Cozy, clean hotel in an uncomfortable country

Written: 17 february 2015
Travel time: 28 january — 8 february 2015
Who does the author recommend the hotel to?: For a relaxing holiday; For families with children
Your rating of this hotel:
7.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms: 7.0
Service: 5.0
Cleanliness: 7.0
Food: 3.0
Amenities: 4.0
We rested at the Casa de Cris from 28.01 to 8.02. 2015 hosted by Minar. For the first time in Goa, so the review is long.
Flight
If you do not want to wait at the airport for 4.5 hours, arrive no earlier than 2 hours before the scheduled departure - Fly Dubai constantly delays flights. Luggage packing: Kyiv (Zhulyany) - 2 dollars, Dabolim 200 rupees. In Dabolim, the baggage must be cleared, a sticker about it must be obtained and tied with a tightening tape.
Fly Dubai food is inedible. You must either take your food in your hand luggage, or eat in the cafe of the Dubai transit hall. Cost of 0.5l of water: Zhulyany - 1 USD; Dabolim - 50 rupees. ; duty free Dubai - 1 AED.

On each of the 4 planes there were from 40 to 100 empty seats - do not believe that there are no round trip air tickets. At Dabolim Airport, they scan the iris and take fingerprints - this is a very long time. On the way back, they checked for fingerprints. Rupees can be exchanged for dollars at Dubai airport at the rate of 400 rupees. = $5 + 3 AED. When exchanging dollars
on the rupee in Dabolim you will be deceived. There are a lot of fake 100.200 and 500 rupees going around in Goa. bills (real ones should have a vertical green dashed stripe).
Number
Manager Tony in 15 minutes. after arriving at the hotel, at 9-00 local time, he himself took the suitcase to the 4th floor in room 304, and we went for breakfast. Breakfast at the hotel 8-30 ...10-00, i. e. late - inconvenient. Everyone in the hotel was very friendly and helped us in everything, in particular, we called guides and travel agents at the reception many times, always free of charge.
On the 2-4 floors of the hotel there are 27 rooms (9 on each). The numbering is such that numbers 304 and 309 are next to each other, and these are the numbers farthest from the reception. Extract from the bathroom of some rooms into the common corridor, from others - through the outer wall of the building (danger of mosquitoes).
The room in the room is 4.5x4 m, it has a large double bed, two bedside tables, LCD TV 42 '(no Russian channels), a small refrigerator, a wardrobe, one soft chair.
The safe was small with a digital control, but it was turned off and the safe was opened with a key. We didn't keep any money in it. Condensate flows into the bathroom from the air conditioners of rooms 303 and 304 - there are puddles of water.
For making tea/coffee there is an electric kettle, 1 cup, 2 saucers, 1 teaspoon, two glass glasses. Upon arrival 1 liter of water + tea bag. Room cleaning 10-00 ...12-00 (they clean 3 people qualitatively, the animals were not twisted). Near the hotel there are 5 restaurants, many shops and 2 mini markets.
After a power outage, after about 20 minutes. , the diesel generator located opposite the hotel turns on loudly. Music in restaurants around sounds until 23-00, and often until midnight. Russian speakers and English speakers lived in the hotel.
Breakfast

Mike's place restaurant across the street from the hotel. Dispersed by waiters. It is very scarce: tea (0.5 l for two) / coffee, juice 150 gr. (orange / pineapple), two toasts, boiled eggs / scrambled eggs / fried eggs, a bag of butter, a bag of jam, 2 bags of sugar each.
Beach
It is about 700 m, walk 10 minutes. on asphalt. There is a short passage to the beach through a gap in the barbed wire at the beginning of the Luisa by the sea shopping gallery and further through a wasteland along private territory (the gap is sometimes covered with branches).
On the beach 14 nis. Until you get tanned and become familiar, merchants will cling to you everywhere, and in shek they will demand 400-600 rupees for sunbeds. You can stay in a shek for 1 bottle of sealed water bought in it - 30 rupees. If the next day they demand that you pay 600 rupees. , or dined in this shek - go to another shek. They demand money or dine only in the morning, in the evening you can lie on sunbeds for free.
The stories of tourists about which shek is better are surprising - let's discuss what is more useful: arsenic or strychnine. There is no running water in sheks, cooks do not wash their hands, dishes are washed together with food in the same bowl of muddy water - “welcome” to shek.
We ate at Mike's place restaurant - more expensive than shek, but had no stomach problems.
Vacationers on the beach are middle-aged and elderly people. A small number of small children. There are few Indians - they mostly eat on weekends or in the evening.
The beach is very wide - especially at low tide. Swimming is hampered by periodically going large waves, striving to turn you over.
If you walk along the beach to the south, then in 40 minutes. you can walk to the end of Mabor beach and to the bay into which the Sal river flows - there are a lot of crabs, cormorants and black herons.
In the north, in about 1 hour, along an almost deserted beach, you can walk to the Ramada Caravelle hotel and the water entertainment center. There is a similar center in the southern part of Cavelossim beach behind Seaway’s beach shake.
Village of Cavelossim

Mosquitoes everywhere - we were bitten on the beach, in the restaurant, and at the hotel reception. In Cavelossim, everything is concentrated along the main street.
There are 4 supermarkets - the biggest one is D'MELLO in the basement at the northern end of the village. There is also a pharmacy. The dollar exchange rate is 61 ...62 rupees. (how you bargain). Cows have never been seen in the village or on the beach. Although there are more than enough dogs on the beach.
Near each store, merchants beckon inside. You have to answer "No, you don't". If you say "later" - tomorrow they will pester with tripled force. Prices are overpriced by 3-4 times. So a cashmere scarf from 800-1000 rupees. fell to 300 rupees. T-shirt 500 rupees - up to 150 rupees.
Colva village
We took a taxi to the neighboring village of Kolva (25-30 min ride, 700 rupees - cheaper taxi drivers did not agree). There are a lot of people there, noisy, very dirty, there is not a single supermarket. But there is a travel agency "Dream" and "Meeting Point Travel" in which Russian-language excursions are conducted at prices much lower than those of the host (I can tell you their phone numbers).
Tours
With the host, we went for 2 days to Hampi ($190/person). - I liked it very much. Nuance - only 2 breakfasts are included.
Moreover, we spent the night at the Krishna Palace Hotel, and at 2 am a diesel generator turned on in it so that the whole hotel was shaking. At 3 o'clock in the morning we had to move to room 4007 a little longer from the noise - there we were bitten by bedbugs.
Nuance: meeting the dawn. It takes place around 7:00 in the winter. No need to go to him from the hotel at 5-50 - will be 40 minutes. freeze on a rock in the wind.
The guide showed the active Hindu temple of Shiva below the ruins of Hampi after sunset, that is, at night, when nothing is visible. At our request, we again watched it during the day - you need to watch this temple only during the day. Guide "Minar" Irina conducted the tour very well.

We went with a taxi driver: Shantadurga temple, Palolem beach, Cola beach temple, Cola beach, Cabo de Rama fort. We agreed: we drive for 6 hours (8-00 ...14-00), the price is 2700 rupees. We had to leave earlier - at 7-00. Pololem beach 40 min. rode around the sea bay and fed the eagles - 800 rupees. from two
It takes 20-25 minutes to go to the Cola beach from the asphalt. in the sun, and the taxi driver demanded an additional payment of 200 rupees.
for transportation to the beach, but only drove to the parking lot in front of the checkpoint, from where it takes about 15 minutes to get to the beach. It is necessary to agree that the taxi driver would drive to the lower parking lot (it is unguarded) from which it is 5 minutes to the beach. The road to Cola Beach goes along red sand - shoes and legs are covered with red, poorly washed off dust. Cola beach is very beautiful and almost wild.
Prices in Cavelossim:
Watermelon (2 kg) - 80 rupees. (not very tasty);
Pineapple (medium) - 50 rupees;
Tomatoes (1 kg) - 20-40 rupees. ;
Bananas (16 pieces) - 40-60 rupees;
Rum Old Monk - 36 rupees. (0.18 l), / 160 rupees (0.75l)
Brandy Honey bee - 160 rupees. (0.75 l)
Beer Kingfisher 5% - 57 rupees (0.65 l)
Dry red wine Madera 12% (not to be confused with fortified Madera) - 299 rupees. (0.75l)
Wine Port 14% (0.75 l) - 85 ...199 rupees. depending on the year of manufacture and manufacturer.
Sliced ​ ​ bread (0.3 kg) - 20-23 rupees.
Juice in a package - 80-100 rupees. (1l).
Prices for drinks and alcohol are stamped on the bottles by the manufacturer. If you have any questions - write to sk_lora@ukr. net, I will answer.
From Goa, there were mixed impressions.
Very dirty, unpleasant, constantly deceiving the local population, mosquitoes gnaw all the time, muddy water in a restless ocean. Problems with electricity and sunbeds on the beach. That is, relaxation from such a holiday should not be expected. On the other hand, a good hotel, beautiful nature and interesting monuments.

Alexander.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original