A Romantic Rendezvous At The Goa Marriott Resort and Spa

Last week was hubby’s birthday and since he was going to be in Goa on work in the first half of the week, I got planning; a lovely romantic getaway. My inbox has a regular inflow of emails from the various hotels whose loyalty programs we are members of and the Suite Dreams offer at the Goa Marriott Resort and Spa seemed very sweet indeed. So I went ahead and booked us there for two nights, got hubby’s office to change his return flight, booked my flights and flew down to the Marriott for a romantic rendezvous with my better half…

The Goa Marriott Resort and Spa is located in Panaji thus making it a perfect location for the business traveller. But it isn’t just a business hotel; this elegantly luxurious hotel has something to suit everyone’s holiday plans. It is situated near the historical and religious places for those who want to play tourist and has close proximity to all the casinos for those seeking to try their luck.

 

Accomodation

Departing from the cliche of aquatic colours that several beach resorts use in their decor, the rooms at the Goa Marriott are soothing and cozily done up with warm colours. The red background to the sea-inspired decor elements are a welcome surprise from the usual suspects of aqua, turquoise and sea foam green. The bathroom is pristine in all white with  the duo-chromatic mosaic tiles adding a touch of glam. It was difficult for me to capture the true effect on the camera and needless to say, the picture simply doesn’t do it justice.

 

At the Goa Marriott, you can choose from a range of accommodations ranging from Garden view rooms to Bay view rooms and suites. The Marriott overlooks the bay and affords fabulous views of the sea. Our room overlooked the bay and I loved watching the sea and listening to the wind and the waves converse…..

Gastronomy

Want to tantalize your tastebuds? The Marriott Goa has quite a few gastronomical options to choose from; from the Waterfront Terrace & Bar that has indoor as well as al-fresco seating to A.Z.U.R, the multi-personality cafe/lounge, to Wan Hao, a fine-dining Oriental restaurant, to the Pool Bar to the open-air barbecue Simply Grills (which was shut because of the monsoons).

Waterfront Terrace & Bar

This is the 24-hour multi-cuisine restaurant situated by the poolside. The al-fresco seating is currently covered because of the monsoons but I can just imagine how wonderful it would be to sit there watching the sunset on a winter evening. The Waterfront Terrace & Bar is where the buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner is laid out and a truly fabulous spread it is! If buffet doesn’t rock your boat, the à la carte options certainly will as we discovered the day we decided to lunch there. So flavourful, so fresh and so fabulous!

Wan Hao

The Waterfront was usually packed since the buffet spread was there. The Suite Dreams offer that we had booked under, gives you the option of a complimentary main meal and we decided to have that at  Wan Hao since we wanted a quite, romantic dinner away from the crowds.

 Pool Bar

Somehow, splashing in the pool is always more fun when the weather is cloudy, there’s a cool breeze and a slight drizzle. Call me weird but this is one of the reasons I love visiting Goa in the monsoons. The Pool Bar with it’s pretty white peacock and a mural by Mario Miranda is a great place to unwind and quench your thirst.

Recreation

The entire duration of our stay at the Goa Marriott, we didn’t once step out of the resort. We didn’t need to as the resort has all you need for rest, relaxation and romance! There’s the lovely pool with a separate kiddie pool, a fitness center for those who don’t want to miss out on their work outs, a lovely Kids Room and of course, the Quan Spa….

At most hotels and resorts, the Kids Room is usually just a soft play area for toddlers and very young kids. At the Goa Marriott, however, they have something for everyone, from toddlers to pre-schoolers to tweens to even teens! When I saw the Kids Room, I really missed both my boys because they would have loved playing video games and carrom there. There also was a really nice selection of books there ranging from picture books for little ones to Enid Blyton for the tweens and even the Twilight series for the Teens.

The Quan Spa deserves a separate post so I won’t talk about it right now. That post shall follow soon.

Hospitality

When it comes to Marriott, great hospitality is a given and so it was here. Right from the warm welcome at the reception to the smooth check-in (which you can now do from your mobile as well) to the courteous housekeeping and reception staff, everyone strives to ensure that you have a great stay. I had mentioned that it was hubby’s birthday so besides arranging for a complimentary cake, they also had a lovely turndown surprise for us…

As you can make out from this post, we had a simply fabulous time at the Goa Marriott Resort and Spa. This little break was a kid-free one but I would certainly love to go back again with the boys. Currently, there are several special offers at this resort from weekend packages to spa packages and the one that I opted for, Suite Dreams. You can check out all the various details on their website here and if you are a member like us, then you of course, also get points on your booking!