Riverside Regency Resort Hotel

7 readers found this review helpful

Having read several bad reports about this hotel I was slightly worried before leaving england for our three weeks holiday. I need not have been. Having been to India several times I know the hotels are basic, the riverside is the same, a basic hotel, clean very riendly staff who do all they can to help. It is set in a lovely position, near enough to baga if you want more entertainment and quiet and peaceful arpora with all the wonderful birds and wildlife. We only ate in the hotel once the food was ok but there are so many lovely restaurants you dont need to eat in the same place. All Spice, Kim Faa,Cafe lazydays,Fire and Ice all lovely food at very reasonable prices. Two things to be aware of at the riverside, deposit boxes are locked away between 6pm and 8am which can be very inconvenient and fridges cost 200 rupees per night, cheaper to buy one! A basic hotel at a basic price.

8 readers found this review helpful

steve and sue
our 3rd visit to goa stayed at riverside regency in baga this year it is basic but the hotel is fantastic very clean rooms done every other day with clean towels and bedding we arrived at 4 in the morning and was greeted by the brilliant tito who was so friendly and funny and nothing was too much trouble for him he even got us some postcards for free what a great guy the bar staff were fantastic always smiling and happy to help we took our own mugs and they were there every day for us at breakfast patil was great again nothing was too much trouble the pool was lovely and clean with the sun on it all day a refreshing dip after a hard day on the beach the restaurant was good but we rarely ate there because we liked to go out and try the other restaurants especially the sqeeze shack and all its brilliant staff especially kamal our great friend of 3 years ask for him if you visit this shack in baga the second from the end he cant do enough for you good places to eat are brittos try the mixed grill it is amazing take 5 the chinese up the road from brittos is excellent and the cavala at the top of baga road another excellent eating place we travelled to candolim also a lot of days go to whispering palms then take the road up to the beach and visit ganesh shack this guy is something else the shack is wonderful food fantastic raj will give you the best massage in goa for only 400 rupees if you like fishing try this part of the beach at ganesh shack he will cook what you catch also the fishing at the hotel is great just a step outside the gate and you are in fishing paradise cathing loads from catfish small mackerel eels and ladyfinger would recommend this hotel and squeeze shack for a perfect holiday excellent excellent brill fab cant wait to go back

6 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from 4 weeks at the Riverside,Baga Goa.
I am 56 and my wife 53.
It is our second visit to this hotel and we should have known better.
We had an air-con room in the new block at the back behind the pool.
We requested the same room as two years ago overlooking the river, what we got was a room overlooking a overgrown run down garden with a bonfire most days and a tv which you had to pay for channels!!!
Just about everybody who stayed at the hotel caught a bad tummy bug,my wife stayed in the room for 3 days ill.
The rooms are not cleaned to a high standard.
The quality of decoration is very poor.
When the rooms near us became empty the painters arrived and the paint they used was highly toxic and very powerful in odors. My wife had symptoms of flu for 5 days before we realized the cause. We were moved to another room and given 4 large foster beers as compensation (and I had to fight for them)
The waiters could do with learning how to smile more.
Their are many mosquitoes in the dining area morning and evening.
The poolside tiles were filthy .
The cloth used to wipe the pool tables before I complained was black.
Their are power cuts every day sometimes for 8 hours and I had paid for air-con at £16 per day extra!!!!!
The rep Atif from Thomas Cooke was Great and gave me £30 refund for the lack of air-con.
I kept being told this is INDIA but with better management this hotel could be a lot better. The security man at night was great and also the gardener Mr copra.
I will go to Goa again as the weather is perfect everyday, but I WILL NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL EVER AGAIN.
The best Chinese is KIM FAR...great and the lucky star shack does a great chicken korma and cashew nut fried rice (1 portion enough for 2 peope). East meets west restaurant is good but the Fiesta near Titos is VERY expensive,they add on two lots of tax adding 18% to the bill..beware. The sunset cliff bar is great with lovely waiters...Peter,Sukant and Peter. the Red Lion bar in Calagute does lovely toasted cheese tomato and onion sandwiches for 57p.
Krish holiday Inn looks like a great place to stay with David Silversands.
too many sellers on the beach can drive you potty .A walk along the beach from Baga to Calagute at 8am is GREAT and takes 35 mins.
Well I hope thie review helps somebody.

1 reader found this review helpful

we stayed in riverside regency hotel last xmas. The hotel is very very basic rooms ok but very disappointed with food quality is very poor and very pricey compare with other hotels. bar staff mr patil is a very rud person if anyone going there plz stay away from him.xmas dinner was very poor I wan't go again breakfast is rubbish

1 reader found this review helpful

just afew comments for anyone staying at the regency.
having just returned from goa,we had a great time in goa.
only the one problem...the riverside regency.the hotel its self is not to bad,the problems are the rooms are cleaned,but the bedding & towels are only charged 2 to 3 days.the food well at least 6 people were taken ill & needed the doctor.the staff just hang around & was not helpful at all....well untill your booking out there they looking for tips.theres dogs at the back of the hotel who bark the complete night.
anyway the holiday was good.if anyone looking for really good food do try:bernards place great food.the lucky star beach shack and kc's bar
will be going back in january but not the regency.

1 reader found this review helpful

We've just back fro Baga and found the Riverside Regency to be as most of the reviews have said, basic put fairly clean. When we got there, we were put in a room with just a ceiling fan. We had booked a room with air conditioning. We slept the first night on the top floor of one of the blocks of rooms and found it to be too hot. The next day we were given a room at the back of the reception biulding that had air conditioning and a ceiling fan. This was much better and i can highly recommend doing so.
The staff are all very friendly and helpful. The pool is a bit on the small side but very clean.
The hotel is in a good location, away from the noise and traffic of baga town and is just a 5 minute walk from the beach.
The food was very good and there is a good selection of drinks available although i'm not sure were they got the water from to make the coffe at breakfast, because it tasted strange. The included breakfast is just tea, coffee and toast with butter and marmalade or jam But there is a menu that you can choose from if you want fruit juices (the mango is nice) eggs, bacon or even a full breakfast which were all good and reasonable at about 200 rupees (£2.50) for a full english breakfast.
There are security boxes and fridges available with the rooms but at an extra charge of 40 rupees (50p) per day for the safe.
My only complaint was that the bar closed to early(11pm ish), the mattresses on the beds are about 2 inches thick (okay if you like to sleep on a hard bed) and there aren't enough sunloungers for the amount of rooms (80 rooms = approx. 160 people and only about 22 sunloungers). This tended to make people think they were German and put their towels down early while they went for breafast.

I agree with the other comments that Riverside Regency is extremely basic but it's in a good position by the river, and the staff are very friendly and helpful. Try to get a room in the old part in the building where the reception is as the new block(D) at the back is horrible and smelly. We were in room 206. Some tips - on the first day the touts on the beach home in on you like locusts, don't pay more than 500 rupees for a massage, we were stung at 1500 each! The local beer is Kingfisher, it costs around 75rp for a 650ml bottle, thats about £1 but wine is fairly expensive. If you want to rent a scooter, ask for Pauli at the Mayonna Creekside Bar and Restaurant next door, he is really nice and we got one for 200rp per day. Most of the shops sell petrol in 2 litre plastic water bottles (looks like Irn Bru) so don't worry about running out. Don't forget to carry your driving licence as we were pulled over by a nice motorcycle cop who fined us 950rp (which went straight into his pocket) for not having a licence, he then asked us where we were going and gave us directions to a gorgeous beach! We had a fabulous 2 days on that scooter. Pauli also drives a taxi at night and knows all the good restaurants too.
For the first 2 days Goa was a bit of a shock, after that we just fell in love with the place and the people. We can't wait to go back.
One more thing, if you need glasses, get them in Baga, the opticians can give you a free eye test and supply all the name brands for around £50 within 1 week.
Enjoy!

I hope the rating is 1 for poor and 10 for Excellent. Anyway, I went there last week and found it to be very basic. It's one of those places in India where it's built but no style or eye to detail. It's poorly maintained with splashes of paint on door frames and windows etc. The tiling in the bathroom is poor too. The funny thing is that with a little investment and an eye for quality it can be a very good hotel. The staff are good and polite. One thing to note, there is a hotel on the opposite side of the river, it's owned by the mother of the chap that owns this one. You can see the feminine touch there in stark contrast to her son's. As the years go by the hotel will get worse and worse, unless his mother takes over.
It's a two star, so you don't expect much, but there are other two star hotels that beat the pants off this one like Osbournes.

My husband and I have just returned from a 2 weeks stay at this hotel.
Barstaff were courteous and friendly, a special mention for Tito the security guy he was brilliant and funny.
Rooms were very basic and sheets were changed every other day, rooms were swept but not mopped.
We actually stayed in the new block and the walls in the shower room could do with a good scrub.
Our balcony overlooked the wood where every morning staff emptied waste food from the resturant and general refuse from the hotel. cows, birds, rats and even a woman and child were rummaging amongst the scraps.
we did eat here a couple of times but decided against it when under my husbands chips were thick black bristles, obviously from a brush.
If you have had enough of curries then a visit to mojos is a must for homemade steak pie, chips and mushy peas.
Lilas cafe is excellent.
Do not take decent clothes with you it is very dusty and dirty, you will find people just discard their rubbish anywhere.
On the plus side if you are a birder you can get more than 200 species in 2 weeks.
I know this is a third world country but a little bit of bleach would have been great.
If I ever go back to Goa I would not stay at this hotel.

me and my freind stayed in this hotel for a fortnight the only complant we had was that the bar shut at 11pm and we never stayed four a mounth the security guard at night [tito] was a lovely funny fella the lads out of the resturant were brilliant the pool was cleaned every day as was the room beding [etc]wen i go back to goa i would definitally go back to the riverside regency a tip four any going four the first time dont bring lots of clothes u can have clothes washed and ironed four 20 rupees per item so it will give you lots more room in your case four lots more prezzies nearly forgot the food in the hotel was lovely and service with a smile .