Review: Le Meridien luxury hotel Calangute, Goa
I have been to several Le Meridien hotels in Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru but mostly to attend some events. Never had an opportunity to stay there and it finally happened this week in Goa. Le Meridien Calangute is where I spent two nights during my last visit to Goa. This post is a quick review of the property as I saw it during my stay.
Facilities at Le Meridien Goa
Facilities at the hotel are nice. There's a spacious gym, kids zone, a small library (no access to most guests-need to take help), a large pool, smoking area (balcony) in every floor, a cafe/lounge area near reception.
Latitude and Longitude: Le Meridien displays latitude and longitude number along with its property name. All room numbers have the coordinate below. I initially thought they are giving different latitude and longitude number to each room based on its position- then realized that it is same for all the rooms.
Nice breakfast- Very happy with elaborate options at breakfast- South Indian, international and all kinds of options.
There was some kind of celebration displaying specific achievements/special items designed by their key chefs.
Rooms: My room was standard, had all the facilities one would ask for in a luxury hotel. 2 litres of drinking water provided, an iron and all the standard facilities such as comfortable sofas, writing desk, coffee maker and so on. There was no instruction leaflet on how to use the coffee brewing pot.
Above: View from my room
Below: Common balcony, one per floor
Phones are nice. Both in design and function- there's only 1 guest service button, not a set of half a dozen buttons one for housekeeping, one for reception, one for food and so on. Just press a button and all requirements will be handled via guest service. Multi purpose alarm clock with USB charging ports is handy.
No Newspapers: There was no newspaper outside my room on day 01. I got it on demand. On day two also same thing repeated- all adjacent rooms got newspaper, not mine. I assumed there's some error which might have shown my room as not occupied- so I inquired at reception why there's no newspaper for my room. I was told for group bookings newspapers are given only on demand. He promptly gave me a copy on the spot.
I understand since group bookings are a bit discounted, hotel is trying to save a few rupees where they can. There was no cleaning in the evening- I guess group bookings get only once a day cleaning while normal bookings get twice (not sure of this at Le Meridien, but most resorts I have seen do cleaning twice a day). Marriott Kochi had a similar practice- no tablet/app based check-in experience for group booking guests. The minibar was locked- not open and empty- locked. Despite this during check out staff asked me if I have taken anything from the minibar. They should have known it is locked and save the trouble of asking that question to the guest during check out.
As it is with most properties in Goa, entrance is not big enough for buses. So most of the time our coach would wait on the main road and we had to walk in rain till the bus- some 200-300 meters from reception to main road I guess. Even parking is limited- but I am sure they would have secondary parking somewhere nearby if there're more vehicles.
There was no bathtub in my room- just in case that is of importance to you. May be higher room categories have it.
No beach: If you are spending 10000 Rs a night in Goa, you might be able to get a beach facing property somewhere. Le Meridien Calangute doesn't have a beach access. Ocean is some 800 meters away, Calangute beach is 3.5 kms away. If you're particular about beach, this may not be the best for you.
Be advised some rooms do not have open-able balcony while other rooms have- if you're particular about it confirm during check-in.
I wanted to walk around and explore nearby places early morning hours but heavy rain on all days stopped me.
Le Meridien brand is part of Marriott Group and if you are a loyalty program member you can gain points for your stay. Marriott Group has several other properties in Goa under different brands such as Fairfield, W hotels etc.
Official website: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/goimd-le-meridien-goa-calangute/
About the location: Calangute is in north Goa, some 45 kms from airport and beyond Panaji. Some attractions like Aguada fort, Reis Magos fort , Baga and Anjuna beach etc are nearby while for most other attractions you will have to travel a bit.
Overall good experience.
My other Goa Posts below, standby for more.
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Facilities at Le Meridien Goa
Facilities at the hotel are nice. There's a spacious gym, kids zone, a small library (no access to most guests-need to take help), a large pool, smoking area (balcony) in every floor, a cafe/lounge area near reception.
Latitude and Longitude: Le Meridien displays latitude and longitude number along with its property name. All room numbers have the coordinate below. I initially thought they are giving different latitude and longitude number to each room based on its position- then realized that it is same for all the rooms.
Nice breakfast- Very happy with elaborate options at breakfast- South Indian, international and all kinds of options.
Tea counter
Rooms: My room was standard, had all the facilities one would ask for in a luxury hotel. 2 litres of drinking water provided, an iron and all the standard facilities such as comfortable sofas, writing desk, coffee maker and so on. There was no instruction leaflet on how to use the coffee brewing pot.
Above: View from my room
Below: Common balcony, one per floor
Phones are nice. Both in design and function- there's only 1 guest service button, not a set of half a dozen buttons one for housekeeping, one for reception, one for food and so on. Just press a button and all requirements will be handled via guest service. Multi purpose alarm clock with USB charging ports is handy.
No Newspapers: There was no newspaper outside my room on day 01. I got it on demand. On day two also same thing repeated- all adjacent rooms got newspaper, not mine. I assumed there's some error which might have shown my room as not occupied- so I inquired at reception why there's no newspaper for my room. I was told for group bookings newspapers are given only on demand. He promptly gave me a copy on the spot.
As it is with most properties in Goa, entrance is not big enough for buses. So most of the time our coach would wait on the main road and we had to walk in rain till the bus- some 200-300 meters from reception to main road I guess. Even parking is limited- but I am sure they would have secondary parking somewhere nearby if there're more vehicles.
There was no bathtub in my room- just in case that is of importance to you. May be higher room categories have it.
No beach: If you are spending 10000 Rs a night in Goa, you might be able to get a beach facing property somewhere. Le Meridien Calangute doesn't have a beach access. Ocean is some 800 meters away, Calangute beach is 3.5 kms away. If you're particular about beach, this may not be the best for you.
Be advised some rooms do not have open-able balcony while other rooms have- if you're particular about it confirm during check-in.
I wanted to walk around and explore nearby places early morning hours but heavy rain on all days stopped me.
Le Meridien brand is part of Marriott Group and if you are a loyalty program member you can gain points for your stay. Marriott Group has several other properties in Goa under different brands such as Fairfield, W hotels etc.
Official website: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/goimd-le-meridien-goa-calangute/
About the location: Calangute is in north Goa, some 45 kms from airport and beyond Panaji. Some attractions like Aguada fort, Reis Magos fort , Baga and Anjuna beach etc are nearby while for most other attractions you will have to travel a bit.
Overall good experience.
My other Goa Posts below, standby for more.
Places to visit in Goa
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Property & Services Review
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6) Haunted 3 kings Church, Goa
7) Bubble Pond, Goa
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Events (in Goa that I attended)
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Other Goa related posts
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1) Tata Nano Superdrive in Goa, 2010
2) Ford Ecosport Media Drive 2013
4) Tata Zica (Tiago) launch event, 2015
5) GITM 2019
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This hotel would be fun to stay in. Gopalji chai wala tea counter was surprise
ReplyDeleteYes. I couldn't see it in action though- like no one was manning it and making live tea- at least when I was around.
Delete