The review that should have gone on TripAdvisor but they couldn't be arsed to check the place's authenticity.
Princess Dona, Calangute, Goa, India
As friends and family were already staying here, it made sense to do the same, but as it was almost fully booked, we got the only available room. It was a temporary measure as the front, ground floor apartment would become vacant within a few days and so we would have much more space. We’ll review both places although facilities were alike; it was the standard that differed.
The basic room:
Large, dark, uninviting and a bit grimy, but functional overall.
We had a fridge and TV (cable channels with some good English ones, including news, sports, film and documentaries), a double bed with very firm mattress and a ceiling fan. There was access to a small veranda, a solitary, basic wardrobe and one bedside cabinet. That was about it. No side/reading lamp and in general the lighting was very poor with bulbs missing or low wattage.
There was an en suite bathroom (a wet room) with hot and cold water, a sink and western toilet and they provided towels and bed linen- but only a pillow case and sheets.
For three nights we could easily survive (especially as we got a very good price) but it was a glum, budget room with dingy lighting, no frills and a lack of any kind of thorough housekeeping. This was the disappointing part.
Over all the room was dirty in the far corners with plenty of sticky surfaces anywhere guests may have laid drinking glasses. At no time was anything really cleaned properly and even the bathroom was only treated to a bucket of water thrown over the tiles to sluice it out. Bins weren’t emptied, just moved from one location to another and the sweep through was half-hearted at best.
Mosquitoes were rife and problematic as were the cockroaches and other crawling insects. Not much can be done to resolve this on-going problem without serious fumigation or pest control and continual elbow grease- something that seems to be lacking, unfortunately.
However, we took the opportunity to save some cash and also saw the other rooms upstairs which were all much brighter, cleaner, comfortable- indeed, better all round. I guess we ended up with the runt of the litter as we were the last to arrive.
Tip – Take either of the two apartments or ask for an upstairs room.
The apartment:
Much larger, with four separate rooms all very big, except the bathroom (another wet room) which was the same size as next door and had the same layout/style.
The main front door led into an entrance hall/sitting room with sofa and chairs, the kitchen (without any kind of cooking facilities) had a sink and fridge with plenty of work top areas and a massive bedroom with double bed, again furnished as in the previous basic room.
We asked for the TV to be moved to the bedroom from the lounge which they did and also supplied us with a kettle as an added bonus.
Overall, the apartment was much more spacious, brighter and altogether rather more comfortable and we believe it is where the family resides during the off-peak season. However, it was also not quite properly clean; better than next door, but we still had a few bugs and insects wandering around the place which was a little off putting.
Another extra here was the option to have air conditioning or not. We declined as the ceiling fans (one in each room) admirably coped with the hot temperatures but the facility is there should you wish to pay the extra.
Why did we stay then? Several reasons: The close proximity to the wonderful beach and Arabian Sea, staying at the same place as our in-laws who holiday here almost every year, but above all, the price.
We can’t divulge the cost but it was rock bottom due to the keen negotiations of our family who did us proud. Even more amazingly was the difference in price between the room (we stayed 3 nights) and the apartment (we stayed 10 nights)- it was just INR 100/night extra, making the decision to move one of the simplest we’ve had to make.
NOTE: There was no internet connection available throughout the guest house, (internet access is a rarity in Calangute generally) but we overcame this by purchasing a “dongle”- a modem that connects to your laptop via a USB port and utilises the 3G mobile telephone network to allow access to the internet.
It worked superbly well and we can now use this throughout India, thereby making finding suitable on-going accommodation much easier if they don’t supply free wi-fi.
For the record we purchased a Tata Photon +with enough credit to last the entire month long trip at a cost of around £50. Money well spent as we rely on the internet throughout our travels extensively for keeping in touch with friends and family, planning our next trips, on-line banking, Skype and updating our Blog,.
As ever, you can check out our Blog for pictures, additional comments and extra information on Calangute- our address is in our profile or Google “ktelontour”.
At the time of our visit, we were getting INR 72 to the British pound.
As friends and family were already staying here, it made sense to do the same, but as it was almost fully booked, we got the only available room. It was a temporary measure as the front, ground floor apartment would become vacant within a few days and so we would have much more space. We’ll review both places although facilities were alike; it was the standard that differed.
The basic room:
Large, dark, uninviting and a bit grimy, but functional overall.
We had a fridge and TV (cable channels with some good English ones, including news, sports, film and documentaries), a double bed with very firm mattress and a ceiling fan. There was access to a small veranda, a solitary, basic wardrobe and one bedside cabinet. That was about it. No side/reading lamp and in general the lighting was very poor with bulbs missing or low wattage.
There was an en suite bathroom (a wet room) with hot and cold water, a sink and western toilet and they provided towels and bed linen- but only a pillow case and sheets.
For three nights we could easily survive (especially as we got a very good price) but it was a glum, budget room with dingy lighting, no frills and a lack of any kind of thorough housekeeping. This was the disappointing part.
Over all the room was dirty in the far corners with plenty of sticky surfaces anywhere guests may have laid drinking glasses. At no time was anything really cleaned properly and even the bathroom was only treated to a bucket of water thrown over the tiles to sluice it out. Bins weren’t emptied, just moved from one location to another and the sweep through was half-hearted at best.
Mosquitoes were rife and problematic as were the cockroaches and other crawling insects. Not much can be done to resolve this on-going problem without serious fumigation or pest control and continual elbow grease- something that seems to be lacking, unfortunately.
However, we took the opportunity to save some cash and also saw the other rooms upstairs which were all much brighter, cleaner, comfortable- indeed, better all round. I guess we ended up with the runt of the litter as we were the last to arrive.
Tip – Take either of the two apartments or ask for an upstairs room.
The apartment:
Much larger, with four separate rooms all very big, except the bathroom (another wet room) which was the same size as next door and had the same layout/style.
The main front door led into an entrance hall/sitting room with sofa and chairs, the kitchen (without any kind of cooking facilities) had a sink and fridge with plenty of work top areas and a massive bedroom with double bed, again furnished as in the previous basic room.
We asked for the TV to be moved to the bedroom from the lounge which they did and also supplied us with a kettle as an added bonus.
Overall, the apartment was much more spacious, brighter and altogether rather more comfortable and we believe it is where the family resides during the off-peak season. However, it was also not quite properly clean; better than next door, but we still had a few bugs and insects wandering around the place which was a little off putting.
Another extra here was the option to have air conditioning or not. We declined as the ceiling fans (one in each room) admirably coped with the hot temperatures but the facility is there should you wish to pay the extra.
Why did we stay then? Several reasons: The close proximity to the wonderful beach and Arabian Sea, staying at the same place as our in-laws who holiday here almost every year, but above all, the price.
We can’t divulge the cost but it was rock bottom due to the keen negotiations of our family who did us proud. Even more amazingly was the difference in price between the room (we stayed 3 nights) and the apartment (we stayed 10 nights)- it was just INR 100/night extra, making the decision to move one of the simplest we’ve had to make.
NOTE: There was no internet connection available throughout the guest house, (internet access is a rarity in Calangute generally) but we overcame this by purchasing a “dongle”- a modem that connects to your laptop via a USB port and utilises the 3G mobile telephone network to allow access to the internet.
It worked superbly well and we can now use this throughout India, thereby making finding suitable on-going accommodation much easier if they don’t supply free wi-fi.
For the record we purchased a Tata Photon +with enough credit to last the entire month long trip at a cost of around £50. Money well spent as we rely on the internet throughout our travels extensively for keeping in touch with friends and family, planning our next trips, on-line banking, Skype and updating our Blog,.
As ever, you can check out our Blog for pictures, additional comments and extra information on Calangute- our address is in our profile or Google “ktelontour”.
At the time of our visit, we were getting INR 72 to the British pound.
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