Your rating of this hotel:
7.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
To all readers, good afternoon.
The next long New Year holidays have come, and since the end of the outgoing 2011 was somewhat heavy and hectic, I wanted peace, kindness, slowness, joy, peace, immediacy and, most importantly, novelty, in connection with which it was decided to make a trip to India, Goa state, southern part.
I would like to note right away that it turned out to be a non-standard, interesting, informative and, I’m not afraid to say this word, very contrasting trip, which left a lot of emotions about myself starting from the flight, so I decided to write an extended review, which, I’m sure, will be useful to anyone who plans trip to Goa and is reading these lines now.
1. Flight.
We flew on a regular Aeroflot flight with the Pegasus company. They flew for a long time ...7 hours there and 7.5 - back ...
The flights went well - we must pay tribute to the skill of the aircraft commanders - takeoffs / flights / landings were performed with jewelry, the flight attendants worked well. For smokers, I immediately recommend stocking up on a patch or chewing gum "Nicorette" (nicotine substitute) - it really saves, well, think about what to do with yourself for at least 3-4 hours (with the exception of lunches and naps) - stock up on films, books and devices for watching them. Be sure to wrap your luggage at the airport with a film - there are enough crooks among the movers and with us, and even more so in Goa.
After landing, fill out the registration card (stock up with a pen) with a standard set of questions: who, what do you work for, the number and date of issue of your passport, where did you come from, what hotel will you stay in, after which you go through a fairly quick customs control, quickly get your luggage, and - get into strong hugs of Indian children who come up to you, look into your eyes, ask: "Pegasus (or any other travel agency)? " . Keep in mind that if a turkey rolls a suitcase for at least 2 steps, it will be extremely difficult to get rid of it. The recipe is simple: do not remove your hand from the suitcase handle, calmly say "know money / know cash" to anyone who comes up to you.
Further, among the crowd of turkeys, you see a white representative of your travel agency in uniform (striped or white shirt + sign), to which you approach and find out where your bus is and what number it has. Turkeys will try to catch you on the way to the bus and even next to it, so do not lose vigilance in relation to things. Give the suitcase to the driver and take a seat on the bus, it will take about 1 hour to go.
In general, take only US dollars to India, no other currency is accepted there. Do not try to change dollars for rupees at the airport upon arrival - a very unfavorable rate (1:44), the normal dollar rate in Goa is 1 USD = 52 rupees, where to exchange - I'll tell you a little later.
Along the way, you will see the famous Indian slums (garbage houses, like honeycombs stuck together), a stunning contrast between prosperity and marginal poverty, the jungle, sacred cows, and also understand that you knew nothing about the skill of driving vehicles. Roads in Goa consist of an asphalt jungle lane (slightly wider than our standard lane) that carries two-way traffic for buses, mopeds, bicycles, cows and pedestrians. Look at my photos of these roads, and imagine yourself driving your car, and a bus will meet you, it will be very informative. Driving is on the left (keep in mind and don't forget!!! ).
1. Hotel, territory and rooms.
The hotel is small, stands in the jungle, consists of 4 identical 4-storey buildings with 4 rooms per floor (64 rooms in total); the territory is small - in addition to the buildings there is a swimming pool and a restaurant area (breakfasts / lunches / dinners).
There is some dumb shop and table tennis room.
The room is good (we lived in room 412 - building 4.2nd floor), "Comfort room" type (all of them are 34 sq. m. ), spacious, 2 balconies, bathroom, refrigerator, kettle and coffee and tea set (free of charge , updated daily), hair dryer, scales, wardrobe and free safe, normal air conditioning and TV, ceiling fans (by the way, it turned out to be more comfortable to sleep under them). Towels are changed daily, bed linen - change frequency is unpredictable. The quality of cleaning is quite normal, you will leave 10-20 rupees a day as a tip - everything will be licked, double the amount of drinking water left (4 bottles instead of two free daily ones) + swans on the beds and all soap and bubble accessories. You can look at the number in the photo from different angles, in reality - you will be satisfied.
The towels are not washed very well - it is clear that they were washed, but some stains remain, they do not have Aunt Asya. The same applies to bed linen.
There are no elevators in the buildings.
Be sure to bring a fumigator with you if you don't want to have a close relationship with the local mosquitoes, who will be very happy with your arrival. In addition to mosquitoes, no other flying / crawling representatives of the local fauna were seen during the rest.
TV - about a hundred different non-Russian channels, of which No. 49 is Rossiya RTR.
From time to time, the hotel's electricity goes out for 1 minute, so if the light in your room goes out, don't worry, it's normal, it will turn on in a minute.
The territory is quite clean, the Indians are trying to take care of it. There was no theft in the hotel.
Opposite the entrance to the hotel, the local population is restoring the temple of the nunnery, so they work like ants from morning to evening.
Noise from the construction site and from passing cars may interfere with those who will be settled in buildings No. 1 and No. 2.
2. Meals at the hotel.
A separate and rather important topic, since the question is what type of food to choose.
Breakfasts are the same (i. e. , the menu practically does not change): scrambled eggs or fried eggs, sausages or bacon, cereal, pancakes with jam, beans, potatoes, fruits (watermelon / melon / papaya), freshly squeezed juice and milkshake, coffee / tea . There are no sausages, cheese, ham and never will be.
After reading the reviews of other tourists, which featured information about ordering dishes for dinner from the menu, we took the type of food "breakfast + dinner". In vain we did it. Breakfast is quite normal - you can hold out for quite a long time on an omelet + sausages + fresh juice + fruits.
But dinner turned from ordering dishes from the menu into a buffet, 70% of the dishes of which were inedible due to an excess of spices or elementary tastelessness, so we survived 2 dinners, then we realized that we were depriving ourselves of wonderful (without embellishment! ) delights of Indian cuisine, spat and began to dine outside the hotel in various restaurants.
Therefore, I recommend everyone to take the "breakfast" type of food, and then eat for your own pleasure and enjoyment without reference to the hotel (for comparison, dinner at the hotel is estimated at 500 rupees). Moreover, drinks for dinner are paid, and the price is completely shameless + 20% of the price is a service charge. So, for example, on the first evening they took a glass of French wine (350 rupees) and a mug of beer (50 rupees) at dinner, received a glass filled with a little more than 1/3 and a bill for 520 rupees; the question is - is it necessary?
3. Beach and sea.
Betalbatim beach is public, endless and wide, sandy (fine white sand, crunches underfoot like starch, does not burn legs) is very beautiful and more or less clean. The sea is fabulous, probably the warmest and most gentle in the world. The bottom is magnificent (as a continuation of the beach), even, there are no stones and holes.
The hotel is located on the "2nd line", i. e. , to get to the beach, you need to take beach towels from the hotel pool, exit the main entrance, go straight 20 meters to the asphalt road, and go along it to the left without turning anywhere to the end of asphalt : -)
From the reviews we read, we heard about the "interesting and picturesque area" on the way to the sea. I would not say that it is interesting and picturesque ...
The road will take you about 10 minutes of leisurely walking along the road, along which a herd of cows passed to the pasture with all the consequences arising from cows on the road, past a green swamp with frogs and rice fields with cows and cranes, and also past the hotel "Nanu", standing on the "1st line".
Wild boars, dogs, roosters with chickens, squirrels and a bunch of various active living creatures such as snakes roam freely in the jungle; I don't recommend going off the road.
So, as soon as the asphalt ends on the road, you are there. In front of the beach you will see 2 shops with various souvenir junk at inflated prices. Do not rush to buy tunics / dresses and other things necessary in everyday life (because we will discuss the issue of shopping a little lower), these shops will be useful for you. that in them you can profitably exchange dollars for rupees. The most favorable rate - 1USD = 52 rupees - in the first store, the owner's name is Sasha.
The second store (the owner's name is Rosa) is interesting in that you can profitably and reliably purchase excursions wherever you want (50% of the cost offered by official travel agencies) and call wherever and whom you want by payphone (15 rupees - 1 minute).
Passing by the shops, you climb a small hillock, behind which the beach line begins. There are several shek (cafes) along the sea, and your next action is to choose the one you like. Why is this needed? Sun loungers and umbrellas on the beach belong to different sheks; they cost 100 rupees per day per person, but if you order drinks and lunch in shek, sun loungers and umbrellas will be free for you.
No one obliges you to stay at the same shack every day, so I recommend changing your location every 2 days.
Changing the shek will be useful in another aspect: the owner sees a new client, and in order to attract him to his establishment, he will make culinary masterpieces at their real price. If the owner sees that you have become his regular customer, the level of service will begin to decline. We had to see a similar picture almost everywhere, with the exception of one shek - "Silent Nook", which is located directly to the right of the entrance to the beach. One day, among other things, we ordered tiger prawns there; they showed us some fresh ones, and brought others from the grill. We called the owner and politely inquired about the reason for the change in size, to which we heard lengthy arguments that fishermen sell shrimp in shek by weight, and not by size, respectively, shek sells them to customers on the same principle.
We again politely asked the reasons why the owner wants to lose customers and gain a bad reputation, in response to which the owner thought about it, scratched himself, apologized and brought us 2 tiger prawns for free and 2 bottles of beer for free as a present. After that, we settled down tightly in "Silent Nook" without any excesses, since the cuisine there is amazing and the prices are normal. Nobody has ever been poisoned.
By the way, regardless of the shek, always ask to see the selected seafood fresh and immediately (!! ! ! ), remember, immediately! ! ! ! Negotiate a price or risk an amazing bill.
Below I will give prices for some seafood (photo attached):
Shark: 450 - 500 rupees (10 USD, or 300 rubles : -))))
Tiger prawns (4 pieces): 600 rupees;
Snapper: 1500 rupees;
Lobster: 1500 rupees;
Squid (rings): 300 rupees;
King prawns (10 pieces): 300 rupees;
Red mullet: 600 rupees;
Kingfish: 600 rupees;
Shrimp cocktail: 150 rupees;
Beer: 0.33 - 40 rupees, 0.65 - 80 rupees;
Ice cream: 70 rupees;
Any fresh (pineapple, mango, papaya) - 60 rupees;
Naan (garlic and cheese flatbread): 50 rupees.
On average, a very, very good dinner for two with good fish, cold appetizers, naan, fresh beer / juice and ice cream costs 1000 - 1500 rupees (20-30 USD). And this, as they say, is up to the nostrils : -))) Dinner costs about the same amount. If you take a snapper or lobster / crab - it will be a little more expensive. Everything is very fresh (floating in the sea in the morning) and insanely delicious. In shek you can order any seafood the next day, and it will be purchased personally for you.
Sitting on sun loungers, you can repeatedly go to shek during the day and order whatever you want without the need for instant payment - the owner will write everything ordered to your account, which you can pay after dinner or before leaving the beach, which is very convenient.
There are no changing cabins and showers on the beach, there are toilet-type cabins next to each shek, but it is very hard there.
There is no theft on the beach; in general, in Goa, safety is at its best, there is no gop-stop in the Russian sense, so you can walk quite calmly both in the daytime and in the dark.
Beggars sometimes shy away along the beach and beg for a change for food, and also tightrope walkers appear (a little girl twists such miracles on a tightrope that professional circus performers quietly smoke). Indians walk around offering shells and drums as souvenirs.
On the topic of water sports - you can ride a scooter on the beach (they ask for 1000 rupees per person for 10 minutes, they actually agreed on 800 per person). If you want to fly on a parachute, you will have to walk for 15 minutes along the beach towards the village of Colva (if you face the sea, you need to go left to two high lanterns), they ask 2000 rupees per person, you can bargain up to 1800.
Indians also go - masseurs, but I do not recommend contacting them, because amateurs and the massage business know very superficially.
In general, the beach is a great place for a daytime pastime, the whole day does not leave a feeling of peace and good mood; in addition, several nis work in the evenings "until the last client", so if you want to have a romantic dinner at a table at the very edge of the sea, by candlelight and under the sound of the surf - feel free to come to the beach in the evening.
The sun sets at 18:00, a very beautiful sunset.
4. Animation.
In the morning and afternoon there is no animation in the hotel in principle; shows are arranged daily at dinner - either live music, or a fakir show, or an evening of Indian dance (photos / videos are attached).
At Christmas, the hotel staff did their best - they set the tables very beautifully, there was a decent kitchen with unlimited alcoholic and soft drinks for 2000 rupees for a guest without dinner included in the accommodation and 1500 rupees for a guest with dinner included in the accommodation.
In general, the hotel staff, and all the Indians they met left a good impression of themselves: friendly attitude, openness, calm respectful attitude. Of course, some stupidity is felt in them, but the people compensate for it by the desire to please as much as possible and do something good for you. If you give someone $ 1 or 50 rupees as a tip - you will be dearly loved until the end of the holiday and catch your every gesture in order to warn your wishes.
5. Shopping.
Well, here we come to a fascinating topic - what and where you can buy if you live in VILLAGIO INN.
At about 6 pm you leisurely return from the beach, take a shower and clean yourself up, and then leave the hotel, walk up to a bunch of taxi drivers and say: "Colva, van vei please. " For 200 rupees, in 7 minutes you are brought to the village of Colva, where there is a central street with shops on both sides. What can be bought? You can buy good clothes (for men - shorts, T-shirts, shirts, trousers, shoes; for women - tunics, dresses, Ali Baba pants, silk robes, shoes and much more), as well as oils, incense, spices, medicinal cosmetics "Hymalaya", teas and jewelry. There are a lot of shops, supply exceeds demand, so you need to bargain all the way: they take off from 30 to 50% of the original price). For example, a good Hawaiian shirt costs 300 rupees, a "GOA" elephant t-shirt costs 150 rupees, good shorts cost 300 rupees.
There are many cozy restaurants in Colva, so having dinner there is not a problem at all, the prices are low.
The way back costs also 200 rupees (no more!!! ).
Yes, please note that from 12:00 to 16:00, the "siesta" time, when the population does not work due to the heat, at this time it is better not to plan trips anywhere because of their futility.
It makes no sense to buy things in shops near the beach, because in Colva the choice is many times larger, and the prices are many times lower : -)))
6. Excursions and trips
The easiest way is to arrange with Rosa (the owner of the shop next to the beach) and plan excursions according to your wishes: you can go on an elephant ride, or go fishing, or take a boat trip down the river to the sea, or visit a spice farm, or ancient temples and ruins, or a night market and a night club...The range is large, it all depends on your preferences; all prices vary around 50 USD per person.
7. Way back.
It also has its own nuances.
a) If you ordered something at the hotel (for example, a drink for dinner or something in the room), or something was broken / broken in the room, all bills are collected at the reception, and you are offered to pay them when leaving the hotel. So, roughly calculate what account you "shine" in the final, and change the required amount of USD in the shop near the beach, because the dollar rate at the hotel is 1:46, i. e. , it is unprofitable to pay in dollars, and even if you paid dollars, you will be given change only in rupees.
b) If the check-out is early, order a lunch box at the reception.
c) Information about the time of your departure is at the reception desk on the right.
d) When the bus brings you to the airport, guess who will meet you? That's right, porter. The recipe for building relationships is the same as upon arrival in the country.
e) Get ready to arrive at one of the dumbest and laziest airports in the world. Wherever possible, there will be queues.
First, you roll your suitcase through an x-ray (they glue a red sticker), then wrap the suitcase with a film (next to the x-ray, 200 rupees), then go to check-in (the weight of a suitcase for 1 person is no more than 20 kilograms, each subsequent kilogram costs 15 USD) and at the counter check in your luggage, you are issued a boarding pass and you take the registration card form (the same as upon arrival), fill it out again and go to Gate 1 for passport control. On the way, an excited Indian runs up to you and informs you in a friendly way that rupees are not accepted at Duty Free and you should immediately exchange your available rupees for dollars at a local bank around the corner at a very unfavorable rate. But you (because you have read these lines) in a friendly way send the Hindu on an erotic journey on foot, go through passport control and go to a personal search. What you can not have with you: any liquids, creams, coconuts, nail files, matches and (attention!! ! ) lighters
. If you have a favorite Zippo, Ronson, Dior or some other cool lighter, it must be in your suitcase on the way back, otherwise it will be taken away. By the way, right before passport control there is a smoking room on the right - be sure to visit if you are a smoker, because they do not smoke in the Duty Free zone.
f) Duty Free Zone. Dull and miserable. It consists of 2 shops (prices are in USD, rupees are accepted for payment !! ! ), a cafe and a tray with medical cosmetics. Pay attention - in Goa there are excellent local whiskeys "Royal Challenge" and rum "Black Monk", but they are not in Duty Free! Therefore, if you have become a fan of these drinks during your vacation, buy them in Colva at a wine store (located approximately in the middle of the street) and either pack them in a suitcase or put them in a cardboard box in your luggage. Whiskey in the store costs 350 rupees per bottle, rum - 125 rupees (for comparison - in sheke 50 grams of any of these drinks costs 80 rupees).
By the way, because of the wretchedness of the choice, if you planned to buy perfume or cosmetics in Duty Free - do it in Russia, in Goa you will not have such an opportunity.
We were very satisfied with the hotel and the rest, I recommend everyone to discover Goa!
I wish you all a pleasant and magical holiday,
Sincerely, Alexander
P. S. As always, I will be happy to answer any questions regarding the hotel and the country, so if you have any, do not hesitate to ask. In fact, India is such an unusual country that it is impossible to reflect all the nuances in one review.
The next long New Year holidays have come, and since the end of the outgoing 2011 was somewhat heavy and hectic, I wanted peace, kindness, slowness, joy, peace, immediacy and, most importantly, novelty, in connection with which it was decided to make a trip to India, Goa state, southern part.
I would like to note right away that it turned out to be a non-standard, interesting, informative and, I’m not afraid to say this word, very contrasting trip, which left a lot of emotions about myself starting from the flight, so I decided to write an extended review, which, I’m sure, will be useful to anyone who plans trip to Goa and is reading these lines now.
1. Flight.
We flew on a regular Aeroflot flight with the Pegasus company. They flew for a long time ...7 hours there and 7.5 - back ...
The flights went well - we must pay tribute to the skill of the aircraft commanders - takeoffs / flights / landings were performed with jewelry, the flight attendants worked well. For smokers, I immediately recommend stocking up on a patch or chewing gum "Nicorette" (nicotine substitute) - it really saves, well, think about what to do with yourself for at least 3-4 hours (with the exception of lunches and naps) - stock up on films, books and devices for watching them. Be sure to wrap your luggage at the airport with a film - there are enough crooks among the movers and with us, and even more so in Goa.
After landing, fill out the registration card (stock up with a pen) with a standard set of questions: who, what do you work for, the number and date of issue of your passport, where did you come from, what hotel will you stay in, after which you go through a fairly quick customs control, quickly get your luggage, and - get into strong hugs of Indian children who come up to you, look into your eyes, ask: "Pegasus (or any other travel agency)? " . Keep in mind that if a turkey rolls a suitcase for at least 2 steps, it will be extremely difficult to get rid of it. The recipe is simple: do not remove your hand from the suitcase handle, calmly say "know money / know cash" to anyone who comes up to you.
Further, among the crowd of turkeys, you see a white representative of your travel agency in uniform (striped or white shirt + sign), to which you approach and find out where your bus is and what number it has. Turkeys will try to catch you on the way to the bus and even next to it, so do not lose vigilance in relation to things. Give the suitcase to the driver and take a seat on the bus, it will take about 1 hour to go.
In general, take only US dollars to India, no other currency is accepted there. Do not try to change dollars for rupees at the airport upon arrival - a very unfavorable rate (1:44), the normal dollar rate in Goa is 1 USD = 52 rupees, where to exchange - I'll tell you a little later.
Along the way, you will see the famous Indian slums (garbage houses, like honeycombs stuck together), a stunning contrast between prosperity and marginal poverty, the jungle, sacred cows, and also understand that you knew nothing about the skill of driving vehicles. Roads in Goa consist of an asphalt jungle lane (slightly wider than our standard lane) that carries two-way traffic for buses, mopeds, bicycles, cows and pedestrians. Look at my photos of these roads, and imagine yourself driving your car, and a bus will meet you, it will be very informative. Driving is on the left (keep in mind and don't forget!!! ).
1. Hotel, territory and rooms.
The hotel is small, stands in the jungle, consists of 4 identical 4-storey buildings with 4 rooms per floor (64 rooms in total); the territory is small - in addition to the buildings there is a swimming pool and a restaurant area (breakfasts / lunches / dinners).
There is some dumb shop and table tennis room.
The room is good (we lived in room 412 - building 4.2nd floor), "Comfort room" type (all of them are 34 sq. m. ), spacious, 2 balconies, bathroom, refrigerator, kettle and coffee and tea set (free of charge , updated daily), hair dryer, scales, wardrobe and free safe, normal air conditioning and TV, ceiling fans (by the way, it turned out to be more comfortable to sleep under them). Towels are changed daily, bed linen - change frequency is unpredictable. The quality of cleaning is quite normal, you will leave 10-20 rupees a day as a tip - everything will be licked, double the amount of drinking water left (4 bottles instead of two free daily ones) + swans on the beds and all soap and bubble accessories. You can look at the number in the photo from different angles, in reality - you will be satisfied.
The towels are not washed very well - it is clear that they were washed, but some stains remain, they do not have Aunt Asya. The same applies to bed linen.
There are no elevators in the buildings.
Be sure to bring a fumigator with you if you don't want to have a close relationship with the local mosquitoes, who will be very happy with your arrival. In addition to mosquitoes, no other flying / crawling representatives of the local fauna were seen during the rest.
TV - about a hundred different non-Russian channels, of which No. 49 is Rossiya RTR.
From time to time, the hotel's electricity goes out for 1 minute, so if the light in your room goes out, don't worry, it's normal, it will turn on in a minute.
The territory is quite clean, the Indians are trying to take care of it. There was no theft in the hotel.
Opposite the entrance to the hotel, the local population is restoring the temple of the nunnery, so they work like ants from morning to evening.
Noise from the construction site and from passing cars may interfere with those who will be settled in buildings No. 1 and No. 2.
2. Meals at the hotel.
A separate and rather important topic, since the question is what type of food to choose.
Breakfasts are the same (i. e. , the menu practically does not change): scrambled eggs or fried eggs, sausages or bacon, cereal, pancakes with jam, beans, potatoes, fruits (watermelon / melon / papaya), freshly squeezed juice and milkshake, coffee / tea . There are no sausages, cheese, ham and never will be.
After reading the reviews of other tourists, which featured information about ordering dishes for dinner from the menu, we took the type of food "breakfast + dinner". In vain we did it. Breakfast is quite normal - you can hold out for quite a long time on an omelet + sausages + fresh juice + fruits.
But dinner turned from ordering dishes from the menu into a buffet, 70% of the dishes of which were inedible due to an excess of spices or elementary tastelessness, so we survived 2 dinners, then we realized that we were depriving ourselves of wonderful (without embellishment! ) delights of Indian cuisine, spat and began to dine outside the hotel in various restaurants.
Therefore, I recommend everyone to take the "breakfast" type of food, and then eat for your own pleasure and enjoyment without reference to the hotel (for comparison, dinner at the hotel is estimated at 500 rupees). Moreover, drinks for dinner are paid, and the price is completely shameless + 20% of the price is a service charge. So, for example, on the first evening they took a glass of French wine (350 rupees) and a mug of beer (50 rupees) at dinner, received a glass filled with a little more than 1/3 and a bill for 520 rupees; the question is - is it necessary?
3. Beach and sea.
Betalbatim beach is public, endless and wide, sandy (fine white sand, crunches underfoot like starch, does not burn legs) is very beautiful and more or less clean. The sea is fabulous, probably the warmest and most gentle in the world. The bottom is magnificent (as a continuation of the beach), even, there are no stones and holes.
The hotel is located on the "2nd line", i. e. , to get to the beach, you need to take beach towels from the hotel pool, exit the main entrance, go straight 20 meters to the asphalt road, and go along it to the left without turning anywhere to the end of asphalt : -)
From the reviews we read, we heard about the "interesting and picturesque area" on the way to the sea. I would not say that it is interesting and picturesque ...
The road will take you about 10 minutes of leisurely walking along the road, along which a herd of cows passed to the pasture with all the consequences arising from cows on the road, past a green swamp with frogs and rice fields with cows and cranes, and also past the hotel "Nanu", standing on the "1st line".
Wild boars, dogs, roosters with chickens, squirrels and a bunch of various active living creatures such as snakes roam freely in the jungle; I don't recommend going off the road.
So, as soon as the asphalt ends on the road, you are there. In front of the beach you will see 2 shops with various souvenir junk at inflated prices. Do not rush to buy tunics / dresses and other things necessary in everyday life (because we will discuss the issue of shopping a little lower), these shops will be useful for you. that in them you can profitably exchange dollars for rupees. The most favorable rate - 1USD = 52 rupees - in the first store, the owner's name is Sasha.
The second store (the owner's name is Rosa) is interesting in that you can profitably and reliably purchase excursions wherever you want (50% of the cost offered by official travel agencies) and call wherever and whom you want by payphone (15 rupees - 1 minute).
Passing by the shops, you climb a small hillock, behind which the beach line begins. There are several shek (cafes) along the sea, and your next action is to choose the one you like. Why is this needed? Sun loungers and umbrellas on the beach belong to different sheks; they cost 100 rupees per day per person, but if you order drinks and lunch in shek, sun loungers and umbrellas will be free for you.
No one obliges you to stay at the same shack every day, so I recommend changing your location every 2 days.
Changing the shek will be useful in another aspect: the owner sees a new client, and in order to attract him to his establishment, he will make culinary masterpieces at their real price. If the owner sees that you have become his regular customer, the level of service will begin to decline. We had to see a similar picture almost everywhere, with the exception of one shek - "Silent Nook", which is located directly to the right of the entrance to the beach. One day, among other things, we ordered tiger prawns there; they showed us some fresh ones, and brought others from the grill. We called the owner and politely inquired about the reason for the change in size, to which we heard lengthy arguments that fishermen sell shrimp in shek by weight, and not by size, respectively, shek sells them to customers on the same principle.
We again politely asked the reasons why the owner wants to lose customers and gain a bad reputation, in response to which the owner thought about it, scratched himself, apologized and brought us 2 tiger prawns for free and 2 bottles of beer for free as a present. After that, we settled down tightly in "Silent Nook" without any excesses, since the cuisine there is amazing and the prices are normal. Nobody has ever been poisoned.
By the way, regardless of the shek, always ask to see the selected seafood fresh and immediately (!! ! ! ), remember, immediately! ! ! ! Negotiate a price or risk an amazing bill.
Below I will give prices for some seafood (photo attached):
Shark: 450 - 500 rupees (10 USD, or 300 rubles : -))))
Tiger prawns (4 pieces): 600 rupees;
Snapper: 1500 rupees;
Lobster: 1500 rupees;
Squid (rings): 300 rupees;
King prawns (10 pieces): 300 rupees;
Red mullet: 600 rupees;
Kingfish: 600 rupees;
Shrimp cocktail: 150 rupees;
Beer: 0.33 - 40 rupees, 0.65 - 80 rupees;
Ice cream: 70 rupees;
Any fresh (pineapple, mango, papaya) - 60 rupees;
Naan (garlic and cheese flatbread): 50 rupees.
On average, a very, very good dinner for two with good fish, cold appetizers, naan, fresh beer / juice and ice cream costs 1000 - 1500 rupees (20-30 USD). And this, as they say, is up to the nostrils : -))) Dinner costs about the same amount. If you take a snapper or lobster / crab - it will be a little more expensive. Everything is very fresh (floating in the sea in the morning) and insanely delicious. In shek you can order any seafood the next day, and it will be purchased personally for you.
Sitting on sun loungers, you can repeatedly go to shek during the day and order whatever you want without the need for instant payment - the owner will write everything ordered to your account, which you can pay after dinner or before leaving the beach, which is very convenient.
There are no changing cabins and showers on the beach, there are toilet-type cabins next to each shek, but it is very hard there.
There is no theft on the beach; in general, in Goa, safety is at its best, there is no gop-stop in the Russian sense, so you can walk quite calmly both in the daytime and in the dark.
Beggars sometimes shy away along the beach and beg for a change for food, and also tightrope walkers appear (a little girl twists such miracles on a tightrope that professional circus performers quietly smoke). Indians walk around offering shells and drums as souvenirs.
On the topic of water sports - you can ride a scooter on the beach (they ask for 1000 rupees per person for 10 minutes, they actually agreed on 800 per person). If you want to fly on a parachute, you will have to walk for 15 minutes along the beach towards the village of Colva (if you face the sea, you need to go left to two high lanterns), they ask 2000 rupees per person, you can bargain up to 1800.
Indians also go - masseurs, but I do not recommend contacting them, because amateurs and the massage business know very superficially.
In general, the beach is a great place for a daytime pastime, the whole day does not leave a feeling of peace and good mood; in addition, several nis work in the evenings "until the last client", so if you want to have a romantic dinner at a table at the very edge of the sea, by candlelight and under the sound of the surf - feel free to come to the beach in the evening.
The sun sets at 18:00, a very beautiful sunset.
4. Animation.
In the morning and afternoon there is no animation in the hotel in principle; shows are arranged daily at dinner - either live music, or a fakir show, or an evening of Indian dance (photos / videos are attached).
At Christmas, the hotel staff did their best - they set the tables very beautifully, there was a decent kitchen with unlimited alcoholic and soft drinks for 2000 rupees for a guest without dinner included in the accommodation and 1500 rupees for a guest with dinner included in the accommodation.
In general, the hotel staff, and all the Indians they met left a good impression of themselves: friendly attitude, openness, calm respectful attitude. Of course, some stupidity is felt in them, but the people compensate for it by the desire to please as much as possible and do something good for you. If you give someone $ 1 or 50 rupees as a tip - you will be dearly loved until the end of the holiday and catch your every gesture in order to warn your wishes.
5. Shopping.
Well, here we come to a fascinating topic - what and where you can buy if you live in VILLAGIO INN.
At about 6 pm you leisurely return from the beach, take a shower and clean yourself up, and then leave the hotel, walk up to a bunch of taxi drivers and say: "Colva, van vei please. " For 200 rupees, in 7 minutes you are brought to the village of Colva, where there is a central street with shops on both sides. What can be bought? You can buy good clothes (for men - shorts, T-shirts, shirts, trousers, shoes; for women - tunics, dresses, Ali Baba pants, silk robes, shoes and much more), as well as oils, incense, spices, medicinal cosmetics "Hymalaya", teas and jewelry. There are a lot of shops, supply exceeds demand, so you need to bargain all the way: they take off from 30 to 50% of the original price). For example, a good Hawaiian shirt costs 300 rupees, a "GOA" elephant t-shirt costs 150 rupees, good shorts cost 300 rupees.
There are many cozy restaurants in Colva, so having dinner there is not a problem at all, the prices are low.
The way back costs also 200 rupees (no more!!! ).
Yes, please note that from 12:00 to 16:00, the "siesta" time, when the population does not work due to the heat, at this time it is better not to plan trips anywhere because of their futility.
It makes no sense to buy things in shops near the beach, because in Colva the choice is many times larger, and the prices are many times lower : -)))
6. Excursions and trips
The easiest way is to arrange with Rosa (the owner of the shop next to the beach) and plan excursions according to your wishes: you can go on an elephant ride, or go fishing, or take a boat trip down the river to the sea, or visit a spice farm, or ancient temples and ruins, or a night market and a night club...The range is large, it all depends on your preferences; all prices vary around 50 USD per person.
7. Way back.
It also has its own nuances.
a) If you ordered something at the hotel (for example, a drink for dinner or something in the room), or something was broken / broken in the room, all bills are collected at the reception, and you are offered to pay them when leaving the hotel. So, roughly calculate what account you "shine" in the final, and change the required amount of USD in the shop near the beach, because the dollar rate at the hotel is 1:46, i. e. , it is unprofitable to pay in dollars, and even if you paid dollars, you will be given change only in rupees.
b) If the check-out is early, order a lunch box at the reception.
c) Information about the time of your departure is at the reception desk on the right.
d) When the bus brings you to the airport, guess who will meet you? That's right, porter. The recipe for building relationships is the same as upon arrival in the country.
e) Get ready to arrive at one of the dumbest and laziest airports in the world. Wherever possible, there will be queues.
First, you roll your suitcase through an x-ray (they glue a red sticker), then wrap the suitcase with a film (next to the x-ray, 200 rupees), then go to check-in (the weight of a suitcase for 1 person is no more than 20 kilograms, each subsequent kilogram costs 15 USD) and at the counter check in your luggage, you are issued a boarding pass and you take the registration card form (the same as upon arrival), fill it out again and go to Gate 1 for passport control. On the way, an excited Indian runs up to you and informs you in a friendly way that rupees are not accepted at Duty Free and you should immediately exchange your available rupees for dollars at a local bank around the corner at a very unfavorable rate. But you (because you have read these lines) in a friendly way send the Hindu on an erotic journey on foot, go through passport control and go to a personal search. What you can not have with you: any liquids, creams, coconuts, nail files, matches and (attention!! ! ) lighters
. If you have a favorite Zippo, Ronson, Dior or some other cool lighter, it must be in your suitcase on the way back, otherwise it will be taken away. By the way, right before passport control there is a smoking room on the right - be sure to visit if you are a smoker, because they do not smoke in the Duty Free zone.
f) Duty Free Zone. Dull and miserable. It consists of 2 shops (prices are in USD, rupees are accepted for payment !! ! ), a cafe and a tray with medical cosmetics. Pay attention - in Goa there are excellent local whiskeys "Royal Challenge" and rum "Black Monk", but they are not in Duty Free! Therefore, if you have become a fan of these drinks during your vacation, buy them in Colva at a wine store (located approximately in the middle of the street) and either pack them in a suitcase or put them in a cardboard box in your luggage. Whiskey in the store costs 350 rupees per bottle, rum - 125 rupees (for comparison - in sheke 50 grams of any of these drinks costs 80 rupees).
By the way, because of the wretchedness of the choice, if you planned to buy perfume or cosmetics in Duty Free - do it in Russia, in Goa you will not have such an opportunity.
We were very satisfied with the hotel and the rest, I recommend everyone to discover Goa!
I wish you all a pleasant and magical holiday,
Sincerely, Alexander
P. S. As always, I will be happy to answer any questions regarding the hotel and the country, so if you have any, do not hesitate to ask. In fact, India is such an unusual country that it is impossible to reflect all the nuances in one review.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
Comments (5)
leave a comment
Show other comments …
OTHER REVIEWS ABOUT THE HOTEL
- Goa, 'STERLING HOLIDAYS VILLAGIO' (3*)
- Holidays in South Goa
- Pearl of the Indian coast
- our great holiday
- my vacation
SEE ALSO