花園別墅(Garden Villa)

All in all it was nice. We first got to know the place by having breakfast at the café and really enjoyed the food there, so that why we decided to book two nights at the hotel. Food is really good and the pool was nice, although it was closed one out of the two days we stayed there. The room was spacious and clean enough. The minus points were the lack of AC (there is a fan on the ceiling but no proper AC) and also the way we got almost thrown out of the room. On trip.com it says the check out is supposed to be between 10:30 and 11:30, and at 09:45 somebody from the hotel already came knocking at our door! We were just packing our last items and told them we thought we still had some time, to what he answered the check out is at 10:00… he then stayed in front of the room until we were ready to leave! That did not feel good. Also the internet was very weak in our cottage in the back garden. Two problems that are easily solvable though. The hotel could make sure to change the check out time on trip. Com and get an extra router for the rooms in the back.

I stayed for five nights and paid 16,700 Indian Rupees, which is about 172 British Pounds. This means that I paid 34 Pounds per night. What did I get for 34 Pounds a night? Read below: “Hotel”?: It is NOT a hotel. Stop advertising it as a “hotel”. Reception: This is essentially the front house where the family that runs Garden Villa lives. You will not see anyone most of the time at the “reception” and will need to stand at the steps/entrance and look into the house expectantly and someone will come out and attend to you. That is reception for you. Garden: The “garden” is essentially a few patches of grass and a few average looking plants that grow nearly everywhere in Goa. If you are lucky, you will get a room that overlooks this “garden”. If you are not lucky, you will have a view overlooking a back street, or worse. Swimming Pool: Don’t be fooled by the swimming pool. It is a really small and shallow pool in open air – let us face it, Indians don’t have much of a swimming pool tradition/culture. The pool is about 10-15 meters from a very dusty and busy road. The pool is not covered so you can imagine dust, bird droppings, debris from trees, and heavens know what, fall into the pool. During my five-days stay, I did not see anyone cleaning it. I saw only once someone using it - a group of young Indian men having what looked like a bath. WiFi: Poor and intermittent. I would not say more. Room: Utterly utterly average room with a double bed, a table, a coat hanger, a TV (see below), a mirror, and small bucket as a dustbin (see photos). Absolutely nothing else. TV: NO FREE CHANNELS. TV was not connected to any network or cable in my room. I needed to ask the reception three times to come and connect it with cable, dish, or anything. They finally put a plug-in device (a kind or WiFi access point), which enabled the TV to receive Amazon Prime, Netflix, and some Indian channels. BUT you must pay for them. They are NOT free. Mattress and pillow: Utterly poor quality and old mattress and pillow, which hadn’t been well maintained and cleaned. The Garden Villa ***agement tried to cover the old mattress with a foam cover which was a little short and shrunk at the corners (see photos). Bathroom: Probably the worst bathroom you will get for 34 British Pounds a night. Toilet was old and rickety, paint was peeling off the walls and also off the rusty toilet door. Sink, taps, and mirror were looked uncleaned with signs of mould (or mold). Fridge: NO FRIDGE IN THE ROOM. Again, in most hotels you will find a fridge but not at Garden Villa. If you are in Goa, you cannot do without a fridge. It is very warm and hot throughout the year, and you will badly miss a fridge. But sadly rooms come with NO FRIDGE. Room service: You will need to ask the “reception” for someone to come around and clean the room. If you don’t ask, no-one is going to come around. Restaurant: No restaurant at Garden Villa. If you want a tea, coffee or a quick snack, you will need to walk o