Vivanta Goa, Panaji — Hotel in Goa Island

The reception is cool and not usual like in the big hotels of the Taj Group, a luxury hotel group from India. Actually a shame for the otherwise good reputation. The public areas are kept reasonably clean. Still elegant in some areas, although all the furniture is older and some of the upholstery is disgustingly dirty. The pool area is loveless. The entrance area to the rooftop pool is unloving and untidy. The corridors in the corridors are apparently only rarely vacuumed.

The room I was given was run down. Furniture very neglected. Table lamps broken and dirty. Disgusting tracks everywhere. I was given a suite to compensate.

The suite was just as dingy, just bigger. Hair or even other remains of human bodies were found in the bed between the sheets and the mattress. Fingerprints everywhere. floor unclean. Carpet vacuumed and dingy. The curtains are also not advertising. The window areas dirty or broken. The balconies assigned to the suites correspond to those of an unkempt social housing. The following day, under my supervision, the room was cleaned and disinfected, as far as it was still possible. This also applies to the furniture in the rooms, especially the desk chairs, which is very disgusting. The chairs should be covered with a towel or dressing gown. Sometimes even the fresh pillowcases are yellowed. Supposedly blankets and pillows were disinfected, but this had no effect on their smell. The mattresses are partly hard. The quality of sleep is generally poor.

Wooden floors, which initially convey a certain ambience, lead to a strong noise pollution from the neighboring rooms. You can hear rolling, dull bangs, falling objects. Often until three in the morning or from four in the morning, even all day. The hotel concept is apparently aimed exclusively at Indian guests who are insensitive to noise. The ventilation system, which does not heat, although it has the appropriate device, can be heard echoing through the walls. Remedy is not created. Again, sorry sir, but in no case development or change for the better. As usual, issues are dealt with by ignoring.

The rooms smelled of dampness or mold everywhere. Such a smell also comes from the drains in the bathrooms. The floors are not wiped with a damp cloth, but sprayed and this cleaning agent is then distributed by wiping. In any case, little value is placed on cleaning the floor or the many wooden panels.

The Asian restaurant is surprisingly good. The service there is also reliable. The taste of the products, the value for money just as good.

The general restaurant and bar located in the atrium carries the smell of food through the entire building. It also serves for breakfast, which is almost entirely Indian-influenced. Most of the time, the odors are intense spices or cooking smells that settle everywhere, even in your own clothes. After a stay of only 30 minutes you have to change your shirts, otherwise you can't get rid of the smell.

The music there, often actually soothing tones, has concert volume. Always this. It's often unbearable, but doesn't seem to bother guests or staff. I had to wear earplugs to avoid getting aggressive. She stops in the room. Here again the advantage of the suite and the anteroom with connecting doors. A breakfast room service is offered, whereby the booked breakfast will also be charged again. The breakfast packaging waste, on the other hand, is second to none. In simple rooms, smells and noise cannot be ruled out.

There is also a lot of waste at breakfast. Unfortunately, no containers are offered on the tables to dispose of the masses of rubbish. You then collect it on a plate or in a bowl.

The bar in the atrium also looks elegant at first glance. It is accessible from the restaurant. If you take a closer look, you can of course see the upholstered furniture, some of which is very dirty, or the dirt under the back wall of the counter. Human body fat and scales can be found on the...

Short review: A mixed bag and leaning closer to disappointing considering it is a Taj hotel and a five star hotel.

Long review:

Good things - • The breakfast spread was diverse and the food was tasty. Special mention to Amit who made sure we had a great breakfast every morning. • In room dining service was excellent with special mention to Vishwanath. Most of the items were available and the pricing is what you expect at a quality restaurant. Food was good as well. • The sound system was amazing. We had a wide selection of channels to watch and it was in HD. Full marks for the in room entertainment. • The bath tub was huge and was comfortable to take a soak in. Overall the bathroom was good. • Entrance staff made sure you were welcomed well and took utmost precautions to prevent covid.

Not so great things - • Lack of proactive service. We had to call and ask for everything. Did not bother to replenish basic things like tea/coffee sachets, toiletries and water. And please don't use covid as an excuse. There are ways you can provide while maintaining safety. It's tedious calling and asking for every little thing. • Not interested in going the extra mile. Having stayed in Taj properties in Bangalore and Chennai previously, we had certain expectations with Taj. Forget about matching them, Vivanta Panaji falls way short. And this property charges significantly more than the ones mentioned. For eg., the Bangalore one gave souvenirs and handwritten notes to make the stay special. In Chennai, staff checks up regularly and I got a special gift of an elephant sculpture on the day I left. Sadly, Vivanta Goa does not meet the high bar set by other Taj/IHCL properties. • Does not feel like a five star hotel. Understandably this is covid era and certain things can't be provided like the swimming pool, newspaper. However there are certain things which we have received in every 4/5 star hotel like a welcome drink, complimentary evening snacks, bathroom slippers which was missing here. No tourist guidance as well.

Final suggestions- • Follow the standards & processes set at other Taj properties. • Get Amit and Vishwanath to teach how to provide excellent customer service to guests. It doesn't cost much but it makes whole lot of difference whether the guest is a one time customer or a loyal patron for life.

I really hope the next time I visit I am able to change the rating to 5. Unfortunately for now it is a 3.5...

Let us start at the beginning the making of the reservation. Initially our travel plans were to go in Dec24 but as our Mother had a fall and fractured her ankle we had to halt our travel plans. The Taj Team in the reservations (Mr. Jason, Ms. Sahili and Ms. Pooja) very kindly put forth our case and were able to get us a credit note till Jun25. We were not sure when we would travel but this helped make our present situation less stressful. In Mar/Apr we got back to the very kind reservations team (Mr. Jason, Ms. Sahili and Ms. Pooja). Again they were very kind to us, took our bookings along with our humble request to be booked on a higher floor with a connecting door between the 2 rooms.|2.On Arrival at the MOPA Airport we were pleased to see that a very kind and courteous driver awaited us (Mr. Mayur).It should be noted the drivers who took care of our car hire requirements were all helpful and kind (Drivers Mayur, Derick and Yakub)|3. Check-In On our arrival at the hotel Mr. Ravi was very kind to greet us and make the check-in process quick and comfortable. It was a joy to see that we were allotted rooms with a connecting door between the rooms. During our stay Mr. Ravi was very prompt, professional and kind to make the car bookings or help us with any query (like which beach would be less crowded, recommendation of a local restaurant etc).On our check out & in-between during our stay we also interacted with Ms. Sona who was very professional and kind.|4. The rooms were very comfortable and house keeping ensured that our rooms were kept clean and tidy. On my b'day Sarvesh and Rajaram very kindly decorated the bed with a Birthday Greeting.|5.On days when we required room service Ms. Sabrina (Ms. Anunciacion) was very thoughtful and kind in her advice when taking our orders.|6. At the Restaurant for our breakfast and dinner (Latitude) we would like to mention the professional and kind attitude of the F&B Team (Ms. Ancy, Mr. Shanfam, Mr. Biswajeet, Mr.Dilip, Ms. Suparna, Mr.Ajay, Ms. Anusha, Mr. Nirmit, Mr. Basappa)|Team Taj Vivanta, Panjim (Goa) keep up the good work each of you!! |Your commitment and dedication to duty will surely make our Late Mr. Ratan Tata very proud of his...