Goa Holiday Reviews

the resport was quite sunny but overcrowded - found it hard to get through the shopping crowds on a wed.

Hi Soni

This is in reference to the booking made by us to stay at your resort from 23rd may to the 30th may 2009. This was definitely a waste of time and money WITH a lot of horrible memories .The reputation of your resort is shattered to bits.We would not recommend this place to anyone as the only motive by this resort is to get more and more people to check in and there is nothing called as looking after your guests.

We reached Goa after travelling 9 hrs from Mumbai and reached in the late evening and can you imagine being told by the reception you cannot stay in this hotel due to certain MAINTENANCE PROBLEMS so you will need to travel to Haathi mahal some 13 kms away.We were shocked at the unprofessionalism of the management.So tired and upset we went in the night to Hathi mahal and reached there searching for the place at 8 p.m

Now we were told first that you will get 2 separate rooms not interconnected and NO KITCHENETTE.we were told of something entirely different before we booked the holiday. Unbelievable to expect a couple with 2 small kids to stay like this . We had to put our foot down and ask for interconnected rooms,as can 2 kids stay alone in the next room ?. after a lot of thought by the guys at the reception ,we were given an interconnected room without a kitchenette. We stayed there for 1 and 1/2 day,but because we wanted an apartment and not just 2 rooms we were told there was a place in Royal Palms

In Royal palms we were shown a small room that was HORRIBLY STINKING and unstayable .We walked out that very minute and as if we were getting everything for free we had to start the requesting and the pleeaseee...... to your management and they very reluctantly ,gave us a room on the 3rd floor. While we were walking up ,realized that the exhaust of all the toilets were all facing the stairs and the stink was unbelievable!!!and so chawl like. When we reached the room they were so much smaller than the earlier apartments we had stayed in and agreed to take a holiday at your place. here the sofas were stinking and the room was so suffocating!! Royal Palms we thought had some class . You are doing no favour to us and others like us, coming on holidays ,(only because of belief in your name and reputation),and feel absolutely no remorse for treating its prospective customers in this manner.Other couples were walking off without staying here in front of us.

IS THIS WHAT YOU GUYS WANT ??? TO DEMOTE YOUR PLACE RATHER THAN PROMOTE? WHAT ARE YOU ACHIEVING THROUGH THIS ATTITUDE ?? AND WHAT KIND OF PROMOTION DO YOU EXPECT TO ACHIEVE THROUGH THIS? WILL ANYONE WANT TO BE A MEMBER HERE.? WE ACTUALLY THOUGHT OF BECOMING MEMBERS,AFTER SPEAKING TO SOMEONE AT HAATHI MAHAL BUT CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE HAD PAID THE MEMBERSHIP FEES?. IF WE WANTED TO SPEND GOOD FAMILY TIME AT YOUR PLACE ,IS THIS WHAT WE HAVE TO EXPECT AND GO THROUGH? we left the next day and checked into another hotel not bothering about the money paid to you in advance. We have spend double the money on tariff because of the mismanagement of your staff.Hence we want our booking amount to be refunded at the earliest.

I didn't like Baga, Candolim or Calangute beaches, they were far too hectic for me but a short taxi ride to Mandrem beach solved the problem, it's gorgeous and quiet. We tried various eating places, you will find your favourites but we liked Nicks place(this was their 1st season)very much. Turn left out of hotel and it's a short walk, there is a good money exchange there too. The Saturday market is very good, be prepared to haggle. No need to eat first, there are plenty of eateries inside, some good live music too.Worth a visit is Dr Salim Alis bird sanctuary fo a trip through the mangroves in a dug out canoe, the Sakahari spice plantation and elephants. We loved this area and will definately go back again.

it was ok, good restaurants, lots of shops, internet cafe, and chemists, nice clean beach, but to many sellers and hawkers

If you want a quiet resort this is it. The hotel is on its own - well apart from the Leila next door. Taxis are cheap. The resort of Cavellossim is only a couple of miles away and easily reached by bus or taxi. There are about 20 restaurants altogether with up to 10 shacks along the beach.

Unfortunately we didn't hang around long enough to sample what Candolim had to offer. When we did take a little walk, we weren't greeted with the friendlieness we experienced in the South of Goa.

Betalbatim Beach is a very quiet resort. The people that live there are so friendly and they all love to speak with you in English. They love children and wanted to touch my daughter's cheeks/hands all the time. I found this quite strange at first - but once you realise that they are just being friendly, it's fine. You can walk along the beach to Colva - but this does take quite a while. It costs roughly £3 for a taxi into Colva, and there are always plenty of taxis waiting to take you. Colva is a lot busier - but Betalbatim is ideal if you want a relaxing holiday.

Clean beach but not a lot to do ther but nice to relax. one beach hut. Only thing i will say is watch out for stray dogs but if you ignore them they wont bother you too much. Can get very hot on the sunbeds and you have to buy a drink from the nearest shack to get them. Watch fishing boats go out at 6 am local time people say its good.

so much to do - the night market, elephant trips, spice plantations, waterfalls, monestaries, churches - the list goes on!!!!

i would definitely go back there - maybe not to the hotel but for the adventure and beauty of Goa - amazing!!!

Lots of shops, bars and restaurants. All kinds of cuisine available from very cheap to a bit more expensive. Very safe, local transport good (local buses or Tut-tuts).

A good base to explore Goa, plenty of trips available and taxis will take you anywhere and cost very little.

One side of the beach is eroding but the other side is good.The sea can be rough with undercurrents so care is needed.Not a safe swim for children.Plenty of shops and restaurants serving different cuisines.

Lots of local shops and restaurants where you can get a good variety of dining options all a very reasonable prices.

Victor's popularity is growing fast ,and with just cause if our experience is anything to go by. We managed to find Victor's place on the Sunday,but were unable to get a table until the following Friday ,as he was fully booked. Between the four of us we ordered the Dressed Crab and the Prawn pate for starters,and both the King prawns and Tiger prawns for our main courses. All of it was absolutely delicious, including Victor's own type of "Bombay aloo" (my term,not his) which are unspiced and more like traditional roast potatoes,my friend couldn't eat enough of them! Victor chatted to us very amiably about his cooking philosophy,which basically consists of the freshest ingredients prepared with little or no spices,personaly by him. When asked why he didn't expand the business,he told us that he wanted to give his customer's food his personal attention and that he couldn't do that if he got too big. Must also mention Victor's two boys,who are both very polite and charming. All in all a memorable experience,and definitely the culinary highlight of our holiday in Goa.

This was our first time in Goa and when we arrived we were horrified, I was expecting a similar layout to our European holidays were all the hotels were on the front and in prominent positions, but all we could see was delapidated buildings, cows and dust everywhere. This definately isn't a place for the faint hearted. If you want to experience India then don't expect anything and you won't be dissappointed. The streets are very dusty, so you always feel dirty, there is no real entertainment as such, unless its in your hotel so you need to make your own. There were no noisy bars or clubs that we knew about, so most evening we ate out at local resteraunts and bars and chatted to a lot of the locals and ex pats. AND WE LOVED it!! 5 minute walk from the hotel there is a Thomas Cook Office we found this is the best place to exchange money as they gave the best rates. Straight opposite is a street which leads to the beech, on this street there is an English cafe bar, called the Why Not a lot of ex pats go here and on Wednesday they have bingo, not my cup of tea but each to their own. Also on the main street there is a small resteraunt called the Kishor, if you want to sample Goan food this is brilliant the food is good, dirt cheap and you don't get the tummy grumbles the following day. Basically the beeches of sanguerim, candolim, calangute and baga all run along the same coastline so the beech is the same. There are beech shack all along the beech and the traders will entice you in with free sunbeds as lonG as you buy food and drink from their shack. By the way the food from the shacks is ok to eat but just remember the rules on salad, and ice! The water temperature is really pleasant, but its not safe to swim, red flags are out every day, and the waves, tides and undercurrents are very strong. If you want to go to Anjuna don't bother with the beech the market may be ok but there isn't really a beech its mostly rock. Also a few people told us that Coco Beech was nice but we were disappointed when we got there as there was a strong smell of deisel from the fishing boats and it was only a small beech front. The best way to get around is to get freindly with a particular taxi driver, this seems to be the done thing, he will then become your driver for the holiday if you want to go anywhere. Always agree a price before, if you are going far they will wait and bring you back. At the entrance to the Nizmar you will find the going rates on a lampost.