Mahua Bagh

A peaceful getaway from city life, with only a limited number of cottages and not much of a crowd. Good for a family holiday, with friendly staff who are always there to help, and food that tastes really good. The resort manager, Ronit, handles everything very well with a small staff. The resort itself is lovely, but the road leading there is the one drawback.

There's a huge property with loads of trees, and kids will enjoy it. Our little one stayed busy with the pet dog Buddy. Ronit, the humble caretaker, gave decent service despite the small staff. Nangaon beach is 3 kms away and not too accessible from the resort, but the back water where the boats are parked is walkable. We used GPS to find the resort easily and already knew the approach road was poor. We were the only guests on the first day and got the topmost room, which had a slight sea view. It was spacious, with an attached balcony we loved, though the AC couldn't fully cool the room until that was fixed on day two. Food was okay. We had breakfast and one meal there, and ate the other meal at a khanaval. Patil Kanaval is well known, but its quality has surely gone downhill. We had a good stay in nature, but don't expect an ultra-luxurious experience. The older rooms are 40 years old and need some interior updates and fixing. I'm not too sure about the new rooms.

A calm resort that's good for relaxing, with humble, very good staff and good hospitality. Rooms are big, the grounds are good for chilling, and mobile network works well. Food is good but the variety is limited. Reaching the resort is an issue, and there are no tourist spots within 5 km. There's no wifi or fridge in the room, and only a few games, like carom and a cricket bat, with not many other activities. The air conditioning also has issues. It's a good place to relax, especially when the humidity and temperature aren't too high.

Buddy, the hotel's dog, was a lovely touch, and it's great that guests can bring their own pets too. We had friendly staff and really good service, and the beach was an easy walk away. The summer heat was intense, as you'd expect, and our room's AC was only three-star and didn't cool the whole space, though it was okay. The road in is the main concern. It's long and narrow enough for just one car, so meeting traffic coming the other way is difficult. Staff said the landowners wouldn't allow them to widen it, though I don't know why. I'd avoid driving it after dark, since even headlights made the road hard to see. We still enjoyed our stay.