i just got back from that dive on xmas eve, mossy nets, r u serious, the room i was had no glass in the toilet or the shower room it was full of them constant, it was the pits, there was gaps at the door frames and the door on to the so called balcony which was 3 feet square and looked onto a shed 5 feet away did not even close, the next two rooms to mine were private owned by indians an one had a shutter like you get on a lift befpre you close the door, and every five minutes this used to slam back and forward impossible to sleep, the next one had a padlocl on it that must have weighed 1 stone and this was banged constantly,
if they offer you room in the annexe refuse and dont even look at it or it will put you on a downer.
not one person who has checked into that hotel has accepted the first room they were given so your first two hours there will be looking at rooms to try and pick the best of the worst ,
you will have a great time apart from the dona alcini, just sleep and shower in the room and spend as much time away from that fleapit as you can, and if you use the bars at the pool pay as you get it or they will rip you off, the food at the hotel is disgusting, go outside there are many great eating joints in a short walk.

Hi i have been to the Dona Alcina and i disagree with you. It is a lovley place to stay, the people there are realy friendy, the food is realy delicious and the rooms are realy clean. I thin that Melwyn Sunny Sabastian and Britto were great. They worked at the resteraunt and bar there. The pool was cleaned every day. They had internet in the reception too.

If you are wondering wether the Dona Alcina is a nice place to stay it is wonderful, i arrived back in england on christmas eve and i was realy miserable because i wanted to go back to the Dona Alcina...that is how great it was!!! itsfun for children and if it is your first time in Goa then its a great place to stay!

hi lesleyn the dona alcina in goa is fab.the workers there are great. its a clean hotel the food is gorge and the rooms are realy big and clean, the cleaners are realy friendly and if you leave a sterio plugged in for them then they will love you forever, i got to know the cleaners realy well and they are lovley. Melwyn Sunny Britto and Sabi are the workers there, they are great, they will remember me and my brother thomas. They remember anybody!!

after last two posts. draw your own conclusions ?????. wished i was 8 again.

Hi all especially dona alcina is boss,
Do you work for the dona alcina?Because they must be paying you to say what you have about them or you stayed at a differant dona alcina to the rest of us.It is the absolute pits.I have stayed in many third world countries in mud huts with rats that were cleaner than this hotel.It is nothing more than an hovel.I would take my 8 year old granddaughter anywhere but i would never subject her or any human being to this hotel.

Sue.

hi impala, you spot on, i think the poster dona alcina is boss is giving people who are due to go there false hopes and they will be really disappointed when they get to the s*****le.

No i am not being paid to say anything about the dona alcina. i stayed in the dona alcina in candolim across the road from a resteraunt called jazz house, the room i stayed in was realy clean and i just got back on christmas eve. me and my family loved it and on our stay we thought it was lovely and clean. What dona alcina did you stay at?

Well I seem to have started an arguement here. obviously people have different standards or there is actually 2 Dona Alcinas. I don't think so. As long as it's clean.

hi lesleyn,

we were booked into dona alcina in december. we should have had 2 rooms but on arrival they just gave us one and said the other would be ready in a few hours. the room was at the back of beyond on the third floor and no no. on the door. told the power would come on in ten minutes so we could put the fan on. this didn't happen.
later that afternoon they moved us to their sister hotel dom fransisco and gave us 2 adjoining rooms. the rooms are basic but are cleaned daily if you give your key to reception. we had a great holiday, and you don't go to goa to stay in your hotel room. i'm sure you'll have a great time.

deb

ps. all the staff were really nice, just dont expect luxury

Thanks for that. You are spot on when you say you don't stay in your room. We are visiting a 3rd world contry afterall. I bet if we took the airfair off the price of the holiday we are paying peanuts for the room anyway. so now I'm just going to sit back and relax for the next 2 weeks,1 hour and 51 mins. Got my tickets today and had belly ache I'm that excited.

(me and my 5 friends)

Hi dona alcina is boss,
We were supposed to stay at the same one as you.I was joking when i said you must of stayed at a different one than us as there is only one dona alcina hotel(thank god).We were shown three different rooms all s**t holes so we stayed in luxury for 700 rupees for two per night at the sea breeze.We knew when we booked we were getting a cheap deal so were prepared for the worst anyway.We actually met people arriving in goa for the first time who were gutted when they saw the state of the hotel and we advised many people on where else to go and every one of them went.It`s about time this hovel was dropped from all british holiday companys.

sue.

Message for davecam,
Were you the Edinburgh Dave who I met in the Manchester airport bar. Did you stay at Dom Francisco, Candolim 9th to 24th December 2004. If so, I met up with Tommy & Davey from Glasgow in Morley at Tommys local. They said you were going back soon.
Please let me know if I am right or wrong ?

Best Regards

Hi impala, to be honest with you, its india and its not luxury when i went it was not a s**t hole we liked it, but realy you can't expect luxury i have been to goa three times now the first time i went i thought it was messy but i suppose you have to realise that its india and very basic.

Watch this space.
will post a review on return,

hi stewart, will send you a pm sunday.

Hi dona alcina is boss,
I did not say i expected five star luxury for a 2 star price.What i said is, if you read my reports properly, that i have stayed in many third world countries,and believe me goa is not third world if you think it is then you need to travel more,I have been to goa many times and the dona alcina along with the ave maria 2 is the pits.As the local goan people said when we were there it is a place you take prostiutes to not your wives.I do not expect a luxury hotel for the price they charge but what i do expect is somewhere habitable where you can relax when you sleep or go out knowing that your room and belongings will be safe.The dona alcina does not provide this and i would not send my worst enemy there.All i can say is if you found it comfortable then you are easily pleased but i would never subject anyone to this hovel as you can see from the rest of this site and all other forums about the dona alcina no one else did.

sue.

In all honesty and in years of travel this hotel has to be the worse I've stayed in. Yes I agree this is India and basic accomodation expected - FILTH however is not! We returned from Dona Alcina in January 2005 and to describe it as Alcatraz would be an insult to the prison.

The rooms are dirty, there is no mosquito netting whatsoever, we did not get a warm shower in three weeks (because the shower was about 20 years old; and obviously over the years forgotten its purpose in life was to to heat water). Dog and Cat filth were a regular occurence (I have photos to prove it) - this was always to be found at the back of our apartments. Elsewhere in the grounds this muck had been there so long it had turned white and looked like volcanic lava.

The food was inedible. Although paid for in the price of the holiday we did not eat either Xmas or Gala meals (there were five of us and we elected to pay for these at the Highland Beach). I certainly do not throw money away but felt it cheap at half the price as the food at Dona Alcina was a disgrace. We were also B @ B - after the first morning we did not eat breakfast. Primarily the breakfast provisions were pathetic but even more off putting were the tables whose tableclothes contained the remains of other guests meals. Considering this was Goa and everywhere else the food was excellent the Dona Alcina should be ashamed of itself for serving up inedible swill.

I agree totally with one of the above writers as regards the rooms - doors had gaps, painting peeling from walls, damp mould in shower room. Leaking toilets and sinks - dangerous light fittings (our light hung from the ceiling) - sheets were washed often however they were so old that they'd turned a light grey as opposed to white. The landings and stairs were thick with mosquitos and other bugs. We spent a small fortune on coils, mosquito repellent machines, deet etc etc etc and made sure our malaria tablets were taken exactly on time every day.

As for this being a typical hotel in Goa I don't think so. We checked out and looked at other hotels of equivilent rating and they were all way above the D.Alcina.

We spoke to many guests at the D.Alcina and the vast majority were very upset with the accomodation and food there. Speak to any cab or chuk chuk driver, restaurant owner, shack owner - the Dona Alcina is infamous for being the most disgusting hotel in Candolim. Please take any comments to the contrary with a huge dose of salt - this hotel is BAD and should be removed from all tour operators brochures. I could go on and on - surfice to say THIS IS THE WORST HOTEL IT HAS BEEN MY MISFORTUNE TO BOOK INTO IN TWENTY YEARS.

Hi,
I agree entirley with the above report,We should get up a petition to close this hotel down until it has had a full overall.I believe the only thing the holiday companies are bothered about over here is taking our money.They know they have you where they want you.If you arrive there for the first time in goa and don`t know any better they will offer you elsewhere at a price so what is the point of a cheap package deal when you will spend more money "upgrading" with them anyway.There was no way they were going to get another penny of my money which is why we moved.

Sue.