Hi lassigirl'

The Leela looks very luxurious on their website

It is very luxurious It was the first hotel we stayed in on our first visit to Goa, daughter picked it because she liked the picture of the swimming pool It's a pity she wasn't paying for it, but being only 12 at the time, that was out of the question

We only ate in the hotel twice, but the food was really fantastic, very dear by Goan standards if you consider how cheap beach shacks are, but nice to have done it. A meal for 2 was approx £40/50, as you can see, expensive, but for that special occassion, well worth it To give you some sort of idea, large kingfisher in Mikes beach shack was 30 rupees, in hotel bar was 150 rupees

I'm really pleased that we stayed there on our first visit, it was part of what made our first trip to Goa so special that I done something I've never done after any holiday, and that is go back to the same place again Will be my 6th time in November, all being well

And the Leela do extra extra special shampoo bottles don't they Tony

And the Leela do extra extra special shampoo bottles don't they Tony

Yes, Callum, they do Not only are they special, to me, the one I have is UNIQUE

Hope your all well, Tony.

Thanks again Tony !
Good, the beer prices are no more expensive than the other 5* hotels, but I've heard that the cheapest bottle of wine is around £50 ! can this be true ?
And just one more question, which of the restaurants has the best ambience, I don't like overbearing waiters, corny music, or wandering minstrels. Sorry about that, but I've been to some posh places where the waiters have really got on my nerves, and the music has been awful.

Hi lassi,

I've heard that the cheapest bottle of wine is around £50

It maybe now, but when we went in 2003 I had a really nice bottle of wine(can't remember it's name ) for £18, would never normally spend that amount on a bottle of wine, but being it was our first night in Goa on our first trip, it didn't matter

which of the restaurants has the best ambience

To me, they all did. The settings, the lighting, they were all good. As you can imagne, being the Leela Palace, the waiters were fantastic and very friendly and very helpful if you had a question about what something was on the menu or about a certain drink, even took time to go into great detail about how a dish is prepared and how it's cooked etc They were always in the background, never overbearing, but if you wanted their attention, they were there There was no corny music, no minstrels wandering around(I hate this too, so bloody annoying when all you want is a very special time with someone ) but indian music was playing through speakers at a level that was not to loud you couldn't hear yourselves talk or to low that you couldn't hear it, just added to the ambience

For that special occassion, yes I would recommend the Leela Palace for an enjoyable evening meal, but, don't expect anything but expensive, but for the experience, WELL worth it

Hope this helps lassi,
Tony.

Thanks Tony !
I am so pleased to hear about the Indian music, because IMO you don't hear enough of it in Goa.

Very much agree with you lassi, you travel 5000 miles to India to enjoy all it has to offer, including the music, only to hear the usual trash you get over here

The Leela sounds great GoanMad Tony for a special meal. Thats where we will hopefully be celebrating my next birthday as it falls when we are in Goa.

minnie, if you do decide to go there for your birthday, I hope it's as good as we experienced, i'm sure it will be. Whatever you decide, have a wonderful birthday in Goa, Tony.

Thank you Tony. After many holidays in the north, we are going south for the first time. Cant wait!!!