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| Candolim Beach |
Casa Praia
Vaddy, Candolim,
Bardez, Goa, 403515, India
+91-997-044-4666
Prices: $$$$$
With a dearth of
available options over the New Year 2015 holiday in Goa, a last minute
cancellation gave us an opportunity to book a room at Casa Praia (4,000
rupees/$64 per night), a relative bargain at a property with an unprecedented
9.9 rating on Booking.com and 5-star rating on TripAdvisor. I jumped on it and am I glad I did!
4,000 rupees per
night will get you a 3 or 4-star hotel in many places in India, but Goa is
unlike anywhere else in India thanks to supply and demand, and hotels and taxis
are at least triple the price of anywhere else I have been (Dharamsala,
Rishikesh, New Delhi, Jaipur, Pushkar, Cochin, Varkala). But this is Goa,
Candolim Beach in particular, a beachside party town packed to the gills with
Russians and Brits ready to party, and just two budget-minded Americans that I
knew of … my wife and I.
Paul (or “Hardip”
as he likes to be called) and Sophia, the owners and hosts of Casa Praia,
greeted us by email immmediately after our booking and offered to send a taxi
to meet us at the airport at the standard government rate of 1,100 rupees
($17.80), so we took them up on it as their property is an hour’s drive from
the airport and the hotel/guesthouse is somewhat secluded and not easy to find.
Our driver met us outside the terminal as promised with sign in hand and we
proceeded to Casa Praia.
Being early
evening on New Year’s Eve, Hardip, Sophia, and some other British guests
(Brits) were sitting around the pool enjoying a beverage and chatting, and
after showing us to our room we were invited to join in the celebration. We
enjoyed a wonderful night of conversation and commaraderie with our new friends
and former rivals, the Brits plus one Swede (Sophia).
Our room was
large, well appointed, and very tastefully decorated with three sets of French
doors, one opening onto the garden with the pool not far away. The stone tile
floors were immaculate, the queen size bed had fresh sheets, plenty of pillows,
and a mosquito net tasefully draped near the headboard and there was plenty of
storage space for our clothes and personal belongings. A decent size flat
screen TV with cable was provided, along with air conditioner and ceiling fans
(2), a small refrigerator, sink, cups, plates, bowls, cutlery, and plenty of
filtered water throughout our stay thanks to Raja, a friendly, attentive young
Goan that works on the property. The bathroom large, it had all the necessities,
including toilet paper (a rarity in Indian hotels), and plenty of hot water
thanks to the solar panels on the roof. I have to say that although somewhat
expensive by Indian standards, it was the nicest $64 room I have ever stayed
in.
Breakfast is
included and Sophia and her cook, Jessica, cheerfully greeted us each morning
with a choice of yogurt (curd) with granola and fruit (bananas and pomegranite
were in season while we were there), oatmeal (porridge to the Brits) with
accompaniments, or eggs (any style – I liked the cheese and onion omelete with
green chilies), along with fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee or tea, and
toast with butter and jam (get some peanut butter for the Americans Hardip –
Delphino’s has a nice locally made butter for 250 rupees per jar). Seriuosly,
the breakfasts were marvelous, the food fresh and hot, and we never walked away
hungry like some places we have stayed.
The property has
four buildings, two large two-story structures with four guest rooms each, a
small kitchen building, and the Hardip residence where Paul, Sophia, and their
two beautiful (and very well behaved) children, along with Feni their sweet cat,
live. The grounds are lush and well maintained with a medium size pool
(relatively new), plenty of stone tile deck space, lounges, tables, umbrellas,
and chairs and is surrounded by a six-foot concrete wall with locked gates for
added privacy and security.
Casa Praia sits
midway between Candolim Beach (250 meters) and the main beach road (150 meters)
in Candolim (not sure if the road has another name), so you can exit one gate
and walk to the beach for a day of sun, the Arabian sea and lounge chairs,
umbrellas, drinks, and food at one of the countless beach “shacks” along the
coast (the place we went to had a 400 rupee/$6.40 minimum, but all the comforts
were included if you spent that much, a relative bargain) or through the other gate
for a stroll into town.
There are an
overwhelming number of restaurants, bars, and shopping options within a stones
throw of Casa Praia, so you do not have to venture far unless you are so
inspired. We ate at Floyd’s our first day and were unimpressed, The
Mango Grove our second and were equally unenthused, but on our third
and fourth days we found The Bistro, which was a continental
delight, and Tuscany Gardens, an Italian restaurant with nice, relatively
authentic food. Please click on the links above to read my full reviews.
And if you
staying over a Saturday night, you must go the the Saturday Market, a 20-minute
ride (350 rupees for a Tuk-Tuk/500 rupees for a taxi) away where you will find
an international food court with numerous options and a maze of countless
stalls selling everything from Kashmiri scarves and hand painted boxes to local
and name-label clothing, jewlery, and everything in between.
Old Goa is also
worth a visit, so hire Garesh, one of the few “Goan” taxi drivers in town, and
a very honest and warm person (his English is very good too, another rarity in
India where one of the National languages is English BTW) to take you there
with a stop by the two local forts on the way back. Old Goa has some nice, old
Portuguese (Catholic) churches, one being the Basilica of Bom Jesus where Saint Francis di Xavier (their patron
saint whom is encased in a glass casket and brought out for his festival which
is only held every ten years – we were there during the festival, but opted not
to atttend because of the reported massive crowds and traffic jams), Se’ Cathedral (a large, but unispiring
church), Saint Augustine (a Portuguese
Catholic church in ruins, but well worth a visit), and Saint Francis Church (adjacent to Se’ Cathedral, smaller, but much
more ornate) which has an archeological museum attached (closed on Fridays, the
day we were there of course). Fort Aguada and its lighthouse are also worth
a visit, but are not overly impressive, and Reis
Magos Fort, a smaller, more attractive option (50 rupees entry, includes
van ride to the top) with beautiful views of the river, the Arabian sea, and
the cliffs below. We paid 1,200 rupees/$19
for the six-hour tour (taxi), a bargain by Goa standards, so just ask Hardip to
contact Garesh or contact him directly at +91-901-194-8499 if you need a lift
anywhere.
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| Saturday Night Market |
On a final note,
I was ill during our stay and realizing I had become dehydrated and needing
medical attention, Sophia and Hardip jumped to attention and without hesitation
rushed me to the local hospital, a large clinic with beds actually, where I was
given IV fluids and kept overnight. Hardip returned later that night to drive
to five pharmacies to find the potasium I needed (the hospital did not have
any), and again the next morning (twice) to pick my wife and I up (she had
spent the night in the bed next to me) and deliver us back to the hotel where I
spent the next few days recovering. We also needed to extend our stay by three
days, and good thing we did because of the unforeseen emergency, so Hardip
shifted some bookings (we basically displaced Sophia’s older daughter, who was
visiting from Scotland, we found out later … you’re a gem Sophia!) so we could
remain the in the same room even though they were “fully booked”. All I can say
to Paul and Sophia is “thank you for your unparalleled compassion, extreme
kindness, and oustanding hospitality”.
Without a doubt,
Casa Praia is “THE BOMB” and deserving of my highest rating, rarely bestowed on
a hotel or restaurant …
CombatCritic Gives Casa Praia The Maximum … 10 Bombs Out Of
10 … More Bombs Are Better!
Key Words: Casa
Praia, casa, Praia, hotel, guesthouse, guest, house, Candolim, beach, Goa,
Bardez, India, Arabain Sea, sea, ocean, CombatCritic, review, TravelValue,
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