FAR FROM GOOD. Review on Kenilworth Resort & Spa, Goa

After hearing numerous positive things about Goa, I went there with my family for a short vacation. Sadly, I did not come back raving and ranting about the hotel or the place.

I would like to begin with the hotel ........

We booked a festivity package for 3 pax for 3 days for Rs.24,800 ...

A full fare return ticket per head costed Rs.13000/-

We were entitled to many things which you can check out on their site.

I will list a few things here......

1. The airport pickup was well in time and no waiting was necessary. Decent vehicle too.

   
   




2. Welcome drink was given but failed to be welcoming, it was hardly cold and refreshing, given the climate of Goa.

   
   




3. The room was spacious and well appointed. Good view from the balcony and a huge comfy bed. But it not ready for 3 pax. 2 each of towels, cups, glasses etc. were placed as is customary with twin sharing basis. This mistake was repeated again and again thru out the stay. The house keeping insisted on replenishing only for 2 pax.

   
   




4. Fruit basket was deleted as good fruits are not av. in Goa. Instead, chocolate drops were given.

   
   




5. The complimentary half day tour covered Mangeshi temple, Old Goa Church, Panjim shopping and Mandovi ferry ride. One word for the whole thing- pathetic. Not the hotel fault that Goa has nothing else to offer. Temple pujari is in a hurry to send off the devotees tirupati style. One cannot even stand in peace and offer prayers, that too in off-season. The church was just ok, like any other Indian heritage site-ill kept and asking for maintenance. Panjim shopping had nothing much to offer, thanks to the “off season.”

   
   

The ferry ride took the cake. The musical show was so jarring to the ears. It does not have any class nor quality in its presentation or the setup. But of course the junta went gaga over the recent hits of Himesh Reshmmiya and were gyrating to the tunes of the famous crooner. The crowd was sure enjoying, but I was sitting with a pained expression at being herded like this in a small ferry boat, which does nothing to show the famous spots of Goa from the river. In fact they are more inclined to turn in as many passengers as possible in a day. But, one thing was good, the loo was spotlessly clean.

Maybe, I have been spoilt silly by the numerous trips abroad and mentally do a comparison between my experience there and here.

It is cheaper to go to Bangkok and Pattaya and stay, and sight seeing thrown in also works out cheaper and more satisfying. Not to mention the international exposure and the mind blowing sight seeing and entertainment which keeps any one from 5 to 80 in a trance. A ticket to Bangkok is around Rs. 15000/- + visa and around Rs. 3000 for a hotel stay. Sri Lanka is also not that expensive.

In off season, Goa is a dead place. At least this was my experience. It was raining, so the beaches were dangerous and no water sports were happening. The markets wore a dead look and a few shacks were selling bad quality Kashmiri and Rajasthani handicrafts. Actually, there was nothing to do in Goa as such due to OFF SEASON. I have not seen this in foreign destinations. They are always in ON SEASON mode and keep on churning out new things to bring the tourists back. Something should be done to lure the tourist thru out the year, as the foreign tourist is always dying for a slice of Indian culture.

1. Coming back to the hotel.....

The property itself is so lovely. They have huge green, well manicured lawns. One feels drawn to the untouched beauty of the lawns. It boasts of a very good swimming pool with an attached open air Jacuzzi. Again very well maintained. They also have a good gym, baddy court, disc, casino and slot machines. All on small scale, but enough to do time pass. The attached beach is neat and clean. Their spa is also very good and offers ayurvedic, Balinese, Swedish massages etc.I would like to point out here that what ever activity that was not covered in the package was not at all expensive and we were able to spend in the casino, pool table and the slot machines without feeling the pinch.

1. The food is nothing to write much about. The package includes all 3 meals. But the spread is not much to mention. Non veg people would be quite disappointed. There is not much for them. The buffet is largely for vegetarians and not a big spread. The preparations are also so-so.There is 1 chinese and 1 conti dish in the menu. The desserts are poorly selected.

   
   




2. Activity desk has nothing to offer. They kind of let you down. There are no in- house activities, bonfire nites etc. to keep the guests in good humour in off season. Especially when the hotel was running full with the domestic public, the activity desk did not arrange any programmes for the in house guests as it was raining. Most of the time the activity desk was unmanned.

   
   

I also came to know of something quite shocking, which was that all 5 star hotels in Goa take in only foreign reservations in the peak season, Indians are side lined at that time if you don’t book well in advance. What luck!!!!!!!! Our own country men have become slave to the dollars and pounds!!!!!!!!

1. The promised gift was an umbrella with the hotel insignia on it.

   
   




2. The drop back to the airport was frought with tension. The hotel did not keep a vehicle for departure in time. They were trying to club other departures with ours, so that they can save on fuel. As a result we were 15 mins late in leaving the hotel.

   
   

11.One thing that we did in Goa was the Sahakari Spice Farm. This was not in the package. This was a good decision. The guide took us inside the plantation and showed us various herbs, masalas, spices grown there. We picked up some pure quality oils and herbs also. They also give a list of home remedies based on these spices.

1. On the whole I found the staff courteous and helpful. But some of them were not well versed in English, which I think is important, for a place which sees a lot of foreign tourists. Also I noticed that only if you ask for something (that is included in the package), will it be done, otherwise they give you a miss and skip it.

I was, on the whole disappointed with my vacation in Goa. It does not have much to offer to a tourist. It seems to be a much hyped place and that’s all. I don’t know why it has a tag of “international experience”.

I would also like to admit that when I embarked on writing this review, I got a thumbs down from my family, that this review will earn lot of negative remarks, as lot of people love Goa. I would like to invite from my fellow MSians, who love Goa, to give their opinion and comments, but please, without malice and personal remarks.