Happy Shack Beach Wooden Huts,Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Goa

I stayed at the Happy Shack on the 2nd of February 2022 through a referral. I checked in around 22:00 hrs after a long interstate flight and had a lovely meal at the restaurant facing the beach. I then requested the manager to advise me about late checkout and associated prices as I had an evening flight to catch the following day. The manager said that he will let me know in the morning about the charges. I came back in the morning around 8:15 am looking for the manager however he was nowhere to be found. I had to wake up a sleeping staff on the side of the restaurant facing the beach. I then asked for an iron and the staff after 20 minutes informed me that they do not have any iron while I was just waiting for it... Having realized that there was no manager on site, and the staff just woke up around 8:30 am, I decided to go out for breakfast. I got ready around 9 am and went to eat food. Before leaving, I informed the staff about the late checkout and the junior staff couldn't even liaise with the manager for my query. I came back around 2:45 pm and saw the manager Deepak, (I think that was his name). I asked him about the late checkout and he informed me that I would have to pay £1500 for the late checkout for 2 hours and 45 minutes. I told him that it is not fair as it is more than half of what we have already paid for the whole night yesterday. I informed him that he is overcharging me and I felt scammed because if he would have told me yesterday that it would cost me £1500 for the late checkout, I would have checked out at 12 noon. I asked him if he can reduce the late checkout fee to which a second person (I was later advised that he is the owner by the manager Deepak) jumped in the conservation and said that it is what it is and that he cannot do anything with the pricing. At this point, I felt that I have been kept in dark purposely by the manager and that it was all to get more money out of me. There was no room for negotiation and my requests fell on deaf ears. I did inform the manager that I am a frequent traveller and that I will ensure that I share my experience with people so that no one gets scammed like me. Having heard this, the owner went very aggressive, super loud, and threatening to why i have said this. I advised him that it is a free world and I am free to share my horrible experience about how the whole situation was dealt with other people to which he stood up and come right to my face telling me not to do so. He told me that it was not for money however all this while when I told him why did no one contact me since yesterday to give clear instructions about how much the late checkout would be, he had no answer. I paid the additional 1500 for the late checkout however I truly feel that I have been scammed and kept in dark by the manager and the owner purposely. What made the situation worse was the unprofessional behaviour, aggressive approach, zero customer service, threatening and abusive behaviour by the owner, and no empathy towards me. I will never stay and would not recommend my friends and family to stay at this place. The name might be Happy Shacks but I did make my...

I stayed at the Happy Shack on the 2nd of February 2022 through a referral. I checked in around 22:00 hrs after a long interstate flight and had a lovely meal at the restaurant facing the beach. I then requested the manager to advise me about late checkout and associated prices as I had an evening flight to catch the following day. The manager said that he will let me know in the morning about the charges. I came back in the morning around 8:15 am looking for the manager however he was nowhere to be found. I had to wake up a sleeping staff on the side of the restaurant facing the beach. I then asked for an iron and the staff after 20 minutes informed me that they do not have any iron while I was just waiting for it... Having realized that there was no manager on site, and the staff just woke up around 8:30 am, I decided to go out for breakfast. I got ready around 9 am and went to eat food. Before leaving, I informed the staff about the late checkout and the junior staff couldn't even liaise with the manager for my query. I came back around 2:45 pm and saw the manager Deepak, (I think that was his name). I asked him about the late checkout and he informed me that I would have to pay £1500 for the late checkout for 2 hours and 45 minutes. I told him that it is not fair as it is more than half of what we have already paid for the whole night yesterday. I informed him that he is overcharging me and I felt scammed because if he would have told me yesterday that it would cost me £1500 for the late checkout, I would have checked out at 12 noon. I asked him if he can reduce the late checkout fee to which a second person (I was later advised that he is the owner by the manager Deepak) jumped in the conservation and said that it is what it is and that he cannot do anything with the pricing. At this point, I felt that I have been kept in dark purposely by the manager and that it was all to get more money out of me. There was no room for negotiation and my requests fell on deaf ears. I did inform the manager that I am a frequent traveller and that I will ensure that I share my experience with people so that no one gets scammed like me. Having heard this, the owner went very aggressive, super loud, and threatening to why i have said this. I advised him that it is a free world and I am free to share my horrible experience about how the whole situation was dealt with other people to which he stood up and come right to my face telling me not to do so. He told me that it was not for money however all this while when I told him why did no one contact me since yesterday to give clear instructions about how much the late checkout would be, he had no answer. I paid the additional 1500 for the late checkout however I truly feel that I have been scammed and kept in dark by the manager and the owner purposely. What made the situation worse was the unprofessional behaviour, aggressive approach, zero customer service, threatening and abusive behaviour by the owner, and no empathy towards me. I will never stay and would not recommend my friends and family to stay at this place. The name might be Happy Shacks but I did make my...

Beware of this Scam!

We booked rooms at Happy Shacks three weeks in advance. When we arrived, it was late in the evening with heavy rain. The road to the property and the parking area were flooded. Confused, we mistakenly entered a different property, where we were then directed to Happy Shacks. Already frustrated, we finally arrived, only to be told by Mr. Rafiq that he had forgotten to reserve our rooms. His excuse? He lost all the booking information because he had disappearing messages turned on in WhatsApp, despite our advance payment and a reminder call earlier that morning about our late check-in.

Luckily, we had screenshots of the booking message with us!!

Exhausted, drenched, and with all our luggage in tow, we were left stranded late at night. After hours of arguing, we managed to find rooms elsewhere. However, Mr. Rafiq refused to refund our payment on the spot. He insisted we come back to his property to "discuss" it further.

When we arrived for the refund, Rafiq was polite and friendly, especially in front of his other guests who were having dinner. But after dinner, when we asked again for our refund, his attitude shifted. Surrounded by his staff, he rudely claimed that we had cancelled our booking at the last minute, refusing the refund based on a supposed policy.

We were a group of eight and they still attempted to scam us. Imagine if you were a solo traveler, a woman, or someone from a non-Hindi speaking state.

After another hour of heated arguments, they finally agreed to deduct the refund from the dinner bill.

I absolutely do not recommend this place. Be aware and stay away from Happy Shacks!

P.S: We later found out that another group had booked Happy Shacks for a four-day stay on the same date we had reserved. Since our booking was only for one night, it seems likely that Mr. Rafiq deliberately canceled our reservation to give the rooms to the other group for a...