Nanu Beach Resort

4 readers found this review helpful

This was our 4th stay at the Nanu and once again, everything was exactly what you pay for. Cheap, clean, courteous and efficient. The resort itself is well run, well equipped and well staffed. The restaurant was adequate but, more often than not we ate in the beach shacks which are excellent especially Joels.
The beach is superb, the locals are friendly, the weather is predictably hot and the food in the shacks and the many local restaurants has to be tasted to be believed.
Don't come here if you want "all inclusive" luxury and to be pampered every minute of your stay but do come here if you want to relax, enjoy excellent sea swimming and be part of a culture as far removed from your own as you can possibly imagine.
Treat the locals as friends, don't look down on them or belittle them and you will have one of the most enjoyable holidays imaginable. Be part of it..........

3 readers found this review helpful

Providing both occupants of a room choose to do so, they can opt for the a la cart menu with a generous daily rupee allowance to set against the cost.
Except for one night when we had lobster (which had to be pre-ordered) we were always able to enjoy excellent food from the Nanu's extensive a la carte menu - well within our allowance.
The a la carte menu is extensive, and if you require something not included there, asking 24 hours before your meal will allow the skilled chefs to buy-in and prepare the most wonderful dishes.
If you sit near the large window onto the kitchen you can watch your meal being prepared.
Staff are incredibly helpful and friendly. Go out in the gardens or poolside and the pool-boys will bring you a very comfortable sun-lounger, erect it, and give you a clean beach-towel - and they don't hang around waiting for a tip.
While lounging in the garden or poolside if you raise you're hand - a waiter will be there to take your order for drinks.
The only downside to this hotel is the simplicity of the rooms - but who wants to spend their holidays in their room?
Entertainment is laid on three or four times a week (two evenings with a live band). Many guests congregate after their evening meal at the bar just outside the gates.
Although the staff love youngsters, there are no special facilities in the hotel for children.
If you want a change from the excellent hotel a la carte menu, visits to the magical restaurant Jo Cons (20 minute taxi ride) or to the etherial Baywatch restaurant overlooking the sea are recommended, where excellent but inexpensive meals are available.
Inexpensive taxis can be used from the lane next to the hotel, and the taxi drivers are more than pleased to wait at the restaurant for you.
Other "musts" are a visit to the Anjuna market (the only time you need to watch your handbag or wallet) on a Wednesday and a visit to Margao for shopping - the taxis are inexpensive and the taxi-drivers are happy to accompany you to help carry your purchases.
Prescription glasses and dental work are very cheap in Margao as are inexpensive tailored dresses, shirts and suits.
A trip to Old Goa, ending with a sunset sail down the Mondovi River at sunset is well worth going on.

There was a party of us and we had rooms in both the resort and the retreat.
We enjoyed our stay and were not put off by hard beds or unimaginative food, in fact we ate out at the shacks most evenings due to the company we were keeping, but would have happily sampled more meals in the hotel itself.
The staff were very pleasant and as we were a group of parents, grandparents, disabled and toddlers, they had their work cut out!
The beach was fantastic and The Baggies shack and Joel’s excellent.
If you are expecting luxury - you've gone to the wrong hotel. However, if you are in Goa to relax and are measuring a hotel on cleanliness and service rather than decor - you'll be content.
If you are staying in the retreat - you'll be very happy - nice pool and villas although there are a few mosquitoes due to the vegetation.
Downside - having to leave!

Nanu was pretty much what we paid for. The rooms are basic, bit shabby but fine. The beds were hard, pillows like rocks but the shower pressure was good and they did clean the rooms every day well.
We went half board and I have to say the food was not good. The evening buffet was very poor; it was mostly curries but not good curries.
Most people that stayed there agreed with that, however it is so cheap to eat out anyway but it does seem a shame that they couldn’t make a little bit more of an effort to make something that was remotely edible.
Breakfast was also pretty poor, they had corn flakes or porridge, toast and a cheap marmalade and a jam that tasted like jelly. It seems that they are very relaxed and weren't that fussed about the catering side.
However, what they did do what I thought was a bit naughty was have functions where they would set tables up on the lawn and one night when we walked over to see what was happening we were told rather abruptly and asked to leave.
I did feel that the paying guests definitely came second best when these functions were on and stuck in the canteen area, rather than ever being offered the opportunity to sit on the lawn or even vary the menu a little and get the chefs to stretch to a BBQ (to be honest I think that would have surpassed their catering ability).
Luckily if you go to the beach (which is very nice) head towards Joel’s shack, the food here is great and you can sit on loungers all day, the plus side of sitting here as well is they don’t like the hawkers approaching you as much so you do get more peace.
All in all, Coconut Grove which is next door has much nicer rooms, it came in slightly more expensive when we booked and wasn’t half board but to be honest pay the £50 more and stay there as the rooms are much nicer.
I had a fantastic holiday, its hard not to in Goa but if you do stay in Nanu expect to go out for dinner every night (which is not a bad thing) and have a bit of a bad back.