Good hotel, but cleaning and service are very lame.

Written: 29 january 2013
Travel time: 19 — 26 january 2013
Who does the author recommend the hotel to?: For families with children; For recreation with friends, for young people
Your rating of this hotel:
5.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms: 7.0
Service: 4.0
Cleanliness: 4.0
Food: 5.0
Amenities: 6.0
I am writing while sitting on the plane, there is a lot of time, so I will try to be detailed, but to the point. I don't want to offend anyone. How many people - so many opinions. I express mine.
My wife and I were in this hotel from January 19 to January 26.2013. We purchased a last-minute tour from the tour operator News Travel a week before departure, chose an acceptable hotel in South Goa from the proposed list, focusing on reviews and photos. The price is just a "freebie" - with a flight of $ 1200 for a week for two. They had never been to India before and decided to take a chance. Arrived at night (time difference with Kiev - in winter + 3.5 hours). We met without complaints (transfer "Sita"), the bus is small, not bad, with air conditioning. At night, the temperature at this time of the year is about +25. I did not feel a lot of humidity - it is quite comfortable. Roads in Goa are something... )) The coverage is good, but the width of our sidewalk. And there is no border. Winding like a bull pissed. Local drivers are virtuosos. You have to manage to dodge oncoming people, go around pedestrians, cows and dogs, slow down before turns and speed bumps, which are unmeasured. In short, my wife was seasick... We reached the hotel in 40-50 minutes. The bus does not reach the hotel for 300-400 meters. Low-hanging wires interfere.
We were met by a couple of natives and walked to the hotel. Assistance in carrying (transportation) of suitcases was not offered. The appearance of the hotel at night did not delight, but did not disappoint. The territory and the houses are lit, green enough, the pool is illuminated. Settled immediately because. check-in was paid from the previous day. Having read good advice in the reviews, I immediately put 20 bucks in my passport and asked for “good room, please. ” According to the voucher, the number was "standard" and I naively hoped that they would give at least something decent. The native took the bucks and gave the keys to probably the most disgusting number. On the first floor without a balcony, with an entrance from the back of the house and a view of the windows of the neighboring one. The interior matches what was seen on the website. Normal modern design, normal equipment, LSD TV. The room is tidy "in Indian", i. e. tidied up... even a ribbon on the toilet. But the tile is stained and blackened from dirt in the corners, the faucets have not seen Silita since birth, the toilet bowl was washed inside, but stained on the outside, etc....The bed is clean but not white, the towels are washed but stained. In short, I went to say that this is not a “good room” at all. The Hindu who took the bucks assured that tomorrow after the repair of the ceiling fan, you can move to another room on the 2nd floor with a balcony. He even showed us this room... On this, they calmed down after spending the night in the first one.

In the morning I again went to the reception desk to remind about changing the room. There, another Indian, smiling sweetly, explained that the promised room was booked, and his friend cheated us, and pocketed 20 bucks. At the insistent request to change the room to another, he offered for an additional fee of $ 100 a two-room apartment, on the ground floor with a balcony and a view of the pool (Pool view room). This time they filled out some paperwork. We must pay tribute - those $ 20 returned.
Room 1001 itself is more spacious and better, but the quality of cleaning is the same. So if you are squeamish - stock up on Domestos, sponges and rubber gloves. And it is useless to offer or leave money to clean up well. Tried. Cleaning differs only in that they twist something from the towels. Fortunately, towels are changed every day, and bottled water is brought. But the linen was never changed for a week, although we asked. Strange, the climate in India is hot, and all Indians (or rather Indians) are slightly frostbitten. The faulty kettle was changed only from the third reminder (and it is very necessary to boil water). By the way, I do not recommend not only drinking, but also brushing your teeth with raw water. Yes, about water. I understand that in all hotel rooms it is impossible to adjust the water with a mixer. She is either very hot or cold. Probably because the water pressure changes every minute. So get ready for a contrast shower - it's useful)). The pool was always with muddy greenish water and only rare crazy people swam in it. Although before our departure (oh miracle! ) The water was changed. Breakfast in the dining room is monotonous. Chicken fillet or chicken liver, boiled vegetables, beans in sauce, toast, butter, jam, tea and instant coffee. From fruits only pineapples and watermelons. Flies are not many, but annoying. Do not under any circumstances take dinners or all inclusive. Shek on the beach is very cheap and 100 times tastier. The hotel has 80% of Russian-speaking tourists, but the staff does not speak Russian. Until 11 pm at the hotel near the pool there is a restaurant (2-3 times more expensive than shek) and different music sounds (quite loudly), mostly not bad. Special appeal to some of our tourists! If you have neither a hearing nor a voice, you don’t have to yell and howl in karaoke! Even the monkeys laugh at us… In short, the hotel does not pull 3 *. If we could renovate and clean the rooms and change the staff, then maybe yes.
Now about the good. From the hotel to the beach 300 meters along an asphalt path bordered by palm trees. There is a sweet scent of cashew blossoms and something else in the air. If you do not notice the polluted river in front of the beach, then it is a complete idyll. The beach is wide and endless in both directions with almost white, creaky sand like snow. Water is fresh milk. We have not seen a calm sea, but it is very cool to jump on the waves. There are not many people, but lifeguards are present. If you go left for about a kilometer towards Cavelossim you will find a nice Sunset shack with wicker furniture, great food and low prices. If you turn right towards Benaulim, then after 500 meters it is even cheaper (I don’t remember the name). We walked along the beach to Cavelossim (6-7 km). Nice village with nice hotels, good shops and restaurants. We went with a taxi driver ($60 for the whole trip from morning to evening) south of Varka. A cursory glance from the window at Varka was enough to not want to visit it, I already mentioned about the roads, but nature was infinitely pleasing. You can see the ruins of the Cabo de Rama fort, and next to it is the Cola beach. You go down, pass by the garbage dump right on which the Indians rest on a picnic, go left 300 meters and you will not regret it! Not trampled deserted beach with palm trees, white sand and red boulders and rocks, and blue water. Super! Agonda is a fishing beach with many boats and locals. But more was expected from Palolem. A beautiful, large and wide beach with stone boulders and palm trees is very crowded and is all built up with sheds (Indian version of a bungalow) and sheks. There is nowhere for the coconut to fall. Like it or not, the best beaches in South Goa are from Colva to Cavelossim.
We took a taxi for the whole day to northern Goa (also $ 60 per car). Were at the market in Anjuna. A good option to buy gifts for everyone. Haggle, bring down the price by 2 - 3 times. Do not concede - say your price and leave. They will catch up and agree. Do not take anything at the entrance (merchants are very sticky), in the back rows it is better and cheaper. The Nepalese have interesting goods. We stopped at Anjuna Beach, Baga Beach, watched the sunset on Calangute. I don’t know what good action lovers find there. I don't want to offend anyone, but in my opinion - a viper. Never again will I go there. It is better to spend an extra day on the beach. We stopped in Margao - also horror... Were on an excursion to a waterfall, elephants and spices. Interesting with a Russian guide. It is better to leave early to get there while there are not many people. Swimming in the lake under the waterfall is very refreshing (the water is cold, running, Indians do not swim), there are funny monkeys everywhere along the way. We went for $65 per person. With a taxi driver it is cheaper, but without a story; the tour operator is more expensive. A boat trip along the river is also pretty good.

For close trips, if you have a license with you, you can take a bike (300 rupees per day). I didn't risk it. It is easy to get lost, there are no signs, instead of direction indicators there are stones (like if you go to the left - you will lose your horse; to the right... etc. ). After sunset, in the dark, you definitely won’t find the way. In addition, the movement is a complete pipets. I won’t write about how the gypsies (oh, sorry, Indians) live in the villages. It's better not to see it. In general, the impressions are contradictory. Wonderful nature where the locals have not spoiled it, summer in the middle of our winter, the sea and beaches - this is what makes it worth coming here again. Only better next time I will pay more and choose a better hotel. I hope my review will be useful to someone.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original

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