I stayed in this hotel in October 2010, with my spouse and son for 4 nights. We took a 4- bedded family room, which was OK.. the extra bed served as storage space. Undoubtedly, the hotel is in the heart of the city, and the main market of Panaji, the river front, the famous church etc are within walking distance from the premises. The street on which it is situated is not very clean or inviting, although the view from the balcony is fine, if you ignore the pigeon droppings all over the balcony. The rooms are clean, basic and so is the hotel. We had booked through the internet, and had no problems checking in or checking out. The hotel refused to give us complimentary breakfast, and ordering from the menu was rather expensive.
Eager to start my Goa sojourn, immediately on reaching, I asked the front office desk about some good places where we could enjoy a typical Goanese meal. The staff looked blank, and it took a doorman to list a few places for me, nearby.
Next day, being tired after gallivanting all over North Goa the whole day, we decided to spend a quiet evening and ordered dinner through room service. The room service guy honestly admitted that although the hotel in the middle of Panaji, it did not serve Goanese cuisine. They offered Chinese, Hyderabadi etc (So sad). Since my wife is allergic to eggs, I specifically instructed that no eggs should be added in any preparation. Surprises of surprises, we found gobs of egg white in the hot and sour Chinese soup. After a long argument on the phone, the guy at the other end first refused to accept that eggs were present. Later, he insinuated that I had not given any such instructions. After an hour of debate, another tureen of soup was sent up, by the time other items had turned cold. But checking on the final bill, I found that the hotel did not show grace, by not charging for the discarded soup dish.
Realizing that eating in this hotel was fraught with danger, coupled with inflated prices, we decided to eat out.. but breakfast had to be ordered nevertheless, as option of going out was not there, early in the morning. Housekeeping was poor, and the rooms were cleaned at around 3 pm everyday, which is too late.
While checking out, after a lot of haggling, I was given a measly discount of 5 - 10%, I believe. I forget the exact figure. Other than the doorman, I noticed that none of the staff had a smile on their faces, either when the guests were checking in or checking out. I hope that this is not a reflection of traditional Goan hospitality.
