Highlights: Lovely property, great staff, awesome food, steps from a beautiful beach that has not been discovered by the throngs yet, music all day that sets the ambience, good massage, came away thoroughly relaxed and rejuvenated. Highly recommended! Ku Paradise is not only a restaurant,...but a boutique hotel as well, with 2 rooms. I stayed here with 3 of my girlfriends between Dec 13-16. What we wanted from our vacation, was a place where we could relax, hit the beach, eat good food and not be bothered by throngs of grope-y men. Ku was the perfect answer for that, and we are so glad that we found this place. Here's the lowdown... Located in Morjim, it’s about an hour and a half's drive from the airport. I did the pre-paid taxi, though Ku can also arrange a taxi for you (at the same rate as the pre-paid guy charged – Rs. 1500). This is something that is worth doing, as Ku is a little hard to find. Once I got there, the place took my breath away. It is totally serene and beautiful, with a lovely energy. The koi fish pond that runs between the cottages lends to the beautiful energy. You feel like you have all the modern amenities while living quite in the middle of a tropical forest. There is a slight mind set change that you might need to make, if you are not quite used to being one with nature – i.e., you might see a bug or two here or there, but remember that the structures are open to nature, so this is quite natural. There are two cottages that are the two guest rooms. We had the one on the left. The Ku folks brought in 2 extra beds, to accommodate us 4 girls, and still we had plenty of room to prance around, and get dressed etc. In the middle of the room was a table with cushions around it and we made good use of it for mid-night gossip sessions. We also made good use of the lounge, which is above the kitchen and has a wonderful view of the fields. You can hear the roar of the waves from here. Breakfast is served when you are ready for it, and consists of fresh fruit and eggs cooked to order. I had the best papaya here, that I've had in a while. One of our favorite days during the vacation was when we started at the lounge with breakfast, hung around till lunch was served and then continued lazing about till evening tea, when we finally got our act together and headed to the beach to watch the sun set over the Arabian sea! At Ku it is easy to sit around with good friends for hours sipping on Praveen's chai, eating food and just catching up. Praveen, the chef/care-taker, was just such a nice guy. For lunch, we had the fish thali (VERY reasonably priced at Rs. 300), and it was quite excellent - kokam curry, prawns, mussels, fried fish, veggies and rice. One of the perks of staying at Ku, versus a Hotel, is that Ku is more home-y, with Praveen at your service, for whatever you need. On my last day there, I bought an avocado from a road-side vendor, and Praveen let me share his kitchen to fix some guacamole. I would be remiss to not mention that Ku is owned by Sula Wine, hence they also have an excellent selection of wines, if that is your thing. Rajeev, the owner was at Ku, while we were there, and he was quite the gracious host as well. Anoushka, the manager of Ku was also quite lovely and helpful - she always had the latest on what was going on in the village and helped us navigate the Morjim scene. She helped us rent bikes while we were there, so that we could go around Goa. On our last day there, Anoushka arranged for us to have massages. The property has a massage room. And it was a pretty good deep-tissue. The other three girls also enjoyed their massages. Lastly, Ku is home to Jack the Admiral, who is an adorable dog. His company and affection made Ku even more enjoyable. Other things we did around Ku that we enjoyed: 1) Hit the beach where the Bora Bora Restaurant is - this was absolutely delightful, as during sunset there were maybe 15-20 people on the beach. There’s also kite surfing on this beach. Enjoyed seafood, freshly squeezed orange juice, music and massage on the beach. The beach also has 1-2 shops from where you can buy sarongs. 2) Bora Bora - a russian-ish restaurant/shack open 24/7. It has beds for seating. Great for midnight jaunts and crepes. 3) Soma resort - the resort has a lovely seaside restaurant. Great ambience and garlic butter prawns. 4) Marbela resort - while I did not go here, my friends did. Beautiful resort with luxury tents and great parties. I went for an early morning swim on the beach in front of Marbela - it was like being in Paradise. 5) La Plage - again did not sample this, but hear great things about the food. Things that can be improved: 1) More lighting especially near the mirror in the guest room, so that girls can be girls. 2) More lighting in the bathroom - again, so it’s easier to do makeup. 3) Need new linen. Electric blankets would be really nice, as it was quite chilly at night. 4) A rack for hanging clothes would be a welcome addition. 5) Wifi! While I really did not have time or the inclination to do work, for longer stays, wifi would be nice. Anoushka has a Tata Photon thingy though, and I did borrow that from her once. Also the Ku folks can pop you over to Marbela, if you need internet. 6) Booking process can be made easy – the website should have the capability to take reservations and payment.More
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