Sri Mahalakshmi Temple Reviews Summary

Ambiance and Design

Pros:

• "One of the best places of worship and all the festival events taking place here is done with the full commitment and feel of being in India."
• "Once we enter into temple, we forget that we are in London and will start feeling like some south Indian especially Tamil Nadu style temple."
• "It's an amazing temple with lots of spiritual vibrations."
• "The temple is beautifully designed with intricate carvings and decorations, which adds to the overall ambiance."
• "Such a beautiful temple. My favourite was the big hanuman statue."
• "The architecture of the temple was beautiful, with intricate details and exquisite artwork."
• "Beautiful and peaceful. Great to have been there for an Aarti."

Cons:

• "I find the colour of the facade extremely unsightly. The yellow is very strong and does not compliment any of the local architecture."
• "The hall in the basement with the Sai Baba shrine could be a lot tidier too! So many loose items strewn all over."
• "All pooja items, coconuts, fruits and flowers are placed in front of the chariot making the place look untidy."
• "There also doesn't seem to be any order of praying at the various moorthy idols: seems a bit haphazard."

Food and Prasadam

Pros:

• "Annadhanam daily at 1pm Nd night 8pm."
• "They do Annadanam from.12:15 pm on weekdays."
• "We had very nice peasadam (annadaanam) I.e. hot hot sambar and rice."
• "The food they server is tasty."
• "The food served is nothing short of amazing. The taste, quality, and variety of the Prashad served is truly commendable."
• "They serve Prasadam (rice, daal, veg Curry, papadum) at lunch and dinner times."
• "The prasadam is also very good here."

Cons:

• "Temple is Beautiful, Priests are fantastic, Environment is good but the prasadam food so horrible....Today afternoon they served the old sambar."
• "Foo given was half cooked and substandard, not sure about the hygiene but free should not mean bad food."
• "When serving they not mixing the sambar properly so the main ingredients vegetables are at the bottom."
• "The Sambhar is too too spicy, staff should wear face masks, they don't realise when talking the food is right next to them."
• "The serving guy shouted at me and said don't touch plate gems will spread."
• "Food given was half cooked and substandard, not sure about the hygiene but free should not mean bad food."

Location and Accessibility

Pros:

• "Located right in the main Street of the East ham and closer to the East ham railway station."
• "Many good Indian cuisine restaurants are nearby the temple."
• "Right in front of the tube station, makes life easier to travel."
• "A very divine and holy temple located few steps away from the Eastham tube station."
• "Relatively easy parking, car parks within walking distance, as well as easy access from East Ham tube station."

Cons:

• "The temple is situated on a busy square. You have to struggle and wait to cross and get to the entry door because of traffic and signal wait time."
• "It was a bit crowded but overall a nice experience, not as good as Mahaganapati temple in Maricopa county which I am used to, with all it's space.. This is an urban temple in a crowded area."
• "Getting Parking space on the street could be difficult during a bank holiday."
• "However it is very difficult to get parking at times due to this temple location in the high street."
• "No Temple parking space so please check for parking places before visiting if you are visiting by vehicle."
• "Be mindful of the parking though as you may need to park slightly further off from the temple."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "The team is really kind especially the young man at the reception helped us and gave the explanation to go another temple."
• "The pandits are so very humble and generous to help you do the rituals without any expectation of money or anything."
• "The priests were friendly and welcoming."
• "The polite and knowledgeable priest added to the charm, making the visit truly enlightening."
• "The temple staff were incredibly welcoming and friendly, and they went out of their way to make me feel comfortable and answer any questions I had."
• "The wonderful staff on reception were lovely and very helpful."
• "The vadhyars/purohits are brilliant, soft spoken and sincere in carrying out the prayers."

Cons:

• "Temple is good but the people who are working don't have common sense."
• "I wish the priests should take a little more interest in the devotees reason for pooja."
• "Throughly ashamed to be associated with this temple for the way the management has treated the London Swami Ayyappa Center when they arrived with their Urmoodi Kettu procession."

Cleanliness and Maintenance

Pros:

• "The temple has been maintained very well with a clean atmosphere."
• "Everything is clean and well spaced out."
• "Management maintaining a very good, hygiene, disciplined and healthy atmosphere."
• "The temple is beautiful and maintained very well and it was not very crowded."
• "It's newly built, very well maintained, clean with spiritual retreat, I visit every year just get positively charged."

Cons:

• "Footwear is left untidily by visitors although provision has been made for them to be placed in pigeon holes."
• "But the only problem with the temple is the toilets are not clean. No water and No tissues."
• "Cleanliness could be much better though."
• "The wash basin at the shoe stand area is leaky and the area is wet and messy."
• "Cleaning and hygiene, and odour in footwear stand can certainly be improved."