Redemption story · Taj / IHCL

A night at Taj Fisherman's Cove, fully paid by points.

My first trip settled end to end with points, not cash. One night on the Chennai coast, two adults and a newborn, the whole folio cleared with three Amex Taj vouchers. Here's how it went, and the honest bits too.

By The Upgraded Traveller Chennai, Mar 2025 7-min read

Taj Fisherman's Cove · 1 night 2 adults + a newborn Paid with 3 Amex Taj vouchers ₹0 out of pocket

01 Why a Taj, on points

The ₹4L milestone on my Amex Platinum Travel had dropped a ₹10K Taj voucher, and I'd been itching to use it. With a newborn now in tow and an international trip planned for November, this doubled as a practice run: redeeming points, a night away with a baby, dealing with crowds, a break from routine.

Wife wanted the beach, so I booked 1 night at Taj Fisherman's Cove - a Superior King room, "Garden View", with breakfast, on the standard rate: ₹18K + GST, about ₹21.5K. I actually had a Tata Neu birthday-month offer for the same room at ₹13K, but the whole point was to spend zero cash, so I took the voucher-eligible standard rate. I even emailed Taj asking to pair the cheaper rate with the Amex voucher. No reply, so I didn't gamble.

02 Getting there, and an EazyDiner save

A 1.5-hour drive from home, leaving at 11:30am, with lunch booked through EazyDiner about 30 minutes from the resort - partly for the offer, partly to guarantee a table with a newborn along. Five minutes after we ordered, the restaurant announced they wouldn't accept EazyDiner payment. I pinged ED support, they rang back, I handed the phone to the manager, and, magically, they accepted EazyDiner again. Food was genuinely good. Lesson: ED support is excellent when a booking goes sideways.

03 Check-in

We reached at 2:20pm to a welcome garland made of shells and a non-alcoholic drink. I was taken aback by how many people were checking in at once. A little paperwork later, keycard in hand, we headed up.

04 The room, better than the reviews said

The reviews had me braced for "small" and "a bit dated". Nope. The room was spacious, spotless, and smelt lovely, and the bathroom was immaculate. A rocking chair (a genuine lifesaver with the baby), a sofa, a desk, plenty of floor space. Iron, locker and slippers all sorted. The only niggle was the sink's hot water, which came and went. The sheer size won us over before anything else.

Superior King room with a rocking chair, sofa and desk — Spacious and spotless.

Another angle of the room with the writing desk and minibar — Room to move, with a newborn.

Wardrobe with robes, hangers and an ironing board — Robes, iron, locker, slippers.

Bathroom vanity in stone and wood with a large mirror — Immaculate bathroom.

Bathroom entry with a luggage bench and walk-in shower — Walk-in shower, stone floors.

Shower and vanity area of the bathroom — Spotless throughout.

The one letdown: the "Garden View" was, frankly, a rooftop of air-conditioning units. We just kept the curtains shut the whole time and forgot about it.

The garden view from the room, over a rooftop of air-conditioning units and potted plants — The "Garden View". Curtains stayed shut.

05 Around the resort

They handed us an activities sheet, and it actually worked to while away the time - you could tell they'd put effort in. There were ducks you feed with bread crumbs from the front desk, a painting canvas (all of two colours), rangoli, origami. The grounds were full of colour: flowering trees, mango trees, hammocks, even swans overhead. The Chennai heat, though, bled us dry.

Resort garden at golden hour with bougainvillea in bloom — Bougainvillea and morning light.

Lawn with egrets walking and a hammock strung between trees — Egrets on the lawn, hammocks in the shade.

Mangoes hanging on a tree in the resort grounds — Mango trees all over the grounds.

06 Sunset, seafood and a massage

We caught the sunset on the beach with juice and snacks, and a long walk. It felt great.

Sunset over the sea at Covelong beach — Sunset off the cove.

The sun low over the water with waves rolling in — Juice, snacks, a long walk.

Dinner was at Bay View, which a few friends rate among Chennai's best seafood. The prices were wild, but since it was all on points, we just enjoyed it: the grilled fish melted in the mouth, one of the best I've had, alongside crab rasam, idiyappam and a prawn-mango curry. The bill came to ₹7.5K for two. After that, a Sammardhana full-body Ayurvedic massage at the J Wellness Centre - worth it, once we'd got past a slightly over-the-top "guests are god" welcome.

A plate of grilled fish with vegetables — The grilled fish. Melted in the mouth.

A bowl of fried calamari with two dipping sauces — Crisp calamari to start.

Idiyappam, string hoppers, in a bamboo steamer — Idiyappam, fresh off the steam.

07 Sunrise, and a breakfast to remember

We were on the beach at 6am for the sunrise: boats on the water, the sun climbing slowly. For a lifelong night owl, it was a whole new experience.

Sunrise over the sea with fishing boats on the horizon — 6am on the sand.

The rising sun over the water with a fishing boat in the foreground — Boats heading out.

Breakfast at Seagull was so full they'd set up a second buffet in another building. The spread was enormous: every South Indian classic - idli, vada, dosa, poori, pongal, kichdi - plus kachori, Malabar paratha, baked fish, chicken curry, breads, eggs, muffins, croissants, four juices and two coffees. The one odd sight was a staffer strolling the dining hall with a mosquito bat.

08 The bill, and how it zeroed out

The folio came to ₹36K. With ₹2K still left on the vouchers, I ordered a Hyderabadi mutton biryani and a chicken fried rice takeaway to round it to ₹38K, then settled the lot with three Amex Taj vouchers: a ₹10K Platinum Travel milestone voucher plus two ₹14K vouchers. Nothing out of pocket.

What the vouchers covered 1 night · Chennai

Superior King room + breakfast₹21.5K

Bay View seafood dinner, for two₹7.5K

Ayurvedic massage, activities & extrason the folio

Takeaway, to use the last of it₹2K

Net ₹38K folio, three Amex Taj vouchers, ₹0 cash.

09 The verdict

The good: wife over the moon, a whole album of memories, and I learned to plan and settle an entire trip on points. Most of all, real confidence about travelling with a newborn before the big November trip.

The honest bit: even on points, the total felt steep. I'd have loved to pair the discounted rate with the voucher. And the crowd was far bigger than I expected. Next time I'd book a base room on a breakfast plan and request an upgrade, and confirm a voucher-against-direct-rate booking over email first.

A small carved elephant keepsake in a gift box — A little carved-elephant keepsake.

Originally posted on Technofino. This is the write-up, expanded and cleaned up for reading.

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