A2A

you can always book twin bed ones and call the hotel later to get it fixed.

piyush

Yep, also the room they are giving on points is a level up from the base category.

After the devaluation this hotel now costs 60,000 points or 24,000 points + ₹ 6,636.01 (~ $ 110).

The cash price for the base room is ₹ 19,587.20 (~ $ 325) so the savings aren't significant when you consider that you'd earn a bunch of points/miles on the stay as well.

Every now and then they even discount it to under $ 300.

Based on their website a majority of the resort should be up and running by August 1st.

"The Following facilities are temporarily unavailable – Mountain Bar & Bistro, Pottery, Dance Studio, Meeting Rooms until 15th June, 2013. Fitness Center/Gym until 1st August, 2013.Equestrian Center until 15th November, 2013. "

A2A

i am booked at 17500+3.5KINR I wanted to dump all my hilton points without having to fly out for it, and this came as a godsent!

more4less

I am also booked with this rate for early next year. Now I only have to decide if I am going to combine this stay with the North of India, that I visited as a tourist back in 1993, or with the South, where I have never been on holidays.

piyush

Yep, at the old point structure this was terrific value!

If you have any points left the DT in Goa at 5,000/night is a pretty good deal too.

A2A

My current ongoing experience at this one: http://boardingarea.com/livefromalou...uin-a-getaway/

enkey

What are the gold benefits you get? Free Breakfast, any possibility of an upgrade?

piyush

They tend to be pretty good with upgrades for gold members if they aren't sold out. Basically other than a Saturday night I'd say you have a very good chance of an upgrade.

As far as other benefits -

• Late check-out
• Express check-out
• Two complimentary bottles of water per day

Chose breakfast instead of points as your hotel benefit since the spread is pretty good and breakfast is pretty expensive otherwise.

piyush

I had another trip earlier this year. Experience was pretty much the same as last time .

We were once again upgraded to a SPA Pool Villa. The retreat has been maintained nicely and it doesn't look much different than it did last year.

I was celebrating a special occasion and the staff left a bottle of sparkling wine & a cake in my room.

They were hosting some sort of convention or corporate event so only 1 restaurant was open for the other guests. There were a couple of bars open as well. In my opinion they should have made the menu from the other restaurant's available if they were going to reserve them for the event.

Most of the facilities are up and running now. It still takes forever to get anything to your room once you call the "Magic" button but I guess it's to be expected with the size of the property. As long as you plan for that it's not too much of a bother.

The other differences I noticed from my last trip -

1. No cocktail reception but they give you the option of having a drink at the bar when they take you for a tour of the property.

2. They now have electric golf carts, Tata Nano's and Toyota Innova's running inside the complex now.

I would still highly recommend this property to get away from the hustle bustle of the Bombay or Pune life for a couple of days.

enkey

I have booked 3 nights at 24kpoints+Rs.6000 per night for end of Oct. Hope it's worth it, any thoughts? Otherwise it is 60k points /night or Rs.25000/night

enkey

Got back from the most awesomest experience I have had at a Hilton. Stayed 3 nights, the first night the resort was full so was upgraded to a spa villa. The next 2 nights in the SPA pool villa. Being gold got a free breakfast for the family. The resort is the best. It is in a remote location, you cant go out once you get in, very bad cell phone range but got free internet - another gold benefit.
The breakfast is good for free, but I think it is around Rs.1500 which is not worth it. We also opted for a dinner buffet one night, Rs. 2000+tax which wasnt worth it when you compare the spread. Overall the food quality is good, expensive but lacks variety.
The SPA pool villa was awesome. One living room, bedroom, huge spa like bath tub and ofcourse a very clean pool. The amneties were also Hilton standard. The staff and the butlers are just amazing.

The approach road is pathetic, I wonder how people would get there during rains, but still worth the pain once you get in.

piyush

Looks like they've dropped the cash rate down significantly recently.

The lowest rate is now Rs. 12,800 ($ 200) + taxes. Comes to about Rs. 15,000 all in. Pretty good deal. The cash rate is a much better deal now than using 60,000 points or 24,000 points + Rs. 6,000. Especially when you consider you'd earn points on the cash rate as well.

Hopefully they will reduce the points required for this hotel soon.

shonamac

One man's meat is another man's poison - I think INR 15K plus expensive meals/drinks with no nearby alternative venues is pretty steep. Especially so, when this rate is an Advance Purchase, non-refundable one.

Is this place really that great? Even if you are in BOM and had no other reason to visit PNQ?

piyush

I think it is but like you said "One man's meat is another man's poison". Even the reviews on TA are very mixed. Some people love it and some hate it!

mintcilantro

I have booked a 2 night stay for my sister and her kids later this month using my points + cash rate. Not sure she will get any benefits.

I'm wondering if anybody has the GM or customer support email address. It would be nice to put in a small request.