When I was choosing a luxury hotel to stay at in Goa, I had to consider many options. Was it better to stay in the South or the North? Did it have extensive facilities for us to use? Especially as Goa is a place you go to relax, although there are some smashing cultured things to do. What did other people think of the hotel? I couldn’t find many blogger reviews between the Park Hyatt in South Goa and Marriott in Panjim, North Goa so I had to go on TripAdvisor reviews instead. However, the thing that pushed me over to the Marriott wasn’t only the extensive facilities, but also the location. Panjim is the capital of Goa which meant local shops and restaurants stayed open later and it was a more centrally located hotel in order to get to the airport and all the sights.
Waking to the bright light seeping through the soft curtains on our first morning Goa, I was excited to discover the beautiful hotel resort and exotic view from my bedroom. As soon as you stepped out onto the balcony, you were greeted by the warm Goan air – this is India’s paradise.
I’ve never ever been let down by a hotel breakfast before and as it is one of my favourite things about staying in hotels and travelling, I was super excited to see the breakfast selection on offer at Marriott Goa.
The breakfast selection was extensive to say the least. From freshly cut fruit to fried eggs, parsley potato wedges and beans. There was also various live stations where the chefs would make something for you. You could get fresh waffles and pancakes or even an array of dosas, including the much loved masala dosa.
You could always find the smiley and ever so sweet pastry chef, Samantha at the pancake and waffle station ready to make you something special.
It being in the middle of December and with Christmas only a matter of days away, she was creating some of the finest looking (and tasting) Christmas pancakes. How adorable is the snowman pancake she made? Not long after she creating me a Christmas Tree pancake and by special request, a beautiful butterfly pancake for my sister.
When I made it outside for breakfast, I was just mesmerised by the inviting poolside setting that was laid out with bright yellow sun loungers, a large blue water pool with views across Miramar Beach.
I was ready for my much needed relaxation for the next five days. Dip in the pool, cocktails, coconuts, delicious food and laying in the blazing hot sun. This was how I intended on spending my time at Marriott Goa.
My favourite thing about the poolside area was the pool bar that served you drinks straight to you in the pool. Just take a perch on one of the water stools and enjoy. Absolute perfection!
I’m a huge fan of having some time in the spa on relaxing breaks, especially as a deep tissue full body massage and help iron out all the knots and stress points that are present in the body. Marriott Goa’s spa had great facilities such as a sauna, jacuzzi, gym with a yoga area for daily classes and a large range of treatments.
I thoroughly enjoyed my deep tissue massage, where my masseuse went the extra mile to ensure that I left as relaxed and tension free as possible.
Every time we popped back to our room post-cleaning, we were greeted by some of the cutest towel art on our beds. Our regular housekeeper was Moresh who left us a different piece of towel art on our beds everyday.
How talented?! I would love to learn how to do towel art, especially as they were all so unique. Our rooms were never left without a trail of fresh rose petals in our bathrooms and bedrooms – such a lovely touch.
We got the chance to experience the true Goan sunset as we popped down for dinner one evening. It was a total ‘pinch me’ moment. I’ve heard so many great things about Goa’s sunsets, but this truly was a magical, magical moment.
The Marriott Goa has 3 main restaurants, of which we tried two – Simply Grills and The Waterfront restaurant. The Waterfront restaurant is more of your all-round style dining that is served in a buffet style with different stations like they have at breakfasts, but in this case these were pasta, pizza and stir fry stations.
However, there was an option to order a few dishes off the a la carte menu, which we decided to do instead of the buffet.
We started with Thai spiced prawns and chicken satay skewers. The prawns were rather flavoursome but I much preferred the chicken satay skewers with the creamy, peanut sauce.
For our mains, we tried the dum biryani and the Goan chicken curry. The Goan curry was delicious, full of flavour and exotic spices with a lovely creamy sauce – absolutely divine. The biryani was good but I have had better in my opinion.
The waterfront restaurant also do a smashing Sunday brunch with live entertainment and plenty of your favourite boozy beverages. There is a variety of South Indian dishes and other cuisines served, but the street food style food is a must try, especially the Pani Puri and sweet Jelabi.
We had experience Simply Grills twice during our stay at Marriott Goa. It’s known as their premium restaurant that is situated on a boardwalk style setting that overlooked the beach and the pool either side.
Our first experience at the restaurant was amazing, we ordered some dessert after we came back from eating at a local Goan restaurant and were looked after really well and had a fantastic evening. Our second experience was terrible, they didn’t have any of the wines we wanted, the food was not cooked well, service was inattentive and the restaurant wasn’t even busy that evening like the previous one. I was rather disappointed that the food was more enjoyable at the Waterfront than their prized possession restaurant, Simply Grills. I think Marriott Goa need to work on their staff and food quality if they are going to continue calling it what they already do.
Overall, our 5 night stay at Marriott Goa was great. It gave us as a much needed break with lots of sun and fun, but I have to say there are a few minor issues that need to be ironed out. Otherwise, it is probably one of the best hotels available in North Goa.
Until next time…
