Leela Palce or Taj Exotica in Goa
 

Any one been to either of these? Which one would you choose? Planning to go at the end of March for one week. Do you have any other suggestions.Want a relaxing beach holiday whith a splash of culture thrown in.Don't want to stay in a dead quiet resort.Many thanks.

Stayed at both. Both at one end of south Goa, far from everything. Of the 2 taj Exotica IMO. If u want to get a local flavour would suggest u re think both. Are ideal for a beachy resort hol where u do not move out of property much. North goa has more "local flavour" but not very nice beaches. Also look at Park Hyatt - not stayed there but heard it is the best new beach property in Goa.

I would pick the Leela just slightly over the Taj Exotica. Both needed a bit of a redo, IMO the last time I saw them, which was admittedly about 4 years ago. As noted above, the Park Hyatt is far and away the best hotel in Goa. As I recall, none f the rooms at the Leela are on the beach or face the beach, they are all on a lagoon. The Taj Exotica is older, and is not the top of the line brand of the Taj hotels. The Marriott is very nice and has a beautiful pool area and excellent staff; but it is not on the beach (it is on a river) and therefore is not as attractive to me.

Remember that a 5 star rating in India is basically meaningless and should not be taken as an indication of quality. It has more to do with room size and facilities (which may be in terrible condition but if they are present the hotel gets the rating) than they have to do with quality and service.

Cicerone, are u by any chance confusing Taj Exotica with the Taj Aguada? The Exotica is only about 3-4 years old and I have never heard this complaint from anyone. The Aguada on the other hand is desperately in need of refurbishing.

You can do both - Taj Exotica and the Leela Palace - since they are within short distance of one another. The Exotica is newer, has a sparkling marble lobby, but the Leela has a more grand and majestic feel overall.

I was at the Goa Park Hyatt last week for a day trip and I am ready to write them off now after a repeat dismal experience. The property physically is beautiful but I could see that just in a few months the lustre has worn off, no doubt due to poor upkeep and maintenance. But it is the restaurant service that is TERRIBLE. It was unbelievable: we, a group of 6, placed our order at 1 pm. The first entree arrived at 1.30 minus the rice which came 15 minutes later. Then nothing for another 30 minutes. We asked what was going on but got no definite response from any of the milling waiters. Although they never admitted it, I figured out what had happened. They simply lost our order! And didn't even have the sense to come and tell us. Our experience 6 months earlier was similar. The restaurant is staffed by clueless and rank amateurs with virtually no oversight. And they call this a world-class act? I intend writing to Hyatt International and letting them know of the goings-on at the Goa Park Hyatt.

The best hotel in Goa today is the Marriott in Panjim with its world-class service and can-do attitude of the staff. But it is more a business hotel than a secluded retreat.

Sorry, I must be confusing the two Taj hotels, as the one I saw four years ago was old at that time?

Sorry to hear that the Park Hyatt was a disappointment. I would have thought that would be the best choice in the area, and still may be compared to the others.

I agree about the Marriott, don't think it is really right for tourists, although the pool is nice.

Serpico, the above is one of the reasons it is hard to compare Goa to places like Phuket/Koh Samui and Langkawi which have been developed specifically for Western tourists.

Can also suggest a boutique hotel in Goa which gets rave reviews from people. Little secluded so not sure it fits your idea. Nilaya hermitage.