Everything is fine, but expensive wi-fi, no menu choice

Written: 12 march 2018
Travel time: 8 — 20 december 2017
Your rating of this hotel:
9.0
from 10
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This was our first trip to India. Reviews about the country were contradictory, and since I was traveling with a child - a son of 8 years old, I chose the hotel and place carefully. Of course, it had to be South Goa. And there were many requirements for choosing a hotel: proximity to the sea, an excellent beach, animation in the hotel, ideally all inclusive or the presence of inexpensive and safe cafes (shakes), wi-fi, and near the airport. As a result, I settled on the Heritage Village Club hotel. as it turned out, it was a 100% hit on the perfect vacation! )
THE AIRPORT. The airport is military, so tourists are checked carefully, but not for long. It takes about 30 minutes from the Airport to the Hotel. We didn't have time to get tired.
HOTEL. First impression - Very nice hotel, pleasant, with a calm, kind atmosphere, and smiling people. We were greeted very warmly. Despite the fact that check-in is from 14:00, and we arrived at 5 in the morning, we were told that they would try to prepare the room as quickly as possible, although we did not have time to ask for anything). While waiting, the waiter brought a glass of refreshing drink. At 7 in the morning we were invited to breakfast (at 7:00 a light breakfast, at 7:30 - already a full one), and around . 9:00 in the morning we were already in our room! For which we are very grateful! There are nameplates in front of the doors of the rooms - Residence of....) Our room was in the main building, on the 2nd floor, overlooking the pool. Standard, clean, no luxury, but everything you need is there. The room had a kettle, a thermos of drinking water, glasses, spoons, tea, coffee, sugar. Tea and coffee were reported during cleaning without reminders . . A cooler with drinking water is in the corridor next to the room - it is also very convenient - to drink tea in the evening, or when you go to the beach, pour it into a bottle and go. Also in the room is a TV, refrigerator, telephone, safe, air conditioning, fan. The air conditioner is very noisy. We love the fresh air and the sounds of nature outside the window), so we opened the balcony at night and turned on the fan - it was great! The only thing I would advise is to take the Fumigator and mosquito bracelets with you. Yes, the hotel provides a fumigator, but in our room it turned out to be non-working. I brought my own and didn’t bother with the exchange, etc. , etc. , the problem with mosquitoes was solved for the whole vacation - we didn’t depend on anything or anyone. Also, back in Moscow, I bought mosquito bracelets - for me and my child - this allowed us to calmly relax in the evening on the street. We didn’t see much insects in the room, only at the end of the rest we found a large cuttlefish that had already died in the closet. The balcony was small, but enough for us). View of the pool and the stage - everything is perfectly visible, animation, concerts could be watched directly from the balcony) and at the same time at some distance, not in the very epicenter of entertainment).

The hotel area is small, but well-groomed, green, all in flowers, palm trees all around (nets for coconuts are stretched under them). For children there is a separate small playground (behind the stage) with a slide, stairs, etc.
Nearby there is a village (village Arossim) if you walk a little from the hotel, then in the center of the village there is a market, shops, etc. where you can buy fruits and various little things. There are no shops near the hotel. Therefore, you can still, if you want, buy during the tours. Calculation everywhere in rupees.
GUESTS. Mostly in the hotel the British. As I heard, the hotel is focused on them. There are few Russians. This is probably why the staff speaks only English, but diligently learns Russian. Age - about 35+. The contingent is families with children and mostly elderly couples. The British are all aged, probably 50+. There are no young people here. Therefore, the rest is calm, in principle, everything is measured. There are no discos, bars, etc. nearby. too. This is rest for the soul. At 23:00 hang-up, the music is turned off, the programs end.
ENTERTAINMENT. Animation was every day. Everything was very well organised. During the day in the pool Volleyball, football, mini-golf, aqua aerobics, tennis, table tennis, board games. It was fun! There were also mini-catamarans and aquaballs for children, but for some reason we, with a height of 1.40, were not suitable for aquaballs, they said that they take only higher ones - safety. Although in Moscow even smaller children are allowed into the ball . . Apparently, in India they are reinsured. I read that there is free bike rental. I saw bikes, but we didn't ride.

There is also yoga. Classes are held in the morning on the beach. This is a paid service, but not very expensive - for 1 lesson - it seems 200 rupees (about 200 rubles). Register at the reception. I really wanted to, but for me it was unrealistic, since classes began at 7 in the morning, and we barely had time to wake up by the end of breakfast ((Each evening entertainment programs, games, live music, karaoke, dancing, etc. were held on the central stage . . For every taste. There is a bar next to the stage. Waiters bring everything or you can do it yourself.
KITCHEN. The menu is not very large - (although depending on what to compare with), but for every lunch and dinner there is fish / seafood, meat, chicken, vegetables, pasta. Very tasty rice. Dishes are spicy (marked with a red circle) and not spicy (green). Vegetarian and not. Everything is marked for clarity. Drinks are brought only by waiters.
Dinners with an extended menu (including barbecue, some dishes from the restaurant) take place outside, in front of the stage 2 times a week. At this time, live music, games, entertainment, competitions sound on the stage. The atmosphere is festive.
There is a hall in the main building where breakfasts, lunches and dinners are held. There is a bar in the main building where you can take drinks and (at lunch or in the evening) sit on the terrace. As well as a pool bar, where almost all day long drinks, hot and cold snacks. Snacks for an amateur - for us, for example, they were spicy. We hardly ate there. The bar can be used while in the pool, there are bar stools in the water. The food is of high quality - there were no surprises during the entire stay.

It is possible to change your dinner at the hotel (it seems they change 2 dinners a week. , depending on the length of your trip) for dinner at a nearby restaurant, with live music, service and restaurant menu. Registration at the reception. It is better to decide on the dates immediately, at the beginning of the holiday, if you book the same day, then there may not be places (if the hotel is full). The restaurant menu is divided into 2 parts: there are dishes for those who came with all inclusive - which you choose for free, and there are dishes that you can order separately, for money. But I want to say that the dishes for all inclusive are very tasty, the menu is varied and you will have a great dinner and spend time even without additional expenses (if you don’t want to). Local drinks are also included. When you make an order, it is better to order everything at once (without reordering) - and drinks, first, cold appetizers, hot, dessert... The waiter will bring you everything in turn, and you will enjoy a wonderful evening.
Packaged juices, the choice is not very large, we switched to Mango) Wine, beer and other drinks - local, not bad, you can drink. The room is small, but never saw a problem with the seats. Everything was resolved quickly. It's nice that on the second or third day the waiters remembered which table we liked and invited us to it. And that attitude towards everyone.
There are many waiters. Any request is treated with attention and immediately fulfilled. We then brought hot milk for dinner, although it is only for breakfast. And there were many such little things. One day the chef saw that I wanted fish, but I don’t eat battered, only grilled, and that evening the fish was battered. I said without pretensions that it's okay - I'll wait another day when it will be - but the Chef ordered specifically, just for me, to fry the fish on the grill. It was unexpected and pleasant . . And there are many such examples. High service of services just consists of trifles. Of course, all inclusive... and so on and so forth....But do not forget about the tip) this is a service sector and if you like everything, you need to thank.
Chef Ramish goes out into the hall almost every lunch and dinner, communicates with guests, asks what he likes, what he doesn’t like, or just how are you doing, how are you relaxing. Very pleasant, polite, friendly man.
The only thing I would personally like is the opportunity to have lunch and dinner on the street, and not indoors.
CURRENCY. The best rate is in official banks, but, unfortunately, they are only in the city. You can take a car / taxi once, go see the city, shops, etc. and change at the same time. If this is not possible, then a good course is in the neck on the beach, but they change there only from $ 100, no less. The most extortionate course in the hotel. Try to avoid this. Well, the airport is also not a very good exchange rate.

BEACH. The beach is just amazing. Endless, fine sand. The area where tourists are apparently being cleaned. There is practically no one - the British do not go there (mostly by the pool), and there are few Russians in the hotel. The sea is shallow, the waves were most often large, constantly a red flag. It takes a very long time to go at least up to the shoulders. But the child was the most splashing in the waves on the shore. There is a lifeguard on duty at the beach, but I do not know the level of his professionalism . .
There are no loungers on the beach. But at the hotel (at the exit) you can take a mat and an umbrella from the guard for free. The mat is large, for an adult. Towels are also free - by the pool on site, (per room number). In the evening you hand over, in the morning you take clean ones. We didn't face the problem of lack of towels. Go to the beach at a slow pace for about 5 minutes (about 400m) along an asphalt road.
Sunbathing is not allowed from 12:00 to 15:00. Everywhere you can not, but in India especially. We went to the beach in the morning and in the evening, used cream 50+, constantly sat under an umbrella and still dark chocolate arrived. By the sea, a tan sticks instantly.
On the beach there is a shake where you can exchange currency, eat or drink something. If you buy something from them (but not quite a small amount, for example, you can’t buy 1 juice), then they allow you to use sunbeds and free wi-fi.
If you go to the left of the hotel along the beach, then after a certain distance rows of other hotels will go, and there, respectively, there is also trade, necks, entertainment (catamarans, bananas, parasailing, etc. , etc. ) If to the right, then there is just a beach.
A lot of crabs, we also saw jellyfish and a snake. In one review, I read that there are midges in the sand on the beach... to be honest, we walked barefoot on the sand, no one bit us . . I don’t know, maybe it depends on the season. Many dogs, crows, seagulls, several times saw cows.
In the evenings, locals come to the beach - couples, families with children, young people and girls. Some do yoga, some run, some play, etc. It's getting crowded. It starts to get dark at 18:00, at 19 it's already dark.

SWIMMING POOL. There is an adult pool with different depths, and a children's pool for very young children. It is convenient that you can order drinks directly from the pool. The water is cold. I also saw that the birds drink water from the pool, probably not enough chemistry. Lots of sunbeds by the pool for everyone. The beds are good and soft. The location of the sunbeds is such that anywhere is comfortable and there are no “best” or “worst” places.
WiFi. Here is Wi-Fi paid. And quite tangible for the price if you like to be online every day. Payment for 30 min. 60 rupees, 1 hour -100r, unlimited day and unlimited week. We went online every day. As a result, they left about 2.500 rupees (about 2.500 rubles). They say you can buy a local SIM card, but it’s also not so simple - it will be connected in 2 days, it seems to be issued for a local passport... I don’t know, there are a lot of problems for 2 weeks.
To connect WiFi, you need to go to the reception, you will be given a password to your room and you can access the Internet anywhere in the hotel. You can connect more devices with one password. But you must exit at the same time. The countdown starts from the moment you go online on the 1st device. If you are traveling with a group, you can share the costs)
SOUVENIRS. On site there is a shop with souvenirs, jewelry, clothing. There is a choice, the prices are basically normal, tourist). Alex came up to us on the beach, it seemed to me that he had the same things more expensive. Of course, he offered to bargain, but something did not want to. The goods were dusty, dirty and the cheapest. If you exit the hotel to the right and walk 100 meters, then there, around the corner, there is a very cozy jewelry and souvenir shop. There are 2 elephants at the entrance. A very large selection of beautiful jewelry for every taste - with different designs, natural stones, silver, gold. Any stones - from sapphires to diamonds. You can choose from what is in stock, or you can order individually. I made a custom-made tanzanite and diamond pendant there. I also chose the design myself . . Very nice and neat. And inexpensive. In Moscow, the same thing is much more expensive. The shop owner's name is Raj. He speaks Russian well. Very responsive and decent person. You can ask him for any information (even not related to the store), he will be happy to tell you everything and help.

SERVICE. Management at the highest level. On a 5-point scale, this is 7)). Just perfect. All services are very well organized.
The staff is unobtrusive, but at the same time always there and ready to help. We are attentive to any request, everyone tries to do it as quickly as possible. Once a week (it seems on Wednesdays) meetings are held with all the management - tables, snacks, drinks are set near the pool. Senior managers in all areas (service, cuisine, animation, Chef, General Manager) come to each table in turn and talk with you, asking you what you like, what you don’t like, what could be improved. If there are any problems, then they try to solve everything.
If you are calm, smiling, communicating adequately, then the same attitude towards you. There is no need to talk in the format of claims that someone owes you something, to prostrate yourself in front of you, and so on . . everyone understands normal language. We ourselves are sometimes to blame for the problem - we forgot somewhere, overlooked somewhere, and so on.
Somehow the child lost his cap on the beach, so they found it and brought it to our room. On the last day of rest, my child was just given a souvenir - a small candlestick, in memory of our vacation here)
Chef Ramish, special thanks to you for your attention and care! You were always ready to fix something, change, meet your wishes) Your food is wonderful and delicious! .
Thank you all very much!! ! Your well-coordinated work made our vacation truly unforgettable! You rarely see such attention to guests. Many thanks for this to the General Manager, Mr. Guitry Velho - a tactful, humorous, always smiling and very pleasant person.
I wish you continued prosperity and good luck!
Output. The hotel is excellent. If you are looking for a quiet relaxation with high service, then you are here. I recommend.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original