The Leela, Goa

Last week i went to Goa for a week. I decided to stay at The Leela, which is located in the southern part of Goa. I chose this resort for two reasons: one, they have a good beach which is not very crowded, and two, because I had heard good reviews from friends. The Leela is spread over 75 acres of land between the Sal river and the Arabian Sea. On arrival, we were welcomed with marigold garlands and tender-coconuts to drink from. Check-in was fast, as a host personally escorted us to our room. The Conservatory Premiere room we had booked was fairly large and split into a bedroom and a sitting area. Both areas boast of LCD TVs and the room is equipped with a DVD player, which came in handy for my little angel who could get her daily dose of Dora and Diego during the few hours we stayed indoors. The sitting area looked out into the lagoon and the greenery surrounding it. The bathroom was spacious with a tub, two basins and separate rooms for the WC and the shower stall. All in all, the room was excellent! Almost immediately we dressed for the beach and went out to quickly explore the property. First, we ventured towards the riverside. Here, Leela has it's shopping area and Casino (I think this is the only resort-hotel in Goa with a casino; the only others are on ships that are anchored offshore). The Riverside Italian restaurant is located on the banks of the Sal river. We could see many fishing boats anchored on the distant bank of the river, where fishermen seemed to be selling their day's catch. We walked back towards the beach, which is on the other side of the resort. The garden in the Leela has a section devoted to Indian spices and fruits: mango, jack fruit, black pepper, cloves, etc. Past the swimming pool, we went, along the resort's golf course, and we we finally found ourselves at the beach. The beach here was quite perfect. White, clean sand and mostly deserted as far as the eye could see! While my wife and I lay back under the swaying palms drinking in the scene, our little angel gleefully went to work with the sand. A couple of beers later, I was already marveling at how much fun this was. No cellphones, laptops and Blackberries after such a long time! After splashing around for a while, we dragged our reluctant little girl back to our room. We went back to the beachside Seafood Grill, Susegado, for an early dinner. This restaurant not only served us the best seafood we had eaten in a while, they also had the most friendly and helpful waitstaff. We chose a sea-bass from the day's catch on display. They cooked it in two different ways for us: a spicy Goan masala-covered fillet, and the other with garlic-butter, both grilled to perfection. We were so delighted, we ordered another sea bass and requested an encore. As you can expect, with so much fish under our belt we were quite stuffed. Susegado is located right on the beach, and as the cool, briny breeze blew in from the Sea, we could hear rumblings of thunder announcing the onset of monsoon. In the distance, we could see flickering lights from anchored ships on the distant horizon, even as the sound of crashing waves rose to a crescendo. The thatched roof, flickering lanterns and the candle on the table added to the lovely ambiance. We had to reluctantly drag ourselves away from here and back to the room since our daughter was already quite sleepy and had to be put to bed - ah, the joys of parenthood! :-)

When we first saw the Leela we thought it was the perfect venue for our daughter's wedding. Unfortunately we were wrong. From the beginning to the end (when they harassed the wedding couple the morning after their wedding!) the hotel staff made things as difficult as possible. The banquet manager was extremely disorganized and unknowledgeable. She kept going back on her word (and emails!). Out of 4 meetings we set up, she only showed up once. We had to switch wedding planners because she refused to work with the one we originally selected. The service at the wedding was terrible. The hors d'oeuvres were served frozen. The waiters were only serving water and the occasional soda even though we paid extra for juice and soda. The buffet table was not refilled as needed. They charged us 10 times the contracted price for the wedding cake. During our first (and subsequent) meetings/communications we made clear we wanted the ceremony to take place on the beach right by the lawn. Two weeks before the wedding she informed us that the hotel was unable to accommodate us at the site we selected because they did not want to reduce the beach space available to the hotel guests. Only when we threatened to move the wedding to a different hotel did she relent. Through it all she made it extremely difficult for our wedding planner. We took our complaints to the General Manager hoping he would be more reasonable - we were wrong again. Despite our experiences at the Leela we still LOVE GOA and whole-heartedly recommend the Marriott and Cidade De Goa where we had separate functions for the wedding.

A true paradise location on the Earth. Excellet food for all the taste. Rooms were large, clean, right on the water front. Ocean is nice walk away from the room. Have a constant ride for those who cannot not walk. Very courtous staff.

I would like to let all know that though the area is nice, the price in which is charged at this hotel is about 20-30% more than all other hotels in the same catagory. and if you think you are going to a cheep area to vaction your wrong. EVERTHING EVERY WHERE is expensive. eg. Organized taxis are 3 times as expensive as MUMBAI. Unfortunatly you have the same level of service in ALL places. 5 star to 3 star. I felt that with the over all poor service it did not justify the price of the hotel. Food is good but does not justify the EXTREMELY high prices in food and beverage. again a simple beer that cost you 30-50 rupies (local currency 42 rupies per usd) cost you at this hotel about 150 rupies and it still takes abot 10-15 mintues to get it. It was apparent that the managers new less than their staff and the staff were aloud to run the opperations and it proved to be less a quality than we recived in smaller hotels in the area. Theft is a huge problem there and on three instances I had heard of other guest loosing money and Valuables in the week. WOMEN BEWARE. 3 instances of individual women on the beaches being sexually assalted happened in the last 3 months that I had heard about first hand one being a friend of mine who had visited. And the Indian men there guests included are pigs. They will blatently stare or hit on women consistantly even after being warned. Unfortunatly security in these areas (Leela included) are at best impotant. I have been in the area for a while and would have to say that i truely experienced racism first hand directed to the whites in these areas. The last thing I would like to tell all. GOA is a garbage pit. At least in Sharm el sheikh in the tourist areas it is clean. Locals could not care less about the condition of their area. Beggars abound, poverty is devistating in this area and every where you go you get hounded to buy something or to give your money away. Long story short. if you go Leela is not the best place to go. Taj is much better though GOA is not my first choice for a vacation spot. The Arabian sea is NOT as nice as Many other less expesive vacation destinations.

this place is ossam good, my friends from NY liked so much & again they r coming to india on december 7 they decided to stay in this palace & it is mind blowing.

its an excellent place to relax its hospitality is amezing very neat and lovely place for honeymooners its like a haven on earth facing sea

The Leela Palace, Goa is a must for anyone planning a vacation to a beach resort. Once you enter, the aesthetics is atreat to your eyes. You feel as if you are enteringa forest resort. As you walk towards the other end of the hotel, you can enjoy the white sands of the Arabian sea. You have a bar on the beach side and a wonderful Italian restaurant on the other side which faces the local river. The new Club Suite is pure luxury with all the latest gadgets and a private pool. A problem I faced was the Room Service. The food/coffee/tea loses it's temparature by the time it arrives at your room. Other problem was the broadband connection. They could not set it up even after two days.