37 Best Hotels in Goa, India

Right in the middle of acres of tropical foliage and within shouting distance of the sands of Candolim beach, this handsome and sprawling property provides an excellent base from which to explore North Goa. One large, five-bedroom villa, three two-bedroom cottages, and two Portuguese bungalows make up Aashyana Lakhanpal. The main villa is light, bright, and modern, with slate-lined water bodies and plush cream sofas. The double-bedded suites are furnished tastefully, with four-poster beds, modern art, and outdoor bathtubs in some, and private outdoor spaces in all. The casinhas are less trendy, but still lovely, with brightly colored open-air bathrooms and stone floors. Staff are extremely solicitous and on-hand to organize everything from massages to water sports or trips to the old town. There is a four-night minimum stay, which edges up to a seven-night minimum stay in peak season.

Overlooking verdant rice plantations and the Arabian Sea, the Alila Goa is a cool open oasis of dark pitched roofs, breezy verandas, and serene courtyards. The first Indian venture for the Alila luxury chain, this stylish 12-acre resort is designed to soothe and indulge—whether through pampering ayurvedic or Balinese spa treatments, lounging by its lovely sea-facing infinity pool, going on custom local tours and activities, or catching a flick at its minimovie theater. The rooms all come with balconies and are fully loaded with modern luxury and high-tech amenities, including 40-inch LCD televisions. A shuttle service takes guests to and from nearby Cansolim Beach from sunrise until just after sunset.

This six-story high-rise beachfront hotel is a good choice for those needing easy access to the airport, but not much else. Its chief assets are its big, bright rooms, every one with a direct view of the rolling ocean.

A casino, a fusion Indian-Mediterranean restaurant, and a Polynesian eatery on the beach add to the mix of this cheery beachfront resort, which is spread out over 23 acres. The atrium lobby is a fusion of cathedral and piazza, with wrought-iron garden benches and huge arches and beams.

History, style, and attitude combine to make spending time in this 200-year-old Portuguese mansion turned boutique hotel a pleasure. Artfully put together public and private spaces feature stenciled walls with whimsical architectural details throughout, and the open-air lobby has high ceilings and comfortable old-world upholstered couches. A rooftop bar and restaurant serves Goan and continental dishes amid cool breezes and views of the countryside. Each of the guest rooms (some of which have balconies overlooking the garden or pool) is furnished with antique Goan and Balinese furniture, four-poster beds, and one-of-a-kind bedspreads.

This rambling, boutique hotel is one of the best places to stay in Baga—the lively beach scene is only a few minutes' walk away, and the friendly staff treat you like family, making up for any upkeep deficits. Open-air public spaces, including the lobby and bar, have private seating areas sheltered by varying levels of lush landscaping. Each room is different in size and character, so see what is available at check-in before settling in; choose a second-floor room for more privacy and better views. The finish in the bathrooms isn't very high-spec, but you're paying for location and for the cool, boutique-ey vibe. The restaurant specializes in Goan and Italian food.

Loutolim's laid-back charm is captured in Norman and Carol Steele's warm and inviting country inn, with its lovely rooms and great home-cooked food. Relaxation is the order of the day, and the well-landscaped 1½ acres have some delightful nooks and crannies to do exactly this. There's also the lively pool area, with colorful Rajasthani accents and an innovative jungle shower. The couple is happy to share maps for nearby nature walks as well as arrange any other trips. Six dogs and six cats are on the premises, but the pets are obedient and in general stay out of the way.

Perched on a hillside high above the Arabian Sea, this smart and stylish contemporary hotel overlooks the wild beauty of Vagator Beach, which guests can reach by following a winding path that descends rather sharply. White leather sofas, glass tables, and designer lighting complete the look of the dining room and bar. The guest rooms have sleek built-ins, spare modern art on the walls, and comfortable beds. An open-air terrace bar is a lovely viewing spot for a dramatic sunsets.

Suited to Palolem's long-term backpackers, Ciaran’s has evolved over the years from beachfront, coco palm--thatched huts into proper cottages, all with an individual veranda and set around a small garden. Don't expect luxurious amenities, but rooms are clean and well-maintained, and visitors tend to spend most of their time on the beach, just outside their doors, anyway. It is also probably the most popular of the local bunch, so make sure to book well in advance. There is free Wi-Fi, affordable massages on request, and a restaurant with fresh, barbecued seafood.

On a dense coconut plantation, just a two-minute walk (about 500 yards) from Bogmalo Beach and a 3-km (2-mile) drive from Dabolim Airport, this charming little resort with spotless, airy rooms, and a small swimming pool is run by friendly staff. Unlike many of Goa's midrange resorts, it succeeds in creating a mellow vibe, despite the occasional noise of planes from a nearby Indian Airforce base.

On a 500-yard-long spit of outstretched private land, surrounded on three sides by the waters of the Arabian Sea and Otter Creek, this beautiful, small property has attentive service and comprises four elegant beach houses and three tents that are separated from the mainland by the saltwater creek—access is via a private bamboo footbridge. The beach houses sleep between two and six persons, depending on the house; each tent sleeps two in a double four-poster bed. The property is closed May through September.

In a quiet location off the main road near Candolim, this resort from the Fortune Hotels group resembles a classy Portuguese mansion and is competent and professional in its service and facilities. The property overlooks verdant rice fields and an imposing whitewashed church behind busy Candolim. A free shuttle service transports guests to nearby Candolim Beach, and the busy Calangute stretch is a short taxi ride away. All rooms come with balconies—ask for a pool-facing one.

Walk into the lovely sea-facing lobby, where you can watch and listen to the crash of waves along the rocky shores, and you will find it hard to leave this upscale Western chain hotel with all the plush trimmings expected in a five-star establishment. The rooms are elegantly furnished in a contemporary style—try the bay-view rooms for sea-facing balconies. The lounge, a coffee shop during the day, becomes a popular nightclub on weekends. It's just a few minutes on foot to the beach, although this is very much a city hotel, not a resort.

The chief advantage of this international chain is its uniform service and friendly vibe, and the private access to Mobor Beach is a blessing after the crowded beaches of North Goa. Spread over 25 acres, the hotel has a large pool that encourages long, all-day soaks, a poolside bar with excellent snacks, and comfortable, if generic, rooms. It's also a popular wedding venue, and there are plenty of colorful, if loud, weddings here during the November--January wedding season.

This hotel occupies a 200-year-old restored Portuguese country house on an inland lane, and its small pool, lush garden, and simple, well-maintained rooms make it a well-priced place to stay in Anjuna. The multicuisine restaurant is a step up from the shack restaurants that line the beach. (Though "granpa" [sic] himself is long gone, and the place has changed management, the name has stuck as a mark of respect.)

At the corner of a crowded intersection on the bustling 18th June Road, this landmark business hotel offers all the amenities you'd expect at relatively reasonable prices, and with the convenience of being in the center of town. With multiple restaurants and decent meeting facilities, the lobby buzzes with a stream of hotel guests and locals. The guest rooms lack personality.

A 10-minute walk from the beach, this quiet spot with elegant, minimalist cottages is in a tree-lined residential area. The cottages, each with one or two bedrooms, have soft lighting, entertainment areas with divans, and pretty blue bathrooms. The resort has an attractive pool, plenty of greenery, and a quiet restaurant if you don't want to trek to the other restaurants down the road.

At this old Colva favorite, right on the beach, all rooms come with balconies and are comfortable and reasonably priced. If you don't want to eat at A Tartaruga, the in-house restaurant, you can take your pick from dozens of shack restaurants close by. The hotel is about a kilometer from the crowded village.

A restored Portuguese villa with clean rooms and antique furniture, this heritage guesthouse is a popular place among those who know Goa well, and it's only about half a kilometer from here down to Sinquerim Beach. Rooms are sunny and bright, and many overlook a charming garden. It is on one of North Goa's narrowest lanes, behind the massive Taj resorts.

Roughly translated "a hidden dwelling," Nilaya is aptly named: this hip, hilltop retreat away from the beaches is etched out of laterite stone and enhanced with mosaic and ceramic tiles in a Goa-meets-Gaudi tableau. It's so remote that visitors who choose to leave the hotel will require taxis to do almost anything. But there are heavy incentives to stay: silk-lined daybeds by the pool, healthy and flavorsome food and drink, an excellent cocktail list, and an elevated view of the distant sea. For your guestroom, you can choose a suite or a tent; all have double beds. For a decadent day trip, ask about the property's beautiful 65-foot dhow (a teak sailing vessel) that can take you up the Chapora River.

Travelers who appreciate a sense of place love the warmth of the Panjim Inn, a unique hotel in the center of historic Fontainhas that was built in the late 1800s and incorporates the former family home of the owner, Ajit Sukhija. Half of the rooms are in the former residence, and these are more basic (and priced a bit lower) than the remainder in the adjoining wing, which have a bit more space and river views. In addition to a quiet restaurant on the veranda, there's an airy breakfast and dining area inside that's decorated in sleek black and white; it's the perfect place to enjoy the inn's Goan seafood specials, read the paper, or simply escape from the chaos of Panaji's traffic.

The four spacious and beautiful antiques-furnished rooms in this historic annex of the Panjim Inn, with their four-poster beds, carved rosewood dressers, and plenty of windows, are a reminder of the times when colonial homes stood along the banks of the river. The mosaic tile floors and walls of the bathrooms resemble a crazy quilt and were designed by local artists. There's an art gallery on the ground floor. Guests use the restaurant and public rooms of the Panjim Inn, just across the street.

In the very top bracket of the Goa resorts, the modern and sleek, 45-acre Hyatt has spacious rooms, great dining, an excellent spa, a library with 1,500 titles, a minitheater where you can watch movies, and the largest swimming pool in India (21,527 square feet). The thoroughly luxurious spa houses body scrub and massage suites, hydrotherapy facilities, steam rooms, and well-trained staff; it offers a full range of ayurvedic treatments. The sprawling group of restaurants in the hotel's food "village" adjacent to its expansive lobby covers a broad spectrum of cuisines, including Goan specialties (Casa Sarita), North and South Indian cuisine (Masala), and wood-fire pizzas and pasta (Da Luigi). Praia de Luz, a wine and tapas bar overlooking the Arabian Sea, is one of the highlights here.

Several blocks from the street noise of Rua de Ourem, this vintage and stylish property built around a central garden courtyard is noted for being one of the few Hindu homes in a predominantly Catholic neighborhood. It is furnished with elegant antique cupboards and teak and rosewood four-poster beds. Guests can dine and take advantage of the services of the Panjim Inn, which is a two-minute walk away.

Less than a kilometer from the beach (a complimentary shuttle bus makes regular beach runs), this beautiful boutique hotel built of laterite (a local red pitted stone) is far enough from the noise but close enough to be part of the action when you want it. It has old Portuguese floor tiles and an abundant, leafy garden, giving it an earthiness and warmth that's especially welcome in this overcrowded part of town. The rooms, all suites, are well designed, with paintings, sculpture, and custom colonial-style furniture. Each has its own private dining area and patio, with a detached garden or terrace. A complimentary shuttle bus makes regular beach runs.

For the old-world charm of an aristocratic family home, stay at this elegant Portuguese villa on the south bank of the Chapora River, now converted into an all-suites boutique hotel. Bought in 1996 and beautifully restored, this old mansion has huge airy bedrooms impeccably furnished with antiques, and spacious bathrooms, ornately decorated common areas, and a lovely courtyard at its center. A new bridge across the Chapora makes it easy to get to the beaches north of the river in Pernem, as long as you have a car or bicycle—it's about 6 to 7 km (4 miles) from Siolim House to the Pernem beaches.

Set in a Portuguese family home in one of North Goa's most charming villages, Sunbeam is owned by Indian stylist Jivi Sethi, whose lively, unabashed approach to design is seen throughout the property. Unexpected elements include a mirror-lined massage parlor, Goan antiques alongside modern Indian accents, and a colorful swimming pool featuring a not-at-all-subtle phallic fountain. Sethi's staff is attentive and the kitchen sends out wonderful food, from complex European fare and Thai food to homey Goan and simple breakfasts, all to be savored in the fuchsia-papered dining room.

Beside tranquil Benaulim Beach, well away from the mass-tourist clutter of Colva, is one of the most attractive places to stay in South Goa---and where the staff is kind and the rooms are spacious, too. You can opt for a villa with an outdoor private pool or one with a hot tub overlooking the Arabian Sea; all have shady verandas looking out onto the golf course and sea. The lobby has gleaming marble floors and spotless white sofas. The spa offers ayurvedic treatments as well as Western massage therapies. In addition to a fine-dining Goan restaurant and a more casual all-day restaurant with an Italian bent, there's a lobster shack just above the beach.

You may find your peace and quiet here: this large resort has an experienced and calm staff, thus lacking the frantic-to-please service typical of some other hotels in Goa; plus there's a marble lobby with lots of quiet corners for relaxing. But you can also join the activities afoot. There's an expansive swimming pool with a swim-up bar, an open-air Jacuzzi, a waterslide, and a 10-foot-deep area for beginner-grade scuba divers.

They don't get much bigger than this sprawling 85-acre resort with spacious rooms and a 9-hole golf course lining the banks of the Talpona River on the south side. The expansive colonial-Portuguese-inspired lobby, bookended by grand staircases on either end, leads into 14 interconnecting chambers, making it sometimes disorienting to find your way Rooms start at about 600 square feet and come with lots of luxury touches; several overlook the manicured lawns. There are lots of water-sports activities, sunset cruises, fishing, and yoga on the banks of the river—all good options given its isolated location down south.