Last weekend, and that being a long one, we planned to step out of the NCR chaos and spend some time at Goa - to be precise - the beaches of Goa. I am normally a laggard in planning but somehow managed to book a place for the 2 of us at Ginger Hotels, Panjim, Goa, just in time to evade my better half’s wrath.
The price was Rs 1499/- per night + taxes for the standard room we booked. Perhaps, the off-season has just begun, otherwise it was pittance compared to the ordinary hotels charging upwards of 2k and 3k for a mere substandard room.
I am still wondering how the owners (now Tatas) chose "Ginger" as the name of this chain. Any guesses? Why not cabbage or tomato? Anyway, one would find it hard to explain to friends where he put up if those were the names.
Anyway, my blabbering apart, the place was really good value for money spent. Here’s how the chips fell in place:
1. Quality of room(4.5/5) - It was a relatively large room with the walls well painted with a combination of light blue and slightly darker blue alternatively. The double bed was clean with a cosy while linen and comforters. It had the usual telephone, an LCD TV, a small frigette with bottled water within, a small electric kettle and 3-4 tea bags to early morning tea - all this as part of the standard room. The toilets were clean and supply of hot / cold water was as expected (it could be shocking if expectations are not met on ths count.....)
2. General Ambience (5/5): It bore a contemporary interior design with an ATM, a bookstore (Landmark) a coffee shop (Barrista), a travel desk, a mess & launge housed in the building. The lifts worked and did not close when my hand was in between (again meeting expectations here is important.....);
3. Reception / Staff (5/5): The people at the reception did not have much to crib about as I had a pre-paid booking done through hotels.com. It was smooth sailing all the way through.
4. Food (2.5/5): The breakfast was ok but not the best in variety. I would crib less as it was complementary, but those who shelled Rs 185/- + taxes would not appreciate much. The dinner was quite ordinary and not in accordance with the other good points of the hotel. Again, prices at Rs 185/- per head, it had nothing to excite an herbivore. No, that’s not me, but still, evry little variety. One one of the nights, we decided to try our luck at nearby restaurants just to have something better to bite into.
5. Proximity to tourist places(4/5): I could have avioded this topic altogether, for goa has tourist places at almost every inch. whereever you stay, some places would be colse and many far off. However, Ginger Goa is located about 200 m from the city bus stand and you get busses to almost everywhere within Goa and high frequency and at very cheap fares. Well, if you prefer taxis / 2 wheelers over buses, things may not matter. For all others they would. It gives one a great opprotunity to look around at the landscape, greenery, hillocks abd countryside while on the move. Goa being an expensive place, using busses for commuting would help one’s wallet. Most of the busses are ok (Dont compare with DTC busses);
6. Approach to the hotel(1/5): That was bad. Urbanisation has reached Goa and Parsvanath is one of the builders spoiling the neighbourhood of Ginger Goa. Since the nearby roads take a lot of beating by incoming trucks and cranes, they are filled with cracks. the incessant rain did not help either. However, that’s beyond the control of the hotel management and will improve with time.
The overall experience was better than expected at that price. If they improve the variety of their buffets, it would be far more appealing. I am already a fan on Ginger hotels, and on my current trip to Chennai I was looking for Ginger Chennai for my stay. Had it been closer to my office, I would have stayed at Ginger here too. Note: This is not a review on Goa, hence dont take it as one.....Goa has much more to be written about.....maybe some other day.....