Cidade De Goa Reviews

Our first time in goa and it wont be our last,what a great place, hotel was clean, staff could not do enough for you very friendly and the food well its every vegatarians paradise,only bugbear was the hotel held confrences so at times it could get a bit noisey.the evening entertainment is a bit of a mixed bag but ok we met a lovely couple (mick and freda)who took us under there wing and met up with them quite often in the bar area(mick have you forgiven me yet for winning you at pool)

out and about visit panjim,apora night market and calangute,we did overnight tour throuh our rep";hello englebert";to the jungle book this is quite an experience but we are glad we went,riding the elephants was the hi-light sleeping in mud huts was not,and be prepared to get very dirty but over all worth doing,Transport is a hair raising experience so hold on to your hats and indians dont believe in indicators they just use there horns to tell you and other bike and car users to shift its a mad pace of live and very noisy in towns but the atmosphere is wonderful,take small toys,t-shirts etc for the kids there is alot of begging.

you cannot spend rupes in duty free at airport only in coffee shop and all lighters are taken off you so if you smoke beware.

The hotel and the staff were lovely, this is a great place to stay if you want a quiet relaxing holiday combined with a bit of luxury. Dona Paula is a 20 minute walk away but only takes a few minutes by taxi. taxi drivers can also take you everywhere else in Goa very cheaply and there are loads of places worth a visit, especially Old Goa.Even just driving around and looking at Goan life through the taxi window is an experience, the colours, sights and smells of Goa are truly amazing.

We went to 2 restaurants in Dona Paula, the first Sea Pebbles was in a lovely location and the food was good but we were a bit put off by the number of rats we saw running around (it is an outdoor eating area right on the seafront so unavoidable in many ways) The other restaurant, Goan Delicacy, was tucked away on Hawaii beach, any taxi driver could take you there, ask to walk the last hundred yards as it takes you right through a little fishing community. The food there was lovely, especially the lobster. The views across the bay were amazing although the building itself looked more like a community centre than a restaurant.
We also went on an evening cruise up the Mondovi river on Noahs Ark starting in Panjim. This was fantastic, the food, the service and the gentle night time cruise were all perfect.

We were disppointed with First Choice, both flight times were changed in the weeks leading up to the holiday and then there was an additional 16 hour delay on the outbound flight. On arriving more than 16 hours late our rooms were not ready and the first choice rep was nowhere to be found. In our opinion the service from First Choice did not improve. So in short we would highly recommend Goa, the Citade de Goa and the restaurants mentioned above but not Fisrt Choice.

This was our second visit to Goa We stayed at the Cidade de Goa, which is situated in central Goa, a short taxi ride from the capital Panjim. The hotel is right on a beautiful sandy beach with calm waters. The staff are very friendly and go out of their way to do things for you. We used the hotel courtesy bus, quite often, as it went into Panjim every day at 11am and returned at 2pm. This was long enough for shopping and stops for refreshment.

The taxis at the hotel are expensive so take the short walk up the hill to the main road where there are several taxi drivers looking for customers. An even cheaper option is to walk into Donna Paula (about 15 minutes} where you can pick up an auto rickshaw from the stand at the crossroads. However, which ever you use make sure you agree a price beforehand.

If having a suit made, there is an excellent tailor in Panjim, Rayan Textiles Shop No6 and7, Eldorado Plaza, the next block behind Thomas Cooks. I had 3 suits and 17 shirts made to measure. I took some shirt material with me, but I should not have bothered as there was plenty to choose from at the tailors plus I found a fabric shop in Panjim, that sold cotton shirting fabric in many colours and shades at a quarter of UK prices. To have a shirt made cost 250 rupees.

As we wanted to book a trip to see the Taj Mahal, and the Goldern Triangle, and had been told to book independently rather than via any of the hotel reps, the tailor, recommended a travel agent to us. Take-Off Travels, A/2, Sea Gull Building, near the Municipal Market (go to the back of the building and up the stairs). They arranged a five-day trip for us to Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, which worked out at £430 each. The price included return flights to Delhi, 4 nights BandB in 3 star hotel accommodation, a full day city tour of Delhi and taxi transfers to and from the airport and between each city. We were told by, the travel agent, that the taxi driver for the tour would be English speaking, unfortunately this was not the case. Our driver's command of English was not too good, so communication was rather frustrating at times, but this was the only downside to the tour. Next time we visit Goa we plan to take a trip just to Delhi to take a more leisurely look at the places that interested us, rather than the 'whistle stop' tour of the city, which we had last time. In Delhi we stayed at the Hotel Swati. The manager, who spoke excellent English, was extremely helpful so we intend to stay there again. Attached to the hotel was an excellent vegetarian restaurant. The overall trip was quite exhausting, as there are so many places to see on route, however it was well worth the effort and the Taj Mahal is magnificent.

Once back in Goa we were able to relax and enjoy the facilities of the Cidade de Goa, which had practically everything you would want on holiday. There are several restaurants in the hotel, however we ate mostly in restaurants in Panjim and a few times in Donna Paula. Do try the Goan Delicacy Restaurant, which can be located down a little track, left just before the crossroads at Donna Paula. The food there was excellent. (On the way there, watch out for and don't trip over the little piglets that sleep on the track). In Panjim, try the Viva Panjim restaurant where they serve traditional Goan home cooking at a very reasonable price, but arrive there by 7pm as there are only a small number of tables and it is always popular. Also in Panjim is the Vihar, one of the best south Indian snack cafés, a vegetarian restaurant that seems to be very popular with local people especially for a lunchtime snack. The Delhi Durbar is always worth a visit, being one of the best restaurants in Panjim if not all of Goa.

Our favourite beach was Utorda about 40 minutes taxi ride from Panjim. We made straight for the Zeebop beach shack which we knew to be one of the best shacks from our last visit to Goa. Here we made use of their sun loungers for the day, had lunch of freshly caught fish, quite a few gin and tonics and beers, all at a cost of only £10 for the two of us. We noticed this year that they have upgraded their washroom facilities making them practically 5 star. Most beach shacks have only a temporary wooden structure at the rear. Utorda beach is quieter than many of the beaches and has beautiful white sand and few tourists. You can walk for miles along the shore and meet only a few people. There are quite a few shacks along the beach, so you will be spoilt for choice.

If it's your first visit to Goa take small gifts with you if possible, as most Goan people are not well off. I always take Football and Tee shirts as these kinds of things are much appreciated.
A very good reference book for places visit, eat and drink in Goa is, 'The Rough Guide to Goa': a must for the traveller. Most libraries have a copy.
Hope all visitors to India, enjoy their stay as much as we did.

Our first trip to Goa was marred by a 12.5 hour delay on the Monarch flight. Upon arrival (in the early hours) we were greeted by hustling porters 'helping' us to push the baggage, ours was holding out and kept asking for £5, we gave him a pound coin and told him to sling his hook! The trip to the hotel was by taxi so we didn't have to drive all around the resorts dropping other people off.
The brochure states that all rooms have a balcony and a sea view, we had neither, but after producing a copy of the brochure and making a complaint we were soon moved to a room with both. The staff in the hotel were helpful and friendly.

Vainguinim beach suffers a little as it is situated in the river estuary, and opposite the port, often having a problem with oil. We were told an oil spillage had occurred a couple of months ago, and therefore both the sea and beach were not as clean as we had expected.

We had read a good few reports before we travelled and took others advice on walking up the hill (which is actually just the hotel drive), and speaking to the local taxi drivers.
We used a great guy called Luciano (taxi number 6660, mobile #9822103866). He took us out to both the north and south of Goa at very reasonable rates. The taxis stay with you and wait until you are ready to return. Luciano was full of information, we learned about politics and history alike.

The food in the hotel was excellent but rather expensive (comparitively), we went to several restaurants in Panjim. Some recommended by other guests, some by Luciano. Our favorites were Sea Pebbles in Dona Paula, where you could get a whole Tandoori chicken for less than £2!, Delhi Darbar, Goenchin(chinese), and Sher-E-Punjab all in Panjim. We went to Quarterdeck which had a fabulous setting over the river, but the service was appalling. Mum's kitchen provided a medium spiced curry which numbed my tongue and lips for about an hour! All in all the standard of the food was excellent.

The shopping very good value, we bought jewellery, designer suits, as well as cashew nuts and a couple of sari's!
We visited Velcao beach, which was unspoiled and almost deserted, except for Peters beach shack, and a few locals. The spice farm, Anjuna market, Baga beach and also made the long trip down to Paradise beach at the southern tip of the state. All our trips were worth doing.

We had a fabulous time, the Goans are fantastic people and we will definately return.

This was our first trip to Goa and it most definately wont be our last.

The hotel was first class and the service was excellent, choice of food was also very good. We decided to opt for an all inclusive stay and can honestly say we were never short of somewhere to eat, even if we didnt fancy Indian food there was a grerat barbeque and an excellent a'la carte restaurent, the staff were very friendly and attentive, nothing was too much trouble.

The private beach was also very nice. The nearby village/town of Dona Paula was a nice if not sometimes hair-raising experience but we enjoyed the stroll, the local people are very friendly, there is also an excellent Jewellery Shop owned by Mr Ali where we bought a lovely Diamond ring as it was our Silver Wedding Anniversary .The service was excellent, and Mr Ali is a very charming gentleman. Its very easy to get to the capitel of Panjim where there are plenty of shops and restaurants to visit. Its very easy to get a taxi to Panjim or the Hotel runs a free bus service in the morning, picking you up to return around 2pm. There is also a very good taxi rank outside the grounds of the hotel at the top of the hill, we used this for the whole of our stay, keeping the same taxi driver, Victor, he was very good, taking us to the Hindu Temples and the Spice Plantation for the day, the total cost for the whole day for the two of us was about £20 this included lunch and the taxi fare. Its by far much cheaper to use a taxi driver as your tour guide, they are very friendly and excellent value for money.

The hotel also have themed evenings with entertainment, they certainly know how to put on an event, even the weddings that took place while we were there was an event we had certainly never seen before, the decorations, and the atmosphere was lovely even the guests didnt mind people taking photos of the event. The beauty salon was grreat especially the massages and i had a pedicure for about £2, very good value for money.

All in all we had a wonderful holiday and would certainly recommend staying at the Cidade de Goa, we will certainly be returning in the not too distant future.