Miramar Beach, Panjim, Goa 403001, India
One of the highlights of India’s southwest coastline is the laid-back, popular beach town, Goa. This unique and sought-after holiday destination was a former Portuguese colony. We found Goa to be an interesting destination because it was so different from other cities we visited in India. Its uniqueness comes from its location and many foreign influences dating back to colonial times.
We flew from Mumbai to Goa on an easy, 45 minute flight on IndiGo Airlines. Before our arrival, we communicated with Marriott Goa about our arrival. This property has a complimentary airport shuttle to and from Goa Airport.
Our friendly driver was on time, waiting for us as we left the airport with our name printed on a white board. We grabbed our bags and loaded up the clearly marked Marriott Goa Resort van. The 40-minute car ride to the resort from the airport was pleasant with mostly smooth roads. The driver had some American music on the radio and spoke English very well. He gave us a few insights about Goa on our ride and pointed out a few interesting spots on the route.
We were greeted warmly at the Marriott Goa Resort driveway. After going through security, we were assigned a special guest relations representative. She acknowledged our Platinum Elite Status and promptly brought us to our suite. We were upgraded!
We liked that we were checked in from our room and not at the front desk lobby. Our agent talked about the property and all the amenities as she brought us to the room. She also went over important details like when free drinks and appetizers are served. She took our passports and credit card from the room, scanned them, and brought them back shortly thereafter.
The room was beautiful! The hotel staff went out of their way to put rose petals on our bed and to draw a hot bath before we arrived…it was still hot! They must have timed the hot bath with the driver’s arrival time…An impressive touch, and we enjoyed the relaxing bath after our morning of travel.
The bed was comfortable. The room was clean. Everything met or exceeded our expectations.
The room had an ocean view with a veranda and it was amazing! We really enjoyed having our own private outside area with a lounge chair. Plus, it was an easy way to get from our room to the pool.
After settling into our room, we decided to head out to the pool for some relaxation time and enjoy the Goa beachfront. The pool was lively with upbeat music playing. There were families, couples, and groups of friends hanging out and enjoying the resort.
The happy hour drinks and appetizers were served in the resort’s lobby lounge. They had a surprisingly nice spread of food. We had a few cocktails and bites while watching a cricket match being shown on television. During the afternoon, the lobby lounge offered complimentary teas and coffee.
Unfortunately, during our stay, our camera was lost or stolen. The staff was very helpful and offered to search the room and hotel for the missing camera. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn up, so that was a bummer. We were more upset about all the photos we lost from the SD card than we were about losing the camera itself. Luckily, we had taken a few photos on our phones. Next time, we will backup the SD card more frequently…Lesson learned.
Complimentary breakfast met expectations. The buffet offered many of the same selections that we sampled at other Marriotts in India. The chef and manager of the restaurant were quite attentive and personally delivered some house specialities. We couldn’t remember the name of a certain dish we liked, so we pulled up a photo we took on our phone. They knew exactly what it was and made one for us! Great service!
During breakfast, a live two man band walked around playing some familiar “Western” songs. It added a very nice touch.
Pros:
Complimentary airport pickup and dropoff.
Great customer service.
Nice location on the water.
Complimentary breakfast and cocktail hour.
Central location to all attractions
Cons:
No executive lounge.
Possible security issue with our missing camera.
Overall: Exceeded expectations
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