A friend and I were driving around in Aleppey when we decided to stay back for a day.. Went on Expedia looked up hotels nearby and KTDS was available and a little pricey than I would like to pay for KTDC. But it was last minute and options were limited.. So we booked it in seconds and landed up there in 15 mins, taking the reception staff by surprise..!
But they were quick to work with us, up on their feet and promptly gave us the (best) cottage available etc. and in 10 mins we were checked in.. Left our bags and walked down to the restaurant for a beer and some snacks. Beer was flat, but food was relatively good.. Hung around for a while, went over to Taj for dinner (great ambiance, horrible food), came back and hit the bed.
Woke up early and grabbed breakfast (was nice) and decided to take one of their boats and went on an hour boat ride in the lake. Was awesome, weather was good and the experience was memorable and worth the money (650 or something for the hour). Came back, ate at Tharavadu nearby (WOW!) and packed up and left. Staff was kind enough to extend checkout to 3 pm from usual 12 pm.
Overall, experience was good. The property is huge and unlike other Kerala resorts with coconut trees, this one is heavily wooded, almost a forest spread over 100 acres. The cottages themselves were dated and rusty, but it was clean and so were the bathrooms (important for me). But the staff need special mention. They went out of their way to please. Will recommend!