Dona Sylvia Beach Resort Goa

Stayed in Feb 2013. We found the Hotel, staff, food and grounds are as most people comment, excellent . We enjoyed a very peacefull 2 weeks. For the past 20 years we have been staying around the Candolim area in North Goa, but recently have been finding the roads very busy, and the general state of the area very dirty and run down. The flipside is the restaurants are plentiful and generally very good. This is the dilemma, because in Cavelossim, whilst you can virtually cross the road with your eyes closed ( so little traffic ) there are not many restaurants to choose from, and although reasonable, they do not compare to the quality and variety in Candolim, this also applies to the beach shacks. If this is your first trip to Goa, and you stay at DS, I would guess you would be very happy with your choice, and rightly so, however Cavelossim is a very sanitised version of Goa. So I would definitely recommend getting off the sunbed and using a local Taxi or tour company to explore Panjim, or any other tourist sites. You will be pleased you did. Thank you Dona Sylvia for a quality 2 week stay.

Hotel is great, but be aware of the jewelers called See N Smile outside the hotel to the left. Bought 2 bracelets supposed to be silver, are not, BS about if any problems email them. Guess what email does not exist. Not thee until next season, but be on your guard. Con men.

The warm welcome set the tone for this comfortable friendly hotel which gave my family and I a drea holiday in Goa. We stayed on an all inclusive basis and the choice of food was excellent - local specialities as well as Western dishes with a daily changing menu. The staff were friendly and helpful and the service was excellent. Rooms were comfortable, clean and had great air condition which was vital in 34+ degree heat. The bed was the most comfortable I've ever slept in. The beautifully manicured lawns led to the wide expanse of beach which is littered with shacks serving well cooked, tasy and incredibly cheap food. The nearby village provided plenty of other shopping and dining options - a meal for 6 with drinks was just £35. The pool area was well staffed and looked after. If I had to criticise anything it would be the evening entertainment - pub singer style music and singers isn't my cup of tea but many did enjoy it. if you want to escape there are plenty of other bars nearby with a wider range of music. Highly recommend getting out and about to see the real India including an over night stay in the jungle - albeit in en-suite tents, and don't miss the chance to ride elephants and wash them it was an experience not to be missed. Conference season at the hotel seems to be from about the third week in april so I'd avoid this just because during busy periods, as you might expect, conference guests dominate the pool and restaurant for short periods of time. We went over the easter break and the timing was perfect. it was a great family holiday and a fabulous experience which have given us memories to last a lifetime.

We visited the Dona Sylvia Beach resort in early March and had a wonderful holiday at this lovely hotel. All the rooms are in bungalows set out like a village with the most beautifully tended gardens all around. Rooms were clean and fresh towels and bed linen provided each day. There is direct access to the beach, where loungers were available from the beach shack owners. However, the hotel pool area was nicely shady with palm trees all around and we preferred to stay there mostly. The food was very acceptable, although I would agree with the reviewer that there could have been more authentic indian food. I do appreciate, though, that the hotel has a difficult job in catering for all tastes. Karen our Thompson rep was terrific, can't fault her: she really knows the area and is so helpful when it comes to organising trips, advice on what to do, where to go etc. We went all inclusive and the holiday was terrific value. One little criticism: wifi isn't free and it was hard to go online. One regret: we were only able to go for one week - 2-3 weeks would've been great!

The DS is a great hotel, plenty of room around the resort....you don't get pushed at dinner due to the amount of space. A starnge thing though the food was better the first week of the holiday, maybe they were running their stocks down but overall very good. The beds and pillows are extremely comfy and very clean, they change the beds and linen every day. The beach is to die for and especially Rizarios shack - fab food we had lobster, crab and prawns there...gorgeous and his chips are the best chips i have ever had abroad. They have a waiter called Bobby who is so lovely he will even play dominos with you lol...he generally wins too. Anyway back to the DS - fab pool and grounds, they keep both spotless. And, guys you can get kingfisher. tubourg and bud if you're fully inclusive, ladies the wine isn't the best but drinkable. Well i can't wait to book up for next year....might see you there you never know. The rep - Karen oh my god what a laugh we had with her, she is the best rep i have ever come across, sadly she isn't sure if Thomson are letting her come back for 2014 because she has already done 2 years there...Thomson if you read this...you're mad if you don't get her back for another season.