoming us with smiling faces, checking in, room decoration on our anniversary, friendly staffs at the restaurant, exciting treks etc - everything was so well organised and planned. Special Mention - Mr Sandeep, the Restaurant Manager, was really helpful and polite in welcoming us with a warm smile everytime we went for our meals. My four year old is a lil shy but he was so comfortable engaging and playing with this gentleman. Sandeep - explained us how different the Taj culture is from other places, the rich history of Andamans and a variety of things.

The location and grounds are stunning and the room was fabulous, but I was surprised that there were no robes, no coffee maker and no turn down service. There were also no colourful cushions as per the hotel pictures. The AC was very drafty blowing directly onto the bed and we were disturbed all one afternoon by a very noisy grass-cutter. I also hated the slatted bathroom floor because the cleaners wouldn't be able to access the underfloor area. The service and quality of the food were both superb but we were extremely disappointed with the design of the common areas. So much so that we almost left after our first night. There was a complete lack of atmosphere in both the bar area - which was dingy and unappealling - and the large restaurant which echoed with the sound of screaming kids. We also found the prices to be very high: 500 rupees for a roti is ridiculous. There was another restaurant but that was for just ten people and you had to commit to paying for a very expensive taster menu. The pool was extremely long but as it was all one area, children tended to monopolise the central area and so it was impossible to do laps. We were extremely frustrated by the lack of information and a map of the hotel. We were given a long briefing when we arrived but when you are travel weary and keen to get to your room it's not a good time to take on board a raft of information. We discovered on day three that there was info on the TV but it was impossible to access unless you called someone to show you how to do it.

The food at Shoreline restaurant at the Taj Exotica was outstanding. Grilled prawns was very good. Service was also par excellence. The restaurant chef, Jai Singh is an excellent chef with attention to your requirements. I strongly recommend you try out this hotel.