Damn it!!! Why can’t Delhi have a beach ? If you haven’t found your love for nature, you probably haven’t been to Goa ever. Holiday in Goa is the perfect prescription for romantic married life. “A Goa an year, keeps you near” (pls to forgive the shayari) .
Having been to Goa four times in last two years, we can’t seem to get enough of Goa. Incidentally, our visit to Goa had always been timed for monsoon season which is certainly not the best time to visit Goa if you are interested in water sports, but a must visit if you are a nature person.
The plush greens, the rains, the dark sea and the violent waves mesmerizes the most stone hearted soul.
Country-side roads in Goa
Beach side, Goa
This time around, we chose to stay at south Goa to stay away from the crowd and enjoy the lonely beaches.
Unfortunately, we choose to stay with Hotel Kenilworth. The package was as lucrative as it could be –
[we are plesaed to confirm one double room from 27/07/07 to 30/07/07 package @ Rs 16500 stay for 3 nights and 4 days .
Ø Airport / Margao railway station transfers by coach at specified times;
Ø Welcome drink on arrival; Bottle of Goan Port wine and cashew nuts in the room on the day of arrival;
Ø Ø Use of in room tea/coffee dispensers replenished once daily;
Ø Meals on Buffet basis (3 breakfast, 3 lunch & 3 dinner);
Ø One half day sight seeing trip by Air–conditioned coach to Mangeshi temple, Old Goa church, Panjim shopping followed by river cruise on the Mandovi river; (fixed common departures);
Ø Free use of Swimming pool, outdoor Jacuzzi (with proper attire); and Recreational activities; Free entry to R.E.D., hotel’s exclusive Disc, (except on Special Nites);
Ø One Cocktail/Mocktail coupon per adult once during the stay (house pouring brands); One ice cream coupon per child per day during stay;
Ø 20% discount on Food (a – la – carte); 20 % discount on Spa facilities;
Ø Daily in – house activities as per activity schedule;
Ø Children below 6 years free in the parents room (without extra bed);
Ø Happy Hour at Lobby Bar (5 – 7 pm, Buy one get one free concept on beverages);
Ø Live entertainment every evening; Daily in – house activities as per activity schedule;
Ø Gift on departure.All taxes. . Check –in : 1 pm & Check –out : 11 am.
]
The only catch was that the central lobby, next to the bar was completely under renovation, with marble work going on. The hotel manager, Mr Sanjay Srivastava conveniently forgot to mention it at the time of booking and reservation.
Upon reaching the hotel, we realized that it would be a disaster to stay at kenilworth and pay money to ruin our holidays so we demanded the hotel to arrange for a room in similar property in Goa. Unfortunately, the weekend being a long weekend, Goa was completely sold out (or atleast, none of the 5 star deluxe hotels/resorts seem to be willing to offer rooms to us)
To add to the grief, while we were on the lookout in the cab, it didn’t stop raining. I wondered if I loved the rain or not ?
In the confused emotional state, we reached Majorda resort ,somehow the lobby manager found us to be unwilling to move out of the property even if we did not have a room, and agreed to offer a suite at the rates of a normal room for one night and promised to “adjust” us the next day.
Majorda was a pleasant experience, especially the bar with snooker table with heavy rain outside was just too exotic. Indoor swimming pool added cherry on the cake to enjoy the pool while it’s raining outside. Very few resorts in Goa offer such feature.
Alls well, until we entered the much hyped Casino of Majorda. This place was shabby, dirty, dingy and apparently full of crowd which makes you feel uncomfortable if you are with a lady. With double the pace we entered the casino, we jumped out of the casino and never returned there for the next two days.
The beach of Majorda is extremely pleasant, clean and solitary. no hawkers, no fishermen, you may find other tourists though.
It stopped raining towards the evening and more tourists joined others on the beach and the more adventurous ones started going into the sea.
Another fact about Majorda, before I forget, we initially booked ourselves for the all meals inclusive package but the buffet was not too lucrative on the first day so we changed our package to no meals and ordered ala carte. This costed us less than the buffet instead. Most of the times, we were so full after drinking that we skipped the buffet timings and hit the resturant / coffee shop when it’s after hours, but the staff was helpful and we enjoyed our stay.
If you are planning to visit Goa in monsoons, I would be happy to answer your queries at amitks@gmail.com
Cheers – until next Goa trip in January.
I been there only once and I need to go few more times. Buy a Villa :), I have a club membership and in off-season I can get a 1 BR Cottage for 4 Grands :) in a Five Star setup for a week, yeah ONE week for just 4K odd. Never mind, next monsoon
Hi Amit. I have stayed in Majorda too a few years back. You are so right about the casino. I remember feeling exactly the same way when I went in. But, otherwise the resort is very nice. Your post’s made me want to go to Goa again. I haven’t been for years. And never with Jatin. So it’s on our list now.
Shreyasi : Long time…. We should ask Nandan to have his friend’s party in Goa next :)
Hi Amit,
I am planning to be in Goa in 2nd week of August i.e. around 15th. planning for 2 days-3 nights. Please suggest me :
a. Accommodation – decent & affordable
b. Any things special to eat/drink
c. Places around to see (in monsoon)
Thanks.
HI
I am planning to visit Goa from 2nd Jan 2009 to 6th Jan 2009 with my kids and wife. Can some one suggets how to cover GOA in three days.
Thanks
Vineet
Dear Amit,
we are planning to go there in late June. We are going to stay at Club Mahindra Resort. can you please suggest me any thing about 1) Adventure Games, 2) Vegetarian Food, & 3) Do’s & Don’t s in Mansoon.
Thanks & Warm Regards
Dear Amit,
we are planning to go there in August. We are going to stay at Club Mahindra Resort. can you please suggest me any thing about 1) Adventure Games, 2) Vegetarian Food, & 3) Dos & Dont s in Mansoon .
Thanks & Warm Regards
Why Ghumakkar editorial team has posted a 2007 post? Is it deleberately or by mistake?
@ Krisanpremi – Deliberate. We are looking at old stories and offering the authors for a re-publish after necessary edits. Amit decided to go ahead so there it is. We are not picking all stories though but you would see more of them over coming times. Soon, we should be looking at stories from later years.
@ Amit – So here it is , all over again. I was in Goa in Aug last (for a conference) and yes, Goa is Goa. :-) We were all occupied with conference things but we did manage to sneak out to regular joints like Bagah for a late night, a quickie to Dona Paula and even a photo-reccee tour to a place where they break these old ships. Hope to see more of you here.
@Nandan Jha- You mean, some old memories are going to be live. That’s good!
@Amit – Goa is fixed on 15/12/2013 to 21/12/2013 with family. Booked hotel in calangute (north goa). I think fun is assured.
Hey Amit, Whenever I am planning a holiday, i end up looking at ghumakkar (thanks Nandan :)). I was zeroing down kenilworth and saw this post. Going through the post, i saw that only thing that you did not like about this resort is renovation work (I can specially ask this at the time of booking) going on at that time. Is there anything else that u did not like about the hotel or may be you did not get to experience beyond it?
Incidentally second in my list Majorda but when looked at photographs of kenilworth (may be it’s good after the renovation :)) its looking pretty good and with good budget and location (right on the beach) and the beach itself is looking great. Suggestions? have a look at the latest and greatest of this resort here http://www.kenilworthhotels.com/goa
Nandan, buddy any suggestion? 4 nights – 40-50K with meals (two kids 8 and 3 yrs)
Priyavrat
@ Priya – We were at Goa last month and stayed here – http://www.thebelavida.com
It is a home-stay kind of stuff, 3 bed rooms and a 5 minute walk from Bagah. No room service. Restaurants and other relevant shops are close by.
Thanks Nandan. We do have the homes stay option, not very close to beach but the accommodation is very good. I find that good when 1-2 families and kids have some company to exhaust themselves or when you are traveling with friends. With wife and kids only, i will prefer something that is more like a resort kind of facility.