A grand stay. Review on Cidade de Beach Resort, Goa

On my first visit to Goa, I had the pleasure to stay at, what I can unerringly say, at one of the finest hotels I have come across. It was the magnificient Cidade de Goa. I will never forget my first view of the majestic resor as I climbed up the slow winding incline leading to the driveway.

The resort was built in artistically designed floors with muted overhead lights in the passages and corridors. In the centre of the resort on one side was a well-kept gardenso that one set of rooms had this view, though perhaps a bit on the claustrophobic side, while the other side had the beautiful view of the sea. In fact, one can spend hours just watching the lapping of the waves on the shore, right from the comfort of one's room.

The facilities in the resort were of course par excellence as is to be expected from a resort of its calibre, a five star at that. I must make a special mention here of the gym and the library as they were really well-equipped unlike in most other places where they are strategically kept just for name-sake. The food was absolutely heavenly with something to suit the palate of everyone. The goan cuisines were in particular, divine with subtle tastes to tingle and awaken your tastebuds.

The restaurants were also huge and could at any one time seat a large number of people without giving the pervasive feeling of overcrowding and each enjoying his own secluded corner of privacy. The staff was quite hospitable and helpful although I felt that the ones at the housekeeping section could well do with an appropriate dosage of courtesy.