[sachinjoseph]

If anyone wants a secluded resort in Canacona, south Goa, please check out the Cabo Serai Resort. Its a fairly new resort. We took the tent stays. And dont get disheartened by the word Tent. These are massive tents that are luxurious in its own way. But the best part is the view from here. It overlooks onto the Canacona Beach and is just surreal.



My wife, my pet dog and I spent 2 days here and it was the best time ever. The only drawback is the access road to the resort. Need to go through a rough patch of road to reach the resort gate. Although the view through this short drive is amazing since its on a cliff and if you're there in time for the sunset, the view is breathtaking. But the roads are horrible. Unless you have an SUV, then you should feel right at home!!

Once you reach the gate, need to park the car and walk a short distance, crossing a nice stream of water through a bridge and then we were treated with some fresh tender coconut water. Post that, they take you on a caddy to again climb to reach the reception area.
Quick Tip: Dont forget to carry everything you need from the car cause coming back to collect something is going to be a task, since there are a lot of stairs to climb to reach the car park. I learnt it the hard way.

The Room/tent was fabulous with a large bathroom and an amazing Tent. We stayed at the room closest to the Reception. The other rooms looked higher up.





Watching the beautiful sunset from the comfort of our Room.


The walk to the beach is a 10 minute trek downwards where the hotel would provide you with towels and then you need to cross a small stream of fresh water to reach the beach. On the way down, we saw 3 huge Peacocks just flying from one tree to the other. Was a magnificent sight to watch.
The beach is almost private since not many people come here, except on holidays and evenings. So best would be to go there early morning with a book and relax on the beach. There is just one shack by the beach that serves some basic food and beverages. We would go early morning, enjoy playing fetch with our dog on the beach and a quick swim and then relax at the shack till Lunch and then head back up. The climb up is not that difficult.



The small stream where you and your dog could wash up before heading back. We used this water to cool down our dog since it was quite sunny and he needs a cool down to survive.


The only negative I would say is that the food at the Resort isn't that great. Well my wife says that thats because they serve only healthy food like Zucchini Pasta, etc. I love my food and need some proper CARBS to get satisfied

Oh and if anyone is a yoga fan, they have a yoga instructor and some serene place to do the yoga as well. My wife was all praises after her yoga session.

So if anyone traveling to south Goa and need a brilliant experience AND need a pet friendly place, do consider Cabo Serai. You wont be disappointed.

[lamborghini]

Just returned from a trip to Goa where we stayed at the relatively new Taj Resort & Convention Center, Panjim.

Link: https://www.tajhotels.com/en-in/taj/...on-centre-goa/

What I Liked
1) Location: It's brilliant!
Away from the hustle bustle of most hotels in North Goa, with some good dining options around (Black Market Bistro, Bay 15, etc.).
Good approach roads too!
Located right next to sister property Cidade De Goa; and with access to the clean & less crowded Vainguinim Beach.

2) Views: Located just off the beach, the sea views are amazing!
They have sea facing rooms which are worth the premium simply for the view of the sea, compared to the regular city facing rooms.
The rooftop pool area is also a great place to chill at, with great sea views!

3) New Hotel, fairly spacious & comfortable Rooms

4) Friendly, helpful, and attentive staff!

What I Didn't Like

1) Small niggles that need to be sorted out : Fire Alarm in the room had an annoying flashing light (only visible when pitch dark) which would've been okay if not directly facing the bed; AC cannot be switched off / fan speed reduced - you can only set the temperature; etc.

2) Maybe I've been spoilt by ITC, but I didn't find the Covid safety measures as well implemented as what ITC have undertaken (ITC Mumbai, Vadodara). Don't get me wrong - They were standard fare as per any standard 5 star hotel (such as a J.W. Marriott or others), but not outstanding as in the case of ITC.
I had great reviews of Taj cleanliness & safety protocols, etc. but this was class average.

3) As the hotel is still opening up, not too many in-house dining options. But then again, it's Goa : I'm sure many would prefer hitting up their favorite shack instead.

4) The front desk agents generally leave around 11-11:30PM. You'll see the security, guests, etc. but no hotel agent will be easily visible (maybe 1-2 spread across the ground floor as compared to 7-8 who would usually be visible at the Bar / Restaurant / Front Desk / Concierge, etc.). I'm hoping this will change as the hotel picks up.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Excellent recommendations, thank you. Can anyone suggest pet-friendly places whether in north or south Goa?

Quoting my own post - planning for a pet-friendly Goa trip in April 2021. Any more tips would be highly appreciated

[aneeshtn]

Dear BHPians,

5 of us friends with the family and a pet dog are planning a one-month stay in Goa from the first week of June. All of us are working and we intend to do so while being in Goa. We all are from Bangalore and the plan is to drive down to Goa. The plan is to enjoy Goan life on weekends and any holidays, we might take few days off too during this time. Work on weekdays with any leisure activity if possible.

We would like to stay in an independent house if possible and would like it to be closer to the beach at the same time preference is towards a peaceful stay. We would like the property to have all the amenities and having a pool would be an excellent addition. Not too bothered with the pool though. We intend to cook a bit and probably get a cook for our entire stay as we do not want to cook every day. In terms of budget, we are willing to spend up to a lakh as a group for the stay. We can stretch a bit more too.

If any of you have done something similar or know some properties or even any recommendation for this trip, I am all ears. Please do help with some valuable suggestions considering the above requirement. Which area in Goa would be better for this considering it's the start of the monsoon? Am I being too ambitious with my budget or will there be properties available meeting our needs?

Regards,
Aneesh

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Quoting my own post - planning for a pet-friendly Goa trip in April 2021. Any more tips would be highly appreciated

Taj Exotica allows pets(at an additional charge of course). I saw a few dogs roaming around with their owners. Please do confirm before you book however.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by aneeshtn

5 of us friends with the family and a pet dog are planning a one-month stay in Goa from the first week of June.

Sounds like a big group if it's 5 whole families and dog, so you'll probably have to look at a couple of properties or one really, really big house.

But Goa at this time has a lot of options. If you need everything pre-booked before you arrive, check air'b'n'b and the various long stay options that the resorts are offering. There are also quite a few options ranging from independent houses to several single rooms adjoining one another, near almost every beach which are not listed online. If you can, come for a week, stay in a hotel and drive around looking for options.

(I've been working from Goa since November- I can't personally recommend anything because your requirements are for a large family and dog and my requirements were completely different; and I'm pretty sure the type of places I stay at will not appeal to families! )

But I can say that there are several options for all budgets, if you look around.

Consider the weather though, June might see some good days or you may find yourselves cooped up indoors because it's raining all day. But yes, Goa is lovely in the monsoon and if you get some respite from the rain, will be nice to wander around.

Wherever you go, check the internet speeds and UPS backup personally before booking. That will be more important during the rain. Whatever is advertised is often not what you get.

(Personally though, I intend to head back home to Bangalore in June- what's the point of staying near a beach if you can't swim because of the weather. And if I'm going to be sitting in a room all day working, might as well do that rent-free in my own home! But that's just my personal opinion, a lot of my Goan friends love the monsoons. But perhaps that's mainly because there aren't many tourists like us during that time! )

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Taj Exotica allows pets(at an additional charge of course). I saw a few dogs roaming around with their owners. Please do confirm before you book however.

Thanks, was aware of that but they have jacked up their prices to insane levels especially as we need 2 rooms. Given the rising second wave of infections, we have dropped all plans as of now.

Further, Goa already contemplating -ve tests for incoming visitors: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/a...-kerala/735898

Looking within KA (if at all) for now.

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by aneeshtn

Dear BHPians,

5 of us friends with the family and a pet dog are planning a one-month stay in Goa from the first week of June. All of us are working and we intend to do so while being in Goa. We all are from Bangalore and the plan is to drive down to Goa. The plan is to enjoy Goan life on weekends and any holidays, we might take few days off too during this time. Work on weekdays with any leisure activity if possible.

We would like to stay in an independent house if possible and would like it to be closer to the beach at the same time preference is towards a peaceful stay. We would like the property to have all the amenities and having a pool would be an excellent addition. Not too bothered with the pool though. We intend to cook a bit and probably get a cook for our entire stay as we do not want to cook every day. In terms of budget, we are willing to spend up to a lakh as a group for the stay. We can stretch a bit more too.

If any of you have done something similar or know some properties or even any recommendation for this trip, I am all ears. Please do help with some valuable suggestions considering the above requirement. Which area in Goa would be better for this considering it's the start of the monsoon? Am I being too ambitious with my budget or will there be properties available meeting our needs?

Regards,
Aneesh

You can try out a couple of apartment complexes where you can take 2-3 ( or even 5) apartments, if available. It may not be beach front, but you can get a few within a walking distance. They would have kitchen/AC/broadband as well. That way, the individual families are just a minute away but you have the privacy as well. You can find them listed on AirBnb.

Is your budget 1 lac per family or all families together?

[am1m]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Further, Goa already contemplating -ve tests for incoming visitors:

That's hilarious! (The news item and the possible decision I mean, not your post obviously.)

Because just this week I watched a pretty big post-municipal-election-victory rally in the streets here in South Goa from my terrace. The successful candidates were being driven around, with a bunch of followers on bikes, meeting everyone happily. No masks and social distancing of course.

But yes, it's always "the outsiders" who are "spreading the virus".

Same case in every state and neighborhood- whatever "we" do is ok, what "someone else" does- corona risk! And whatever the politicians do (from all and any party) doesn't matter at all (just google pics of the election rallies in West Bengal!), that's obviously corona-proof!

It's just us ordinary folk who need to be forcefully restricted in our movements and people who depend on tourism in Goa need to manage their businesses somehow with tourists naturally canceling their bookings now.

[ant_vas]

5 of us friends with the family and a pet dog are planning a one-month stay in Goa from the first week of June.

Few years back me and a bunch of friends stayed at a villa in arpora. This property is besides double tree hilton and it also had 1/2BHK on the other side of the pool. Food options around were OK but being in Arpora it was closer to all the happening places.

The place was neat, spacious and had someone coming in for cleaning and maintenance. You can checkthem out on AirBnB for a long time stay option

[aneeshtn]

Originally Posted by am1m

Sounds like a big group if it's 5 whole families and dog, so you'll probably have to look at a couple of properties or one really, really big house.

This came out really wrong. We are a total of 5 members from two families and a close friend of ours, plus my pet dog.

I am guessing you would have had an amazing time in Goa for the last many months. We do love Goa in monsoons, so that wouldn't be an issue at all. Another advantage is probably the lesser crowd and comparably cheaper stay.

Will check out villa as well as independent houses near beaches.

Originally Posted by m8002?

You can try out a couple of apartment complexes where you can take 2-3 ( or even 5) apartments, if available. It may not be beach front, but you can get a few within a walking distance. They would have kitchen/AC/broadband as well. That way, the individual families are just a minute away but you have the privacy as well. You can find them listed on AirBnb.

Is your budget 1 lac per family or all families together?

We are just 5 members in total needing 3 rooms max. My initial statement came out wrong. The budget was for a home/villa with 3 bedrooms. We can stretch it to 40k per room. Is there a specific area you suggest?

Originally Posted by ant_vas

Few years back me and a bunch of friends stayed at a villa in arpora. This property is besides double tree hilton and it also had 1/2BHK on the other side of the pool. Food options around were OK but being in Arpora it was closer to all the happening places.

The place was neat, spacious and had someone coming in for cleaning and maintenance. You can checkthem out on AirBnB for a long time stay option

Thanks, will check it out.

[Vinod_nair]

Originally Posted by aneeshtn

5 of us friends with the family and a pet dog are planning a one-month stay in Goa from the first week of June.

Hello Aneesh,
We had done a trip in '19 Nov, for 3 nights and 4 days, a family of 6 with 2 children.

Area : Airbnb near Majorda beach, South Goa.
Owner : Joyston (excellent host)
Cost : 3.5K

You haven't mentioned your preference, wheather North or South Goa, so here goes.

We stayed in a 3 bedroom flat with attached bath, drawing cum dining room, a well appointed kitchen, fridge, gas, utensils, water dispenser, well maintained, it even has a high security Godrej locker.

In '17 we had stayed at a guest house, walking distance from Calangute beach, North Goa.

Both the properties arranged self drive cars for local sightseeing.

If you are interested let me know, I can share the contacts.

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Just returned from a trip to Goa where we stayed at the relatively new Taj Resort & Convention Center, Panjim.

Thanks for your feedback. We are planning to stay at this very property, sometime May-end or early-June.

Any particular suggestion on what type of rooms to select (it will be 3 of us) ? Saw that there are around 7-8 varieties

Also, did you drive down to Goa? If yes, can you please provide the route taken?

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Thanks for your feedback. We are planning to stay at this very property, sometime May-end or early-June.

Any particular suggestion on what type of rooms to select (it will be 3 of us) ? Saw that there are around 7-8 varieties

Also, did you drive down to Goa? If yes, can you please provide the route taken?

Any Sea View room should be fine as that is the beauty of this property. Best to check with the hotel what would be recommended - our room was fine for 2, but a little tight for 3 depending on the age of the 3rd person.

We drove down via Amboli, and return via Anmod Ghats. However, as per this thread (Mumbai - Pune - Kolhapur - Goa : Route Queries) Chorla Ghats could be a very good option.
I had traveled on this route several years ago and the better roads made up for the longer distance. In the middle it was in poor shape, which has now been rectified.

[dsnaveen21]

Originally Posted by Mack

I have been staying at a very typical Goan house in Candolim, Bardez - on my yearly visits to Goa. It's a typical Portugeuse Goan bungalow. If anyone wants, I can give you the contact details.

Hi Mack, can you please PM me the contact details, Thanks