The first thing that you will notice about Salida Del Sol is its Italian architecture inspired front facade which would look more at home on a side street in Rome or Venice rather than M Braganza Road in Panjim, Goa :) That said, this facade is a really good indicator of the owners' intention to try and provide a classy yet moderately priced option for travelers coming into the capital city. I come to Goa pretty frequently on work and leisure. While leisure leads me to stay in North or South Goa, work needs to be be located in Panjim close to the jetty as my work is onboard the casino. I've stayed in the Vivanta by Taj and Hotel Fidalgo in the past but I can see this hotel being my new favourite place to stay in this area. I was traveling with my colleague and we had taken up two Regular rooms, one of which was unavailable and so my colleague was upgraded to the Delux room at the same price which was good. No real difference between the Regular and Delux except that the latter had some more space and a bit more color on the interiors.

From the good...
While the rooms are on the smaller side, they are very tastefully done and personally I don't mind rooms which are slightly cozy. There was a tiny little balcony attached to my room which I always like having given that I smoke. Bed was comfy enough although I'd have preferred it being a touch firmer. The room is very clean and all the necessary amenities from extra pillows to bathrobes to the tea/coffee setup and a fully stocked mini-bar are provided. The bathroom's very good and what I really appreciate about the room as a whole is the small touches that have been incorporated. Everything was in working condition, hot/cold showers worked as required and good force to the water as well. The interactive television system in the room was pretty cool too.

The food in this hotel has had slightly mixed reviews but pretty much all the food ordered by us was upto the mark and I'd rate it 6 or 7 on 10. They do tend to add more masala to the Indian food so if you're not a big fan of the spice, tell them to tone it down. The odd screw-up is made up by the helpful staff who do tend to go out of their way to sort out your requests. Being located where it is, the casinos are the usual form of entertainment but there are plenty of shops and activity in this area so one can also spend a pleasant evening strolling among the quiet and not-so-quiet streets here.

And onto the not-so-good...
The rooms with the balcony face the road and as such the sounds do filter through and while they are not unbearable, if you're a light sleeper you might have some trouble getting to sleep. The saving grace is that Panjim tends to shut down by 9pm so the sounds of the street do tone down eventually. It was raining quite heavily the day we checked in so a tiny bit of water crept into the room via the balcony. The bottom of the doors had to be padded by towels to ensure that more water did not seep in. Also
unfortunately for us, there was some construction work currently going on in the hotel (a restaurant & bar are being added) and is expected to finish by November end. So there was all that muted hammering and drilling sounds coming through from 10am till 5pm.

Housekeeping does have this tendency of calling in the morning to clean your room which can be very annoying if you're like me who's trying to sleep during the day after putting in a full night's work load. We did have a word with the staff and they said they will ensure it doesn't happen again.

Final thoughts:-
Despite a few minor flaws, the Salida Del Sol has done an admirable job within the limitations it has. The rooms are great, the service is mostly good, the staff is quite pleasant and looks out for your needs and for its location, you cannot beat the price! I expect to stay in this hotel more frequently from here on.

Panjim: Salida Del Sol: 06/03/2011

I visited Goa in March 2011 which is after more than 15 years of my first visit to Goa when I was in college. My friend arranged a taxi pick up from dabolim airport to panjim. I started enjoying the trip from there itself. when we reached brangaza menezes road , I wondered looking external appearance of salida . Its like a europian hotel look.

the hotel is not so big but belive me when any one stays here once will definitely stay in this hotel only at Goa. Rooms are mindblowing. very soft bed , well arranged as well. Unique infotainment system which is incorporated for customer interactive with wi-fi.

bathrooms are specially designed and well equipped with all necessary things from toothbrush to hair drier.

Room service and food quality is very impressive . one should have prawns curry/Rice ,I bet you will not forget the taste.

overall it was pleasure to stay at salida del sol

We stayed just for one night whilst visiting Panjim. The hotel is well placed within walking distance of most places to see - river, shopping, church square etc. It is spotlessly clean and the staff are very friendly and helpful. The room had all the necessary facilities with ensuite shower and flat screen TV - only time we watched TV whilst we were away! Also a tea/coffee making facilities. There is a good restaurant at the Hotel Fidalgo round the corner which is more expensive to stay at but which welcomes people from outside to eat. Agree about the breakfast from previous reviewer - a bit of a challenge with very well scrambled eggs delivered instead of requested omelette and soggy toast. Recommended hotel though, nonetheless.

When I arrived at the hotel early morning, they didn't had the type of room I had booked over the phone as they have 12 noon check out. But the receptionist didn't think twice to upgrade me to a superior room at the same cost. Although the room was small but was very comfortable with all modern amenities including fully stocked mini-bar. The bathroom was much spacious comparatively with all the amenities that you would expect in an luxury hotel. It had a chic silver tiles on the floor and walls which gave the bathroom a very modern look. I wend for my work after freshening up and when I came back my room was the way I had left which was rather disappointing. Remarkable was the quality of bed and pillow which put me to sleep very quickly. The other thing which was a little let down was that they did not had any F&B outlet. This meant that you had to consume your food in the small confine of your room. While I checked out in the morning the next day, I got a call from the receptionist saying that they forgot to adjust two hundred odd Rupee and requested if I could come an pick it up on my way to airport. I thought that was rather honest and sweet.