Miaramar Residency, Goa Review

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My ratings- 3.5/5

I was in Goa in first week of October. I was searching for a hotel near a beach and one of my colleagues suggested to prefer hotels rum by GTDC. So I just check out their website and booked it.

Reachability & Location

The hotel, also known as Miramar Beach Resort is located at Miramar Beach that’s 3kms from state capital Panaji. The beach is just 50m away from the hotel.

You can reach here by bus or taxi. If you are coming to Goa by train, you can hire a prepaid taxi from Madgao Railway Station to this resort for Rs.830. Also, there are regular bus service from Panaji Bus Stand to Miramar beach and the fare just Rs.5. 

  

Accommodation, tariff and booking

The hotel has total 60 rooms in three categories- AC, AC Deluxe and Cottage. The room tariff is Rs.2150 (Rs.1550 for off-season), Rs.2300 (Rs.2100 for off-season) and Rs.2450 (Rs.1750 for off-season) as per the room category. The tariff includes complimentary breakfast. Children between 5 to 12yrs will be charged Rs.50 per day. The tariff does not include taxes.  

The booking can be done online by GTDC website http://goa-tourism.com. You can even book rooms over phone and depositing required rent in their bank account. The contact numbers are 0832-2436666/ 2424001/ 2424002/ 2424003. Do book rooms in advance as there is always huge rush.

Looks, Cleanliness & Service

The resort is very spacious, may be because it is government property. There is a separate building for restaurant and reception. The rooms are located in separate 4-storeyed building equipped with elevator.

Rooms- The rooms have double bed, two sofas with table, one dressing table, one wardrobe, one TV (flat screen, no Plasma or LCD) and two bedside tables. There is no writing table in the room, may be no one go to Goa for writing purpose. There is very old window AC with no remote functionality. The balcony is very spacious overlooking garden. The toilet is clean and fitted with commode but no pressure line given. The room and bathroom fittings seem to be very old fashioned. Even the doors are made up of two-paned normal wood (not usual plywood) with old-fashioned latches. The rooms are not well decorated as expected according to the rent paid.

Cottages- The cottages are located in garden of the resort. One block has four cottages- 2 on ground floor & 2 on first floor. The cottages have few differences in comparison to rooms. These are fitted with split AC with remote. The coffee maker and refrigerator is also provided in the room. Rest is all the same except the comparatively new fittings. 

There are no sea-facing rooms or cottages as mentioned on their website. Anyhow the ambience is very impressive and full of greenery. You will surely love the place- full of peace and tranquility.

Service is very slow but this is the usual thing in Goa. When I reached there in the morning, no one came to pick up my luggage. I myself carried it to the reception. The check-in procedures were simple but I have to wait for 10mins for the bellboy who could carry my luggage to the room.

Rooms are cleaned regularly and also the linens are changed daily.  

Food & Restaurant

The best thing I like about the resort is its complimentary breakfast and restaurant. Complimentary breakfast is served buffet and is not served to the rooms. It contains minimum four varieties every day like bread-butter, Idli, puri-subzi, pao-bhaji, omelet, upma, vada etc. The quality and quantity was enough to satisfy hunger till noon.

Their restaurant ‘Foodland’ is having three parts- Main restaurant, Garden Retreat & Fast Food. I had food in various restaurants in Goa but I love the quality and quantity of food served here. The dinner in this restaurant is the most positive aspect of this resort. The dinner is served in open-air restaurant with live ghazals program. You can even dedicate ghazals to your loved ones. You will never want to leave the place and ambience.

They charges additional 10% as service charges if the food is served in the rooms.

Pros

1. Close proximity to beach and Panaji.

2. The restaurant- Foodland.

3. Large and spacious rooms.

4. Discounts on tours/ cruises conducted by GTDC (50% on North/ South Goa tours & Rs.50 for cruise).

5. Swimming pool (small, only suited for children).

6. Reliable, being government operated.

7. If you are interested, Café Coffee Day is just at the gate of this resort.

Cons

1. Old-fashioned rooms and furniture.

2. Slow service and poor responsive receptionist.

3. No luggage room. You have to keep the luggage in the reception area that too at your own risk.

4. No good restaurant (except the one in hotel) in the vicinity.

5. No beach shacks or sun beds on Miramar beach.

6. Hard to find a taxi or bus in late hours.

7. All the good beaches like Calangute, Colva etc are located at 20kms away or more.

Recommendation & Advice

The resort is highly recommended for families, because they can take conducted tours/ cruises to explore Goa. It is not best suited for couples or for honeymoon, as you will not get the aloofness much needed by you. The nearby Miramar beach is also not the best place as it’s usually crowded by local people.

My advice for couples or group of friends is that you need not to stay near a beach. The beauty of Goa lies not in a single beach but the varieties in the beaches. The Miramar beach is not the best place as you will not find a single eating joint till 4PM. There is no beach shacks or sun beds on this beach. Stay anywhere in Goa and hire a two-wheeler. Read out my review on Goa for more details.

I would suggest couples and friend groups checking Calangute Residency Annexe, maintained by GTDC and is located on Calangute beach. The tariffs are Rs.1375 (Rs905 for off-season) for non-AC rooms and Rs.1595 for AC rooms (Rs.1065 in off-season). Remember that the complimentary breakfast is applicable if the room tariff exceeds Rs.1200.

So just enjoy your stay in Goa and share you experience.