Visiting The Leela Goa Resort: Key Planning Points
Best Time to Visit: British winter time. I visited in December and the weather was perfect between 25℃ - 30℃.
Type of Holiday: A relaxed beach bum retreat perfect for couples. The hotel has a private beach, 3 pools, a golf course, a tennis court, and is perfect for those who want to relax in luxury!
Ideal Length of Stay: 1 week. This gives you plenty of time to enjoy everything the resort has to offer at your leisure with plenty of naps on the beach.
Why Visit: For the beautifully landscaped grounds and excellent service.
What to Pack: Sunscreen and sundresses 😎
Best Bit: Excellent service. The staff are extremely attentive and helpful, you don't need to ask for anything twice and often you don't need to ask at all!
Worst Bit: There are no shops on the resort selling basic holiday essentials that you might forget and the closest shops outside of the resort are a couple of miles away. So come prepared!
Key Tip: The party season in Goa is known to start after the 15th of December with a lot of holidaymakers choosing Goa for Xmas and new years. If you want a quiet and peaceful stay, then the start of December is ideal, but if you want to get involved with the beach party scene, then the Xmas season is best, however, expect prices to skyrocket!
Why Visit: For the beautifully landscaped grounds and excellent service.
What to Pack: Sunscreen and sundresses 😎
Best Bit: Excellent service. The staff are extremely attentive and helpful, you don't need to ask for anything twice and often you don't need to ask at all!
Worst Bit: There are no shops on the resort selling basic holiday essentials that you might forget and the closest shops outside of the resort are a couple of miles away. So come prepared!
Key Tip: The party season in Goa is known to start after the 15th of December with a lot of holidaymakers choosing Goa for Xmas and new years. If you want a quiet and peaceful stay, then the start of December is ideal, but if you want to get involved with the beach party scene, then the Xmas season is best, however, expect prices to skyrocket!
The Leela Goa Resort Review
Arrival
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The Leela Goa welcome |
After a 4 hour journey by car from my husband's mum's place (because the driver took a wrong turn along the way which almost resulted in me throttling him) I arrived at the Leela Goa Resort.
The Leela has a reputation for being one of the best resorts in Goa and as soon as I walked in, I could see why. Every inch of the grounds is beautifully landscaped and as soon as I stepped out of the car, staff were on hand to welcome us with flowers, and coconut drinks.
My spirits lifted immediately.
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The Leela Goa Lobby |
We were led into the hotel lobby where the hotel staff checked us into our rooms while we enjoyed our drinks relaxing on the sofas which made a really nice change from the usual rapid exchange of card details and confirmation of room numbers between tiered you and an all too cheery receptionist.
The Leela Goa Lobby
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The Leela Goa Lobby |
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The Leela Goa Lobby |
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The Leela Goa Lobby at Night |
On certain nights, live music performances also take place for guests.
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Me hanging out at the lobby after spending the day sleeping by the pool |
The Leela Goa Rooms
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The Leela Goa Resort Rooms |
All the rooms at the resort are situated in relation to one of the three lakes on the grounds and are designed like small semi-detached house.
Walking towards our hotel room, I felt like I'd found a small piece of heaven. The trickle of water and the quiet surroundings were so relaxing that I didn't want to leave my room.
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The Leela Resort Goa Villa |
The villas are situated on the lakes and decorated with creeping flowers and blossoming trees. You can see the immense attention to detail and work that has gone into designing every inch of the resort.
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The Leela Goa, Lagoon Terrace Room |
The room also had complimentary bottled water, a DVD player, hairdryer and ironing facilities but full laundry services are also available.
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Look in Bathroom |
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The Leela Goa Bathroom |
I think one of my favourite things about staying in a hotel is all of the bath stuff. I just love having 20 towels for my one small body (including towel slippers) and 5 different creams even though putting on a simple moisturiser is a chore for me when I'm at home.
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Lots of Towels. Yeay! |
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Ample bath salts, moisturisers, face towels, shower caps and anything else you need. |
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Extra Deep Bath Tub |
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Leela Goa Shower |
There is also a really nice and spacious waterfall shower in the bathroom and after a few questionable showers during my India trip (including one where a gecko watched me for the best part of it) I was feeling particularly grateful.
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View from my Leela Goa Resort |
I think I've made my point.
The only odd thing that happened during my stay was a brief power cut which lasted a couple of seconds. Pretty understandable given we were in a remote part of India, but the hotel has its own backup generator and so there was only a moment's delay before everything was rebooted.
Leela Goa Grounds
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The Leela Goa Resort Grounds |
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Just Blending in with the Lily Pads |
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The Leela Goa Resort Grounds |
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The Leela Goa Resort Pool |
The main pool also has a "water cave" (seen below) which you can swim into. It's a lot of fun.
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The Leela Goa Resort Pool |
Staff is always on hand to bring over snacks and drinks and set up your deck chairs with towels. The pools are open till late meaning you can have a relaxing swim in the dark!
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The Leela Goa Resort at Night |
In the evenings I spotted staff spraying the resort with mosquito spray and gardeners and security guards patrolling the resort. All I know is, I didn't spot a single snake or gekko or even a mosquito while there....
The Leela Goa Beach
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Goa Private Beach |
We were recommended by almost everyone we met in India to book a resort with a private beach. A lot of the public beaches in Goa can be run down and there is known to be a drug culture in some areas which means if you don't know the area that well, you could end up with less than a relaxing getaway.
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Goa Beach |
But if you navigate to the right spot, then Goa's beaches are probably the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen and are even nicer than those found in Bali and Dubai.
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Goa Beaches |
But the waves are deceptively strong and you are recommended to not swim in the sea. Even as I walked through the water, close to the shore, the waves were strong enough to push me over. However, the good thing was there weren't any jellyfish when I visited in December or any crabs meaning you could stroll through the water worry-free.
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The Leela Goa Private Beach |
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Enjoying a Leela Mocktail on the Beach |
Then you can just sit back and relax....
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Goa Bird |
The Leela Goa Food
The Restaurant (Buffet) - All Day Dining
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The Buffet Restaurant at The Leela Goa Resort Outdoor seating area |
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Trying some traditional south Indian food at the buffet breakfast |
As they say, when in Rome....
Jamavar - Indian Restaurant
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Rogan Josh Lamb Shank |
The resort's Indian restaurant was surprisingly really good. I didn't expect the food to be as authentic and tasty as it was given we were in a resort but it didn't let me down.
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Kashmiri Chicken Biryani |
But the food was too good not to eat it.
The staff are incredibly attentive to such an extent that every time I asked my husband to pass over a dish, a waiter would jump into action to serve you food which resulted in me trying to dodge the waiter's gaze so I could plate up for myself!
Susegado - Grilled Food Restaurant
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Susegado at the Leela Goa Resort |
If you are wanting to have a romantic dinner, then the Susegado is the place to go.
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Susegado at the Leela Goa Resort |
It's situated on the beach and serves a great selection of seafood, which Goa is known for, including lobster, but also a variety of other grilled foods and steak.
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Calamari |
What I would say is, all the restaurants at the resort are expensive, and prices are in line with what you would expect from a nice restaurant in the U.K. The food, is of course good, but depending on your length of stay, it can add up, and so it's worth considering inclusive or half-board options depending on what works for you.
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