Hi there,i have not had a look at what they are charging,can you post some more info ?
I would say it is the same gamble where ever in the world you book an ''allocation on arrival''. Any rating in any brouchure can differ massivlly,and a lot of 2 stars are better than 3 or 4 stars - so i would check the prices out for what they are quoting and then have a look at some named accomodation (see if there are any you like or what have been reccomended on this site) and see what the difference is, Spike.

we have only done allocated on arrival once,not in goa, and it was fine. However from a choice of 3 hotels, the others in the group we travelled with , we got the only decent one.
My OWN choice is to go for named allways, but the cost is almost always more.
Also, bear in mind that first choice AOA hotels are not forced to be the hotels that they have in the brochures.
Having said all that , I have seen several posts recommending to do just what you are considering and if the hotel is duff to simply move to another one that you like and pay up, evidentley it's not that expensive and can work out cheaper than paying for a named hotel.
probably confused you even more now.

del949

we are off on feb 8 aoa with thompsons and have always had exellent apartments. i hope so this time

considering the huge difference in quality of accomodation and locations i personally think its best to pay the extra and get the best accommodation you can,or you could book a flight and one nights accomm and get a taxi driver to find you somewhere nice.if things go wrong aoa you know your response will be "we should of "!

what if the AOA is classed as a three star???worth teh risk at £279 for end of march?

I would totally discard the 'star' ratings, no stars, ones or 2 can be better than 3 or 4.
That price sounds one not to miss,how long is it for ? You will always have the option of moving on to somewhere better if you don't like it at a very little cost.
My only concern is that you could be placed away from the coastal areas and end up having to pay taxi fares each day (still cheap if you have to).

Did AOA to Cuba last year had a great time!!, but to be honest most of the hotels seemed to be very much on a par, reading all the Goa reviews there is more of a risk of getting a bad one but if the price is right its worth the chance.

After all as spike says you can always move