The Palm Grove is set in the heart of Cavelossim Village a little away from the more recently built tourist stretch of the village and is what it says on the tin and a lot more. A small hotel that is basic but clean. Our room was very much in the Goan/Portuguese style large with a lovely high ceiling, air conditioning and the basket of fruit and small bottle of wine on arrival were a lovely touch. The restaurant is fabulous with a terrific large and varied menu. The food is so good that the Palm Grove have a great trade in takeaway food to staff/management in some of the nearby larger hotels and you will also often see staff on their night off having a meal there, as well as a number of regular longstay visitors to Goa. Our Mum came with us making it her first visit to Goa and after a day she said to me "do you know I feel so relaxed and so at home staying here" (all the staff just called her Mum :-) ).
As I said the location of the Palm Grove is in the heart of Cavelossim village itself so it is a little further to walk to the beach, maybe a 10/15 minute walk but I actually see this as an advantage as not only do you get to see real Goan village life (more about that to come) but also Laurence (the owner) either drops you off at the beach or for 5rps you can just catch the local bus and in two minutes you are at the beach having waved to all the sellers and shop keepers as you drive past them and coming back the same (Laurence will also pick you up as well). The other great thing about the location is as that as I said you really are in the heart of the village so get to watch a real Goan village wake up, which is just fabulous. Here's a typical early morning for me whilst staying at The Palm Grove which I wouldn't have experienced if I had been staying in the main tourist stretch of Cavelossim , Set off around 0630 on the first morning of our stay, turned left outside the hotel and within two minutes I was at the village crossroad's with the gleaming white church and the sounds of early morning mass echoing around the square. The drinks, samosa, fresh bread and rolls stall was just beginning to set up as was the small locals cafe'. I then sat on a small part of terracing at Cavelossim's "field of dreams"Santa Cruz's football pitch which is just a red dirt pitch with a clubhouse and a small section of terracing. A plaque stands talking of laying the foundation of the a new pitch. As I sat and watched the sun rise over the hills in the distance and works it's way up the palm tree's behind the clubhouse I just thought, santa Cruz's "Field Of Dreams" it really was a stunning view. From there I walked back to the cross-roads watching all the school children in the uniforms making there way to school either the local one or waiting to catch a bus, some along with their brothers or sisters casually sitting on their fathers scooters as he drove them to school, yes the village was well and truly awake. The following morning I took the ferry road down towards Assolna, the steam was rising off the fields as I watched egrets, kites, herons and kingfishers go about their morning business, then down to the ferry as locals made their way to work wearing jackets and me in my sandals shorts and loose cotton shirt, as I walked back after watching the sunrise above the Western Ghats I saw in the distance what looked like 40 or 50 crows flying in perfect formation, I thought that looked strange and then I looked up as they flew across the road and I realised that they were in fact large Fruit bats, they must have forgotten their watches as it was now around 0730 and I have never seen fruit bats doing anything other than roosting, hanging from tree's during daylight. It really was an awesome sight I have expected Batman to come walking down the street.I walked on back in to the village Christmas carols were now playing out of some of the house's, I walked past Kennedy's the small local bar and then the garage which has a bakery just behind it and oh the fresh smell of bread mmmmm mmmmm, school children were again meandering up the lane some on bikes as they made their way to school and of course then the bread boy on his bike ringing his bell as he made his deliveries. The sunlight was creating shafts of light through the palm tree's and across the lane, which seemed to just complete the scene,it was then time to go back to the hotel and wake the rest of the Jocks up get some breakfast and then let the next adventure begin.
The hotel also has an a/c 6 seater people carrier which is perfect for day trips as well as being cheaper than the local taxi's without even have to haggle and you can just set the itinerary for the day and off you go. I also said at the start of the review that The Palm Grove is what it says on the tin and a lot more. So what is "the lot more". Well the answer is the perfect host Laurence a genuinely nice guy who will go out of his way to make sure your trip/adventure is everything you want it to be. He is also backed up of course by his wife Monica as well as a great team of staff. So the question is would we stay at The Palm Grove again......the answer is without question yes and even if you are staying elsewhere be sure to check out the restaurant as the food is just fabulous.