My wife, our 3 yr. old son and I were in Goa few days back where we spent a couple of days in Calangute.
We wanted to extend our stay for another day and we wanted to stay close to the Baga beach. The hotel we were staying at had no rooms for another night so we went hunting for a hotel and came across Hotel Linda Goa located on the main road which connects Baga and Calangute.
The reception area looked very clean and had a professional yet friendly look but this was not to be!
We asked for the tariff and we were asked to see the rooms first. We did so and settled for the deluxe AC village view room which cost INR 2300/- per night. Paid the full amount upfront and checked in the next morning.
We found the AC very noisy so we informed the hotel manager/receptionist(including the Brit woman at the reception who I think is the owner) that the AC needs to be repaired or we need to shift to another room. We handed over the keys to the room and left to the beach.
We returned late at around 10pm and the receptionist was not available. The housekeeping informed me that the AC had a bearing issue and hence the noise. I asked to be shifted into another room which was promptly done. The second room also had an issue with the AC (compressor not turning on) and the room was hot as ever.
Third time we were shifted to another room and the AC here was tripping every other minute as it had some earthing issues. Finally I lost my cool and had to ask the hotel staff to get the manager but in vain. A bouncer from the hotel bar was kind enough to shift us to another room(fourth time) and the ac was working here. luckily. The room was however small, one bed sheet had a huge gaping hole, the ac was not silent but want as noisy as the one we first had earlier in the day. There was no phone in the room and the TV wasnt working as well.
The next morning I confronted the hotel manager to refund a part of the tariff for the inconvenience caused. I had to shift four rooms at 10pm for over an hour while my son was asleep. The management was unapologetic and were in fact defending themselves that it was a mechanical failure on the ac’s and this was not their fault.
I was shocked. Three A/C’s having mechanical failure in a single night is quite a coincidence. a miracle even. The manager did not even apologize for the inconvenience and when I asked for the owner for me to speak to he flatly refused. The Brit lady who I presume is the owner walked in but avoided us. The manager knew our plight the previous day itself(the fact that we had to change four rooms and he was kept in loop of this) but made no effort to call us and pacify us or even apologize.
Since we were not given a partial refund on the full tariff we has paid upfront(in advance) we asked the manager to compensate by providing complimentary breakfast and he was so cheap to give us a 200 rupee waiver on our breakfast at the adjacent restaurant. Please note this was for 2 adults and one child. 200 rupees for 3 people not per head. The adjacent restaurant charges INR 220 for breakfast.
If you need a place to stay in Goa, AVOID this hotel. They take the full tariff upfront and do no care about how bad your stay is. They just want the money. Totally unprofessional and highly dreadful service.
P.S. Note that you have to pay full tariff upfront before you check in to your rooms. If you do so and find that the rooms are pathetic they WILL NOT refund the money. They are blatantly cheating customers.
AVOID this hotel so you dont ruin your holiday.