Service for India is very decent. Especially considering the sorceress Olga - the guardian angel of all Russian-speaking (and not only) clients. Able to respond to any request at any time, to solve any of your problems. If it weren't there, perhaps I would have rated the hotel a score lower.
There are three restaurants and two bars on site. Excellent breakfasts at tables around the fountain.
For the freshest seafood and fish, we go on foot along the beach to cafes. One to the right 100 meters. Plenty of others to the left within a 10 minute walk. The best is Zeebop.
In Colva - 15 minutes by taxi for 950 rupees round trip (the driver will wait an hour and a half) you can buy fruit, wine, exchange money, etc.
Thanks again Olga. Her advice and help in everything was very important. We would like such an ambassador on all other trips.
But...
miracles are rare. I wish you more miracles in your travels!
All my anxious thoughts melted away as soon as we arrived at the hotel. There is so beautiful!!!! ! The territory is very large and well-groomed, the photos do not convey all the beauty and sophistication of landscape design, all 10 days we walked and admired either cascading pools, or lagoons, or flowers.
The rooms are beautiful, a lot of towels, excellent quality hotel cosmetics, there is an electric kettle with a set of tea and coffee, a fruit basket and water replenished every day.
Wi-Fi on the territory of the hotel is FREE!!! ! A sign should appear on your device where you need to enter the room number and last name as in the passport, and that's it, your Wi-Fi.
We traveled with only paid breakfasts, I read about local cafes on the beach and dreamed of lobsters and shrimp for dinner. But first, a little about breakfasts, they were wonderful, I read that something was not enough for someone, I am a capricious person in nutrition, but even for me everything was tasty and enough. We tried to dine in different places, but only where there was soup, because my child is accustomed to soup for lunch. The food in the hotel is very tasty, the prices correspond to the class of the hotel. Of the cafes on the shore, I liked Aaron's the most, if you stand facing the sea, the first on the right. I'll explain why. First we checked Zee Bop, this is if you stand facing the sea on the left, a 10-15 minute walk along the beach. Zee Bop is not even a cafe, but a restaurant, as they say, but you don’t feel much difference, they ordered seafood and fish there, unfortunately the fish was not the first freshness : -( we later understood why - the majority of visitors there are local, they eat their national cuisine and seafood apparently "stale" there. Another thing is the cafe in front of our hotel, especially Mario and Aaron, there are sold out in the evening, only Russian speakers from tourists and everyone orders something fish. Therefore, nothing is stale. Since I was still there somewhat concerned about unsanitary conditions, I looked into the kitchen in Aarons and found out how everything is there. I will write, in case it is useful to someone ; -) There are no refrigerators in the cafe on the beach, because there is no electricity, a generator works for music and light. Every morning they bring 2 huge blocks of ice (I saw it with my own eyes), they prick them and shift the nightly catch of fish. Frankie goes to the market every day for vegetables, so everything is fresh. Everything we ate was very tasty. For example, a large lobster - $ 25.1 large (jumbo) shrimp - $ 2.5, a whole medium shark (be sure to try it, sooooo delicious !!! ) - $ 20, a whole fish - $ 15, all fish dishes come with salad and rice.
By the way, we also changed dollars there, at the reception the rate is lower. For example, at the reception for 100 dollars they gave 5600, and in Aarons - 6000 rupees.
I would like to highlight the sea there. We haven't had this much fun swimming in a long time. The water is warm, the waves are small, the depth is small, as for a mother with a child - it doesn’t get any better! Oh, how my daughter loves pools, and even then she admitted that the sea is better : -) There were always free places on the beach, and by the pool too, it was very pleasing. Towels were given as many as you wanted, I also have not seen such generosity for a long time.
We went for souvenirs to the nearby village of Kolva, a taxi round trip + 2 hours of waiting - $ 11. I say right away that you have to bargain in Kolva, prices at the beginning and end of the street can differ by 2 times. But everything is very cheap, for example, a bottle of local rum is $2.5, a cotton tunic is $10, a children's T-shirt is $5, there are a lot of Ayurvedic preparations in pharmacies, they cost a penny. The only thing is that the prices for gold and diamonds, as for me, are a bit high.
From the excursions we chose ELEPHANTS-WATERFALLS-SPICES-TEMPLES. We traveled in a small individual group of 6 people. Price per adult $160, child free. I want to immediately warn everyone who is at least a little motion sick in transport on this and any excursion where there are ELEPHANTS not to go. The road is very difficult, only three of us reached the elephant house, the rest jumped off in the middle of the way due to strong vomiting. My child never gets sick anywhere, we travel a lot, but we also ended up with a vomit bag, sorry for the details. Later I tried to dissuade one lady from our hotel not to go elephant riding with a baby, but she did not listen, of course, then they were very sorry that they went. But this is probably all unpleasant, the tour itself is very interesting and informative, we rode an elephant, then we fed him, fed the monkeys, the waterfall is very beautiful, by the way, when going there, be sure to wear sports or rubber shoes, as you will have to climb a little on the stones. At the spice plantation, we bought inexpensive and very tasty local honey, spices and souvenirs are also cheap there.
By the way, about 80% of the guests at the hotel are Russian-speaking, there are no young people at all, there are not many children.
Communicating with "ours" at the hotel, I, to my surprise, found that there were those who did not like either India or the hotel. And here are the opinions I heard: there is no animation at all (not like in Greece and Turkey) and it’s boring in the evenings, and unsanitary conditions and dirt outside the hotel (much better in Phuket). We were not bored, we walked a lot, breathed fresh air, swam, sunbathed, ate delicious food, lived in a beautiful place, so in general, the rest was a success. And of course we would love to come back!
Everything is clean, tidy, very nice.
In addition to the beautiful design, the room had a huge set of toiletries - from a toothbrush with paste and a washcloth to a sponge for shoes. There were 4 towels for each guest! Usually in hotels there are problems with hairdryers - they are not powerful, but here the hairdryer is the most powerful, like at home.
Although the hotel is located on the 1st line, but to the beach from the buildings you need to walk 300 meters along the green lawns.
Separately, I want to mention breakfast. I've been to many places, lived in different hotels. But what was served at breakfast is simply impossible to describe! Homemade yoghurts, delicious cheeses (dor blue, camembert, buko, and cheeses whose names I don't know), hot croissants, vegetables, fruits, cold cuts, desserts. . . I have never seen such a choice in my life. Very good products and also well prepared.
I think Park Hyatt is one of the best hotels in Goa. I recommend!
Rooms are spacious and tidy. The staff is polite and helpful.
A minute walk to the sea, on the beach, as it should be, towels and sun loungers) The sea is clean, no muddy water. In the distance, even dolphins swam. It's just great and, compared to various exotic islands such as the Maldives, it's inexpensive, and the exotic is almost the same.
To be honest, the Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa 5 * hotel is very worthy.
We arrived early (there was an individual transfer) we were very worried about the late check-in, so to speak. But surprisingly they settled quickly. At the reception, we were met by a very pleasant friendly girl who offered cold towels and water. By 11 o'clock the room was given to us. I must say that the room is very good. Big. Plasma hangs on the wall, excellent plumbing (instead of a mini pool bathroom), parquet on the floor. Huge bed. Balcony overlooking the lagoon. Tea making facilities, safe, minibar. Ice in the room on request free of charge. Every day in the room either apples or pears.
The territory of the hotel is large, beautiful, well-groomed. Pools at different levels are connected by small water slides.
There is a not badly equipped mini club for children, but my child did not want to go there. I think there is even a children's cinema. But everything is in English.
There are plenty of free sunbeds by the pool. The beds are very good. In the morning they are covered with towels and one lies for wiping. Towels are very good quality, if you need extra, then give without problems. Any problems (such as moving the sunbed into the shade, or vice versa in the sun) are solved by helpful staff. Just looking at them is enough. There are also free sunbeds on the sea. But we did not lie there, because the child did not climb down the slides. They went to the sea to swim. Sea is warm. It's very nice to ride the waves. Dolphins swam a couple of times.
Breakfast at the hotel is good. Fresh juices (watermelon, cucumber, orange, multi fruit) are really diluted. Bacon, chicken sausages, scrambled eggs, eggs, several types of cheese, several types of ham. Fish cut. Several types of yogurt. Fruits (watermelons, pineapples, papaya, and some others whose names I don't know). Bakery. Coffee Tea. I think it was oatmeal. And, something from Indian cuisine, but I have not tried it.
For lunch, the child took food at the pool bar (spaghetti, hamburgers)
For dinner we went to the beach for a shake. There are 4 of them, two on the right and two on the left. We walked to the right. The one where a guy named Mario works as a waiter. He speaks passable Russian. The guy is honest (I publish his photo). He, by the way, can change the currency and excursions and order a taxi. You can buy fresh fruits in the neck. Fresh seafood is always available. In the village, fruits are 3 times cheaper. They ordered a taxi, but the tour, since they were with a child, nevertheless took an individual one. At Sunrise at the elephant show. And they weren't wrong. The child was just delighted. The car was good. The guide was interesting. Everywhere took us in front of other groups. We rode elephants, saw an ancient temple, watched a show, swam with elephants in the river. Breakfast and vows are included in the tour price.
The hotel is far from the villages. There is nothing near the hotel. For souvenirs we went to Kolva, Kovelosim. In general, it seemed to us that, compared to previous years, everything seemed to have risen in price, but the quality had deteriorated.
Of the minuses, very expensive internet (1000 rupees with tax per day). By the way, for all services at the hotel, a tax is added to the price of the price list (about 30%).
During my entire stay, I did not see any Russian-speaking hotel guide named Emil, although I periodically looked for him. Good help guide "Sunrise". Upon arrival, we bought a local SIM card through him, for $ 20, and called wherever we wanted and as much as we wanted.
In short, we enjoyed our holiday. This is a typical Indian quiet family vacation. I do not agree with the recent not so good reviews about this hotel. Maybe you just need to be more precise in asking the question “What do you expect from your vacation? ”
If you have any questions write, I will try to answer.
The hotel is the best in South Goa.
Of the minuses
- during the day and in the evening, our MIGs fly near the hotel - the audibility is exceptional ...
- crows - croak constantly, however, this is the misfortune of all hotels in South Goa ...
- often in the mornings and evenings you can hear the hum of railway trains ...
No more cons found.
pros
- security from machine gunners at the entrance to the hotel. On the beach and on the territory of the hotel, security guards go constantly, therefore, neither beggars, nor terrorists, nor merchants, nor any other random people were noticed on the territory of the hotel (which is not unimportant for such a poor, or, more precisely, a contrasting country like India).
- good cuisine. There were no poisonings. In 7 days I recovered by 3 kg, which is rare for India. Stomach upsets are common in other hotels. Here - no, you can even brush your teeth with tap water.
- warm sea, clean, well-groomed beach and hotel park.
- the absence of noisy parties in the territory and the absence of stoned youth - which is very noticeable in comparison with North Goa, where drugs of all kinds are at every turn.
- a very worthy contingent of vacationers - wealthy people from Europe, Russia and India. For example, on the first day, a large cluster of Maybachs was observed on the territory, which is unusual even for Moscow with its "show-offs".
- I really liked the room that we occupied - Junior Suites No. 242 with a sea view. Large living room, comfortable large bedroom, every 3 days - 3 apples in a basket and a dish with rose petals near the bath - pool. We rested in the room with great pleasure.
In summary, the hotel is a pleasant island among dirt, flowers, poverty, shacks of the poor and palaces of the local nobility, as well as other contrasts of India.
India itself did not impress. Thailand is much more interesting in terms of leisure and recreation.