Ave Maria Guest House

The room had some nice basics, including good towels and a doormat, and breakfast was served from 8:30 to 10. But the room was a windowless shoebox with almost no surface space, not even a chair, and just one charging outlet. The tiny TV didn't work, the AC stopped at random, and there were frequent power cuts. Floors were quite dirty, with hair and debris, and there were lots of ants. Housekeeping was sloppy and unavailable after 5 pm. WiFi only worked in reception. The bathroom was tiny, though it did have a bidet, toilet seat, and decent mirror. There was no closet or wardrobe. Kittens, ducks, and rabbits were outside. We booked the ₹1800 room through booking.com, which included breakfast, but they didn't seem to know it was included. The room also had no tea or coffee kits. They required full payment upfront for all the days.

After taking my confirmed booking through hotels.com and receiving payment, the hotel said they had no booking for me, then offered a room at three times the price. The room was still listed as available on eight sites at the original rate. They may simply be incompetent and unable to manage the booking platforms they signed up to. But with it being the busy period after Christmas and accommodation scarce nearby, it seems more likely they knew walk-in domestic guests could be charged the inflated price. Severely unprofessional. It's the kind of thing that helps explain why tourists are increasingly leaving Goa for other areas and countries.

Ave Maria/Xavier's (Colva) charged Rs.1400 a day, and for that we got a bed, small table, and bathroom. They demanded payment for the full stay. We paid for two days, but while we were on site the next day, they rudely called and said we had paid for only one day and must check out. We showed the UPI details, and they didn't even apologise. There was no breakfast, tea or coffee kit, glass, or towel. The doormat and the single blanket for two people were torn, the toilet seat moved, and the TV was broken. The floor wasn't properly clean, WiFi wasn't provided, and the bathroom mirror was broken. There was no closet or wardrobe, and sick ducks were wandering around. A bottle of water cost 30 rupees.

A complete waste of money. They don't know how to speak to guests, red ants were crawling in the bathroom, and the geyser didn't work. We booked three nights, but not once was the bedsheet changed or the room cleaned. There wasn't even a towel in the room.