Once we pulled up to the front, we were welcomed by an army of resort staff and were escorted to the pavilion right after the main gate.
There were other guests who arrived at the same time as us and we were all asked to take a seat. Some resort staff were standing and waiting while we were all being ushered in. While we were waiting, we were offered coconut water as a welcome drink.
Once everyone was seated, the assembled staff sang a delightful welcome song. Another member came by to each group and took a picture (we didn’t know why but went with the flow). We were also presented with (plastic) shark teeth bracelets which they put on our wrists.
Once the welcome song was done, the manager of the rest welcomed us all and introduced herself and all staff i.e. doctor, IT guys, head chef, yoga instructor etc and gave a quick overview of the resort. Once done, staff members individually came to each group and escorted us to our rooms where check in would be done. On the way to the room, the staff member came us an overview of the resort and description of the architecture of the resort. The Taj was built with being an eco-friendly resort – so everything from building materials to specific products (soaps/shampoo canisters, reusable straws etc) was procured to reduce as much waste as possible. All villas were built to mimic the Jarawa tribe who live in the South and Middle Andamans. They even planted trees back in specific areas of the property.
Walking by the main lobby building on our way to our room.
Electric vehicles used for cleaning staff and food delivery.
We were assigned to room #23. This is a garden villa but there are other higher villa categories.
Loungers on the left and right side of the entrance deck.
We were treated to this when we walked in the front sliding glass door.
Kudos to stealthy service – our suitcases (in background) were already in the room when we walked in.
Closet area on the left side of the main room.
On either side of the bed night stands were two sliding doors that led to this …
On the left side of the bathroom area was the toilet area, equipped with fancy reading material.
On the right side, was the shower stand and soak tub.
The staff member gave us a tour of the room, then asked us to review some documents and sign our life away, then took our passports to process the rest of the check-in. We freshened up and then went for a walk to the beach while there was still daylight left.
Surrounded by lots of nature.
The resort is located right in front of Radhanagar beach (voted Asia’s best beach in 2004) which is a public beach and therefore there are no chairs or loungers on the beach itself. Regardless of it being a public beach, there was little to no people on the beach anytime we were there and it felt like our own private beach. The beach itself was super long and gave the perfect opportunities for long walks.
Oh hi.
As it was getting dark, we decided to make our way back to the room, have dinner and retire for the night.
Part 2 to follow.