Holidays in the resort state of the west coast of India in North Goa have been appealing to tourists since the 70s. Then hippies discovered it. Since then, a powerful resort industry has grown here (hotels, restaurants, bars, Ayurveda centers, diving schools) and daily charter flights from Germany, France, Great Britain, Sweden operate.
Portugal, which has owned its overseas province of Goa for more than 400 years, has changed its appearance by implanting thousands and thousands of buildings of colonial architecture in the cities of the future state of India. Here little Portugal was built with numerous administrative and other buildings: railway stations, sea villas, elevators, mills, etc.
If the south of Goa offers guests measured and sedate rest at the level of classic and premium, then the glory of Northern Goa is based on large-scale youth parties, discos accompanied by psychedelic music, and trans-party youth parties.
Location
Mandrem Retreat Chillax Stay (ex Cuba Mandrem) is a small 2-star hotel built in the resort village of Mandrem, on the shores of the Arabian Sea. The hotel is safe and can be recommended for families with children and the elderly. Tours in it are in great demand, and they can really be bought only in 3-4 months.
Often, the charm of small hotels exceeds the universal comfort of huge hotel complexes - “five-star”. They are intended for those tourists who want to discover the calm and beautiful corners of the Earth, where harmony and a family atmosphere reign.
In Mandrem, vacationers do not experience a cultural shock from simultaneous contact with crowds of people, albeit benevolent, but of a different, unusual mentality. There are no crowds, the hotel and the beach are out of the way, away from the main human flows. In the village of Mandrem, European notions of cleanliness and order are honored, and the inhabitants of Mandrem, the ubiquitous and dirty holy cows in India, dare to reject these places. The resort atmosphere of this place is determined by the proximity of the amazing Mandrem beach of the same name with the village, which is considered to be the best beach of Goa for a relaxing holiday . To him go from the hotel in question for about 5 minutes along the path between the Osaba hotel and the wall.
The state capital, the ancient colonial Portuguese city of Panaji (in India it is called differently - Panjim), is 36 kilometers from the hotel. The transfer from the airport to the hotel complex is 56 km long.
About hotel
Mandrem Retreat Chillax Stay Hotel (India) provides its residents with quality economy-class spa services. The price of the tour for 7 nights for accommodation in a double comfortable room is 65 953 rubles. The best vacation here is from October to March (in the dry season).
This modern three-story building, built on a small green area, outwardly imitates the old colonial, secular utilitarian, Portuguese style of pombalino. Its features: an enlarged gable roof casting a shadow; long (on the whole floor) loggias with numerous exits to them; straightforwardness, symmetry and harmonious repetition of straight lines of the facade.
The Mandrem Retreat Chillax Stay is ideally and organically integrated into the environment, which is facilitated by the compact surroundings surrounding it with royal palm trees and decorative tropical shrubs. Its long, spacious large loggias are ideal for evening contemplation of the surroundings and meditation.
Infrastructure
Hotel Mandrem Retreat Chillax Stay (India) is in essence a comfortable and cozy portal to the secluded Mandrem Beach. From the side of its facade it is decorated with an avenue of royal palm trees, while it has a convenient entrance and a small parking lot for vehicles. From the back, the territory of the hotel complex resembles a landscaped small summer cafe. Hotel guests in the evenings here like to while away time before going to bed.
The reception and the hotel restaurant are excellent. The guests are given attention, their wishes are taken into account, and the requests are fulfilled. The nearest exchange office is located on the same street as the hotel complex considered in the article. Near the hotel there is an inexpensive taxi rank.
Rooms
The accommodations at Mandrem Retreat Chillax Stay are positive. On the one hand, it is predictable that the economy class hotel complex will not offer its guests apartments with a maid, helipad services, and the opportunity to become members of a golf club.
But, on the other hand, the hotel complex has a special romantic, warm, family-friendly good-natured atmosphere inherent in good small hotels. The efforts of conscientious staff in all 16 spacious (area - about 30 m 2 ) rooms maintain order and comfort.
Mandrem Retreat Chillax Stay's rooms are spacious, clean and cleaned daily. The design is dominated by soft pastel colors. The walls and ceiling are plastered, the floor is tiled.
The rooms themselves are differentiated by floors: on each of the three levels of the hotel are located the same type, characteristic only of him rooms. On the ground floor there are standard rooms. Their furniture is inexpensive, but neat: a small wardrobe, two single or one double bed. The second floor contains deluxe rooms with a balcony overlooking the back of the building. The deluxe family rooms are located on the third floor; they are larger in area, however, lack balconies (a feature of the architecture of the hotel complex.
Each of them has air conditioning, fan, satellite TV.
Facilities and service
Standard and quality services for its clients are provided by the Mandrem Retreat Chillax Stay 2 * hotel. The reviews of its guests positively evaluate the work of the hotel reception. There is a bulletin board, tour desk, bike rental. There are no complaints about the quality of cleaning the rooms.
The guests are provided with paid laundry, safe, and doctor services. In the rooms of families who have come to rest with children, a cot is provided free of charge and babysitting services are provided.
Beach vacation
The Mandrem Retreat Chillax Stay Resort hotel complex is located near the relatively sparsely populated and calm Mandrem Beach with white flour-like, fine sand and original bridges. Hotel guests celebrate the fascination and comfort of a beach holiday. The beach is not crowded and landscaped with palm trees casting a shadow. Near the coast are cafes - sheki. Tourists, having come to them with companies, buy a couple of bottles of beer and then use the sun loungers belonging to the cafe for free all day.
If you go along the coast to the left relative to the hotel, then in 10 minutes you can go to another beach - Ashvem, if you follow half an hour to the right - to the crowded and party Arambol.
Breakfast in the hotel
Guests staying at the Mandrem Retreat Chillax Stay Hotel have already paid for the breakfast only option. They are closer to dinner, hotel guests are daily treated to a small restaurant working on the ground floor of its building. So traditionally eat all Indians. On its menu are dishes of European and local Indian cuisine.
Breakfast is prepared in the morning as part of the all inclusive. And from lunch to evening, this institution works like a restaurant, by appointment. By the way, very successfully. A team of one of the best chefs in the area works there. If tourists order lunch or dinner from him, they will receive them with a ten percent discount. Tourists like the way they are served by waiters: somehow especially, in an Indian way, unobtrusive and welcoming.
The success of the guests enjoy traditional Indian cuisine:
- Soft and sparing stomachs of Europeans cheese soup with panirin spinach.
- A variety of cakes are a feature of Indian cuisine. The most popular of them are: roti, chapati, naan, parata, samosa, puri and many, many others.
- Kari from chicken or chicken feed.
- Wright - an analogue of peppermint okroshka with spices.
- Navratan feed - vegetable mixture in a nut-cream sauce.
Lunch and dinner at the resort's restaurants
Most often, hotel tourists who decide to dine in a place different from the hotel restaurant, opt for the nearest Sunset shek.
There are many such restaurants on the Arabian coast. The guests of India are tempted by the opportunity to enjoy seafood in them inexpensively. At the same time, steaks of tuna and king fish (price 110–140 rupees), fish baked in the oven, squid, and shrimp are popular.
Leisure
Guests of Mandrem Retreat Chillax Stay 2 * do not enjoy a single beach holiday. The most dynamic rent scooters for rent at a price of 500 rupees for two days (the closest rental is at the Shiva Beach Hotel) and go to explore nearby attractions.
Among the recommended trips is a visit to the Jus Center, which offers visitors inexpensive fresh fruits of exotic fruits in Thailand, as well as ice cream with fruits. Freshly squeezed kiwi juice is especially delicious. Breathtaking panoramic views from the walls of Fort Chapora. You can go to the fish market in Siolim (it works after 17:00) and buy squids, shrimps, fish at the lowest price (200 rupees per 1 kg), then ask the cooks of your favorite shek (beach cafe) to cook them. Most of the guests of the hotel complex chose Shek Sunset.
Excursions
Guests at the Mandrem Retreat Chillax Stay 2 * hotel buy excursions, and sometimes organize them themselves, in agreement with taxi drivers who are constantly working at the hotel. Mandrem has no attractions on the most secluded beach. But near it you can visit a coconut grove, Alex Church, Friday Bazaar. An important local sightseeing site is the famous Aguada Fort. This ancient formidable battle fortification with thick walls and arches, defended by 79 cannons, withstood many battles.
Tourists in Goa with guides working from travel agencies are traditionally offered a list of excursions. Guest reviews of Mandrem Retreat Chillax Stay generally rate these:
- a trip to the Dudhsagar Falls;
- excursion to the objects of colonial Goa;
- a visit to the temple in Murudushvar and the museum located inside the 37-meter statue of Shiva;
- a visit to the ancient buildings of the Vijayanagar empire;
- inspection of the ancient temples of Aihole, Badami, Pattadakal.
Shopping
Guests at Mandrem Retreat Chillax Stay can buy Pareo women's resort clothing right on the beach for 100 rupees, and pearl beads for 300. However, you should not rush, because their quality is doubtful.
Therefore, they still need to make their main purchases, having arrived in the capital of Goa, 40 km away from the hotel, the city of Panaji. It is advisable to visit the night market. Analysis of reviews of shopaholic tourists allows us to briefly name the most requested purchases:
- inexpensive and high-quality cosmetics of the brands “Himalaya” (cheaper) and “Swati”;
- rum "Old Monk";
- cashmere scarves and pareos;
- any summer clothes (shorts, T-shirts);
- leather shoes, jackets, bags;
- Nepalese bronze jewelry.
Conclusion
Many tourists who visited Mandrem Retreat Chillax Stay in their reviews express their willingness to buy at least once a tour to this hotel. It features cozy spacious rooms, excellent cuisine, the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff.
However, the main know-how is the beautiful and sparsely populated Mandrem Beach, which impresses with the finest white sand and emerald water. Guests of the hotel complex are impressed and inspired by the sunsets of the Indian Ocean. They are pleased with the gastronomic variety of delicacies of the local cuisine: from outlandish seafood to exotic fruits.