[rmonie]

Both options are available! Prepaid & haggle!

[sairamboko]

Want to share my experience of recent Goa trip. It was a family trip and was 2 nights to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I had booked Taj Holiday Village near Fort Aguada. This was the 1st Taj or rather luxury hotel experience. Was worried about my son who created a big mess when took him in flight when he was 2 years old. We never took flights for an year! This was a nervous flight experience, but things turned out very good. My son loved the flight and was peeking out the window and enjoying the clouds.

Coming to the Taj Holiday Village:

What we loved:

1. Easy access to the beach
2. Complimentary pickup and drop airport transfers
3. Surprise cakes for the anniversary
4. Bathtub filled with roses

However I was disappointed with the below:

1. Food Quality - it was not consistent
2. Water Quality - My wife and myself developed some mild rashes after bathing, but nothing was serious.
3. I had requested via email to save some lunch for my kid, as we started around 8am from Hosur and reached Bangalore Airport around 10am and then flight at 12. We didn't get time to pack lunch and just munched some snacks.
4. I couldn't feel the 5 star or the luxury in this Taj property!! Was it because we selected the basic cottage view rooms? Not sure, but overall experience was similar to earlier experiences at other hotels like IBIS, Novotel , Country Inn.
5. Clothes for Swimming pool - there were no special clothes provided by the Taj Hotel. Instead i was told to buy one from outside!!
Didnt expect this from a luxury hotel chain!!


Overall we enjoyed the most in beach and spending time with kid in the play area. The weather was wonderful, rains now and then,breezy and pleasant. However I was not able to justify the price i paid for my hotel stay or couldn't find value in it.

[Samir Taheer]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Coming to the Taj Holiday Village:

However I was disappointed with the below:

5. Clothes for Swimming pool - there were no special clothes provided by the Taj Hotel. Instead i was told to buy one from outside!!
Didnt expect this from a luxury hotel chain!!

What kind of clothes did you expect them to provide? Bath Robes?

I have never known a hotel to provide swim wear - if that is what you are referring to.

[sairamboko]

Originally Posted by Samir Taheer

What kind of clothes did you expect them to provide? Bath Robes?

I have never known a hotel to provide swim wear - if that is what you are referring to.

Usually hotels provide the nylon clothes for swimming pool if there is a restriction. We need to pay for it. Taj had the restriction on clothes and they didnt have it for the customers to buy it. Also we were not informed of this restriction earlier when we made the booking or when we checked in.

[Arjun Reddy]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Usually hotels provide the nylon clothes for swimming pool if there is a restriction. We need to pay for it. Taj had the restriction on clothes and they didnt have it for the customers to buy it. Also we were not informed of this restriction earlier when we made the booking or when we checked in.

All hotels and clubs insist on non cotton swimwear. Having to buy swimwear at Taj in a place like Goa will probably cost you 3x. So it's better off making your purchase elsewhere. Suggestion for the hotel to inform you in advance while booking is asking for a little too much. There is always a learning and we will be planned a little better the next time around.

[sairamboko]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

All hotels and clubs insist on non cotton swimwear. Having to buy swimwear at Taj in a place like Goa will probably cost you 3x. So it's better off making your purchase elsewhere. Suggestion for the hotel to inform you in advance while booking is asking for a little too much. There is always a learning and we will be planned a little better the next time around.

When I stayed in Country Inn suites, mysore, no such restrictions were there. Anyways as said by you i will be better prepared next time.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

3. I had requested via email to save some lunch for my kid, as we started around 8am from Hosur and reached Bangalore Airport around 10am and then flight at 12. We didn't get time to pack lunch and just munched some snacks.

Did they have lunch for you or not? This was not clear in your statement.

[sairamboko]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Did they have lunch for you or not? This was not clear in your statement.

My apologies for missing it. No , they didnt have any lunch. We reached the hotel around 3:30pm from Airport. Had to order some snacks like Sandwich, french fries, bajji to satisfy our hunger.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

1. Food Quality - it was not consistent
2. Water Quality - My wife and myself developed some mild rashes after bathing, but nothing was serious.
3. I had requested via email to save some lunch for my kid, as we started around 8am from Hosur and reached Bangalore Airport around 10am and then flight at 12. We didn't get time to pack lunch and just munched some snacks.
4. I couldn't feel the 5 star or the luxury in this Taj property!! Was it because we selected the basic cottage view rooms? Not sure, but overall experience was similar to earlier experiences at other hotels like IBIS, Novotel , Country Inn.
5. Clothes for Swimming pool - there were no special clothes provided by the Taj Hotel. Instead i was told to buy one from outside!!
Didnt expect this from a luxury hotel chain!!

I've stayed at this property, and to a certain extent - I don't think it is great as it is one of the older properties in Goa. Especially with nicer hotels opening up such as W, Hyatt, Exotica, etc.

Regarding your points:
1) This is true, and applicable in most hotels worldwide. Only a few hotels with their known restaurants have good and consistent food - say ITC with it's Peshawari for example.

2) This is surprising!

3) Again, everything in a 5 star is going to be billed, and the lunch on the day of check-in is usually paid for (generally check in is at 3PM, so even if you have a meal plan, it is for tea / dinner onwards).

4) I stayed at IBIS Styles Goa this time around. Small cramped rooms, a long and boring walk to the room, and a depressing ambience turned me off.
Yes, it has the amenities but location & ambience weren't great.
Also, Taj has different levels of luxury. Village & Vivanta are on the lower end of the food chain - similar to Marriott Courtyard v/s the more premium JW.
Where these 5 stars usually score over others are in the service, cleanliness and attitude, concierge service, and small details (like the arrangement for your anniversary, better quality of bathing products, etc.), and better safety and security in general (I am saying this, as a group of my friends recently had a break-in to the serviced villas they had rented this past weekend).

5) This is a surprise - generally as long as you're in your swimwear, they generally don't have restrictions. But yes, apart from robes & towels, they do not provide any other clothing.

In the future I'd recommend browsing through tripadvisor / hotels.com / booking.com etc. to get reviews on how the hotels actually fare. Often the smaller boutique places manage to score higher than established 5 stars.

[sairamboko]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

I've stayed at this property, and to a certain extent - I don't think it is great as it is one of the older properties in Goa. Especially with nicer hotels opening up such as W, Hyatt, Exotica, etc.


In the future I'd recommend browsing through tripadvisor / hotels.com / booking.com etc. to get reviews on how the hotels actually fare. Often the smaller boutique places manage to score higher than established 5 stars.

Thanks for your reply ! Next time I will do more research before booking with a 5 stars or the luxury chain. I did check TripAdvisor reviews but there was nothing alarming. Will have to research more I guess.

[Sawyer]

I have stayed at the Taj Holiday village and the close by Santana Beach resort in the last two years; the latter is about 30% the price of the former.

The biggest advantage of the Taj if one may call it that is the fact that only those that can afford the higher prices will be guests in the resort. Of course, that is no guarantee that they will be better mannered, but the odds are in that being the case.

My stay in Santana was perfectly acceptable - I would say that for 30%, one gets 70-80% of the Taj experience; and even more if one wants to explore other places outside the resort. Santana provides access to the same beach, and has an adjoining beach restaurant, Palm and Sands, that provides the same charm as the Caravela at the Taj, again for about 30% of the prices.

[NPV]

Looking for suggestions for stay options at Agonda for Mid October:
Read about Rama Resorts (on the beachside) in an earlier post on TBHP, any idea how this place is ? (Also rated high on Tripadvisor)

Any other recommendations ?
*Not looking at fancy/upmarket resorts. Decent, safe budget options will be fine and the group will not have families traveling

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by NPV

An update from recent trip to Goa:.

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Drove from Benaulim to Whitefield yesterday. Started at 6:45 AM and reached at 5:10 AM.Distance 612 KMS. Break time.

Hi Guys,

Quoting your posts from the "Bangalore - Goa route queries" thread to ask where did you stay in South Goa/Benaulim respectively? Could you share feedback and rates, if you don't mind?

Cheers,
Vikram

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Hi Guys,

Quoting your posts from the "Bangalore - Goa route queries" thread to ask where did you stay in South Goa/Benaulim respectively? Could you share feedback and rates, if you don't mind?

Cheers,
Vikram

Stayed at Carina Beach Resort on October 20th. AVOID this place.





Stayed at Palms Shade Spring. on October 21st. This is a simple home stay with a kitchenette. Rate is very reasonable. It also has a swimming pool.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Quoting your posts from the "Bangalore - Goa route queries" thread to ask where did you stay in South Goa/Benaulim respectively? Could you share feedback and rates, if you don't mind?

we stayed at Beleza by the beach last month. The room itself was decently sized and quite clean. The play area needs better maintenance. The swimming pool and breakfast spread was decent too. Maybe I had higher expectations but I would not go there again.
South goa is a bit too laidback and a bit too far away for my liking. Or perhaps I am too used to the sea view from Ozran Heights in Vagator.

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Stayed at Carina Beach Resort on October 20th. AVOID this place.

What happened there?