Taj Holiday Village

I spent a weekend at Taj holiday village this December 2011. The resort sits on a huge beautiful property with several private cottages. For the most part, I enjoyed the hotel but there were a few features that made it less then 4 stars in my eyes (compared to US hotel standards)... -The buildings seem old and although clean and well kept, the place could use renovating. The rooms are very standard. -The beach in front of the hotel has been destroyed by monsoons... You have to walk down on the beach a ways to find a good spot to spend the day. -The restaurants and bars close early. Not much to do right on the resort at night. -I tried the room service once and wasn't impressed with the quality. Mediocre at best. Still a good place to go with children and families and a quick ride to Baga and other Goa activities. I would recommend the hotel to others with the criticisms above. It was my first time in Goa and I'm inexperienced with India travel so I really don't have much to compare it to in the area.

The hotel is located on a very tastefully done and scenic property. Rooms come with a private garden with hammocks etc in place - are decent size and have all the amenities you require. The on-premise restaurants are good and located on the edge of the cliff offering superb views. However, there are some excellent (and cheaper) dining options within a half mile radius of the hotel as well so if you are staying long enough, step out and explore the area. The best thing about staying at a Taj hotel is the service and here too it is exceptional. Particularly, the staff at the child care center was outstanding. Only dampener is the oil tanker stranded off the beach which spoils the view somewhat

I only had 48 hours in Goa. I had called ahead to confirm that I could have early check in because my flight was slated to arrive early morning. I even offered to buy an extra night earlier to ensure that I would have a room upon arrival, but they insisted that would not be necessary. When I arrived they had no room, no apology, no recognition that this is unacceptable, and they sent me to their buffet to spend 1300 rupee on a breakfast I really didn't want so that I could kill some time while they tried to dig up a room. After burning 90 minutes of my limited time in Goa I was informed that I wouldn't have my room for another 5 hours, and that they hope I have a novel to read!! If I wanted to read a novel I certainly could have done it at less than U$S260/night! At least they have consistency going for them at the Taj Holiday Village; the "service" followed the exact same pattern of deficiency throughout the whole stay. Not even a "thank you" after handing them $900 total for my 2 days there. Just to take a fair sample (and out of sheer curiosity) I went to the restaurant at the Mumbai location and received the same brand of poor service. To be completely fair though, the food was good and ambience in both places was decent.