Fisherman's Cove Bar and Restaurant — Restaurant in Goa

I would be honest and start with giving credit where it is due. The Novotel Resort & Spa definitely looked above my expectations, as far as first impressions go. It definitely appeared much better than an average Novotel. I am an Accor Silver Member, and had the Stay Plus night available, so I chose this hotel. Also, Novotel seemed to be a great option to keep my 6-year old daughter busy (which it really was). |The rooms were nice, food was good, and working level staff was good as well. There are, however, many things which were a let down as well in this hotel. One day, the staff forgot to clean our room, despite informing them in the morning. The roof AC Vent leaked water into our breakfast one day (!!). The breakfast was chaotic, to say the least, every time we went. But, they were not such big issues. I understood they were at full capacity, and such things do happen.|But I had a particularly traumatic experience there on the second day of our stay, which I simply cannot overlook. I went into the swimming pool, and generally had a good time. But the moment I got out of the pool, my foot slipped on the very first step I took. I am 125 Kgs, and the fall was not pretty. All my weight was borne by my knee and shin, and I was in a lot of pain. They did get ice immediately, and even offered to take me to a hospital, but I declined as I did not feel a broken bone. But I was shaking inside till the time I slept. I had very poor sleep due to the pain.|A nearby guest had rushed over when I fell, and he too mentioned many people slipping earlier that day. The reviews on the internet indicate that the problem has been faced by other guests earlier. However, there was no remedial situation (like a simple mat). Not even a word of caution there. And that is really unacceptable. An area which is meant to be used frequently in the hotel has to be safe, especially if they know it is a problem. Their general apathy indicates the sorry state of affairs at the hotel, and how in India they are able to get away with it without any liability. All they said as an explanation was that it gets wet due to rain and becomes slippery. REALLY?!! I am talking about my first step outside the pool here ... that is 2 feet from pool boundary! How can they expect the area around any swimming pool to stay dry?|The next day I approached their Operations Manager Mr. Dibendu Kumar Khan, and told him of the ordeal. I asked him why they have not done anything about it? To his part, he admitted the mistake, showed concern for my injury, apologized, and even admitted that the hotel was due a renovation. But, that is all he had to say. No ownership of the problem. I told him that I couldn't expect my holiday to now go as per plan, when I was in so much pain. And so, not out of greed, but out of a simple expectation of paying where it is due, I told him that I expected them to reduce my total amount due by the end of my stay, so I don't end up paying money for something that was totally avoidable, and should have never happened had they been a little careful. Mr. Dibendu promised me he would come back to me, but never did. This was what really irked me. That that he didn't even have the courtesy to give a call when he had committed to do it, made it clear why they never bothered to anything about their slippery poolside. Even after telling him, the pool remained as it is without any king of warning, or remedial action. This is because doing anything to the pool requires temporary closure, which means loss of revenues!|After 3 days, on our last day of stay, I called Mr. Dibendu to check why he never bothered to call back. He in turn sent his F&B Manager to our room to offer some freebies. I told the gentleman that I am not interested in freebies, that I don't lack for money. It was more about them taking responsibility, instead of trying to appease me. So I sent the gentleman back with his offer declined. But Mr. Dibendu still did not have the courtesy to call me directly. |It has been a month since that incident, and my knee still has a constant dull pain. My time at Goa was spent eating muscle relaxants, pain killers, and shouting in my pain whenever something accidently brushed my knee. My flight back to Delhi was 2 hours of pain, because the person in front of me reclined his seat and it bumped my knee again. I feel I would have been better-off in a local boutique property rather than at a quasi-five star...

Looks 5-Star, Feels 1-Star — A Big Letdown Stayed in mid-July for 3 nights with a half board package and had high expectations, especially since this was for my child’s birthday. Sadly, this hotel delivered one of the most disappointing experiences I’ve had in a so-called 5-star property.

✅ What Worked: Valet Parking was smooth and efficient. Restaurant service staff were polite and tried their best. Indian breakfast spread was decent with good variety. Ground-level staff (valet, servers, etc.) were respectful and hardworking.

❌ What Went Seriously Wrong:

No Birthday Courtesy: Despite informing both the front desk and restaurant staff in advance, not even a complimentary slice of cake was offered for my child’s birthday. Even budget hotels manage this — shocking for a Novotel. Useless Meal Plan: Half board included lunch/dinner, but due to low occupancy, there was no buffet, only a fixed set menu with poor options. We ended up ordering à la carte and paying again — complete waste of money. False Upgrade Promise: My booking included free upgrade on availability, but even with clearly low occupancy (~50%), we were told upgrades were unavailable. Just a marketing gimmick. Non-existent Kids’ Activities: Booked this property based on claims of a kids club. In reality, they had nothing kid-friendly. A few paid games like snooker, pool boat, and a bike machine — no real engagement for children. Swimming Pool = Safety Hazard: The pool is large, yes — but broken tiles everywhere. I was literally picking up loose tiles from the bottom. Zero maintenance. Room Condition = Terrible: Checked 4 rooms — all had dirty furniture, bad lighting, poor upkeep, and a filthy sofa I wanted to throw outside. You’d expect better from even a 2-star hotel. Service Delays: Took 3 follow-ups and over an hour to get drinking water. I eventually asked them to tell me where to go and collect it myself. No Views, Bad Location: Rooms offer no views, no balconies worth mentioning, and the location is isolated with nothing nearby. Zero Communication During Water Cut: One afternoon, they shut off water in all rooms for over 3 hours — no prior notice, no apology. We returned from the beach and couldn’t bathe or change — the whole day was wasted.

⚠️ Final Thoughts: I made the mistake of ignoring recent negative reviews on other platforms. The Google and TripAdvisor ratings (4.6+) seem inflated, possibly due to paid or outdated reviews. The reality is a steady decline in service and standards.

🔹 Property-wise: Feels like a 4-star at best, thanks only to the pool and gym. 🔹 Hospitality-wise: Honestly feels like a 1-star transit hotel — staff are undertrained, leadership is absent, and guest experience is an afterthought.

If you’re looking for a relaxing, memorable, or kid-friendly experience — this is not the place. You’ll get far better value and treatment at hotels like Santana, Chalston, or even Ginger.

Would I return or recommend this place? Never. Lesson learned: Don’t fall for brand names — trust real,...

We had the most beautiful 12 days staying at the Novotel Goa Resort and Spa. The hotel is perfectly set behind the busy streets of Candolim. The location was ideal quiet enough as well as close enough to venture out on the main streets and access the local restaurants. The pool and spa facilities are set up are the back of the hotel overlooking beautiful farmlands and open fields. The resort is surrounded by beautiful green trees and its inside walls are decorated with beautiful art, paintings and craved mirrors.

Food Exchange: The main restaurant was amazing, great team and delicious food. Special thanks to the live cooking counter chefs who created magic every morning as well as great dinners!

The Forne Tinto Italian restaurant overlooking the open fields served delicious Italian, great selections of wine.

Chy – Our usual hangout with the children, it’s a sports bar with a pool table. A very special thank you to Pamai and Francis who were great with creating amazing mocktails and cocktails!!

It is very important to give a huge shout out to the below teams who made our stay very a beautiful on including cater to all our requests, help book restaurants, reach out for any updates, keeping the kids safe and comfortable – Thank you!

Pool Area: Shankar, Sundar, Ravianand, Supriya - shukhriya!

Pool Bar: Rohon, Francis - Thank you for looking after our chilled beers and yummy lunchtime treats!

Forne Tinto: Rohon and Chef Anish

Food Exchange Team: Rahul, Krishna, Galwin, Vaibhav, Saubik, Shrinidhi and Managers – Krishna and Melroy

Chy: Pamai, Abhinas, Sanjib - you have made us smile ALOT!!

Senior Team: Director Alex and Exec Sous Chef Pradeep, it was an honour to meet you and also get to know your journeys too!

Guest Relations – Avi - thank you for going above and beyond for my daughter's shoes

Our room attendant - Sudhanshu - thank you for making my dad's bday so special!

Reception Team: The entire team supported us with all our requests! Thank you!!

A big thank you to the entire team for all the efforts...