hi ther welcome to the forum. .the hotel although never stayed ther (marriot)is a very top quality hotel but a little out of the way from the main tourist areas.i beleive you would be better of staying at the the taj at sinquerim,near candolim,its a class hotel but you would be very close to all the lively places,and beaches.you could still get a taxi to panjim for the odd day out,hope this helps

Hiya philipghall..Theres a new hotel opened in candolim which is very close to everything but also right on the beach its 4* its called " 360" i've not viewed it but friends of ours have and said it was beautiful and POSH for goa..maybe you could look up their website its worth trying..

We have friends who stayed there last year. A good hotel with good service which comes at a price. Other down sides were a taxi needed to take you to a beach as the one the hotel is built on is on the estuary to the Mandovi river and is quite dirty and suffers from strong currents. The other problem was the bardges on the river. They move 24 7 and could be heard in the rooms even with balcony doors closed.

You could also try The Lemon Tree in Candolim not on the beach but close,
had a tour of it last year looks great very modern
ann

We went to a birthday do at the 360 Degrees in Candolim in March and it is sensational, it's a boutique style hotel very classy and with a pool to die for, we were told it was £125 per night so it doesn't come cheap.

Debs

Your wife can't be that fussy if she fancies the Marriot - it's full of noisy Russians and the beach is minging.

Have a look at this - Nilaya. or this Presa di Goa

Edit - The coffee shop in the Marriot is nice and they do sell lovely cakes.

Thanks for the info everyone. The 360 looks great will defnitely look into that.

Max13 - I looked at the Nilaya, but reviews on tripadvisor weren't too good (am I allowed to mention other sites on here - apols if not!). Presa di Goa, looks too far from the beach too, but thanks anyway. We can be quite noisy too, so we might give those Russkies a run for their money if we go for the Marriott in any case.

Thanks all again - most helpful.

Not sure why the title of the thread is Monarch and Marriott when you quote First Choice who don't use Monarch. If your O/H will only stay at hotels that offer a certain level of comfort then I don't think Monarch will be for her.
As for leaving it until late to book, from my limited experience of looking for last minute deals, the more expensive end of the accommodation range does not seem to feature very often. Maybe they have fewer rooms held or a different contract. The cheap deals often feature cheap accommodation that might not normally be in the brochure either. The one thing you might get is a cheap flight only ticket ( not normally available) but without the buying power of the big travel companies you will be paying top rates for your hotel room.
The other thing to consider is that you need a VISA. Are you going to apply before you book or take a chance. How long before the holiday booking can you safely afford to leave it ?
We are going to Goa with F.Choice in 5 weeks time, I booked months ago and looking at the current prices we haven't missed out. In fact our holiday is currently £200 more than we paid for the same dates/hotel.The thing you always sacrifice in late deals is choice.You have set your sights on a very specific and narrow band of hotels, chances are you will not have that choice.
If you are prepared to look anywhere in the world you have a better chance of finding what you are looking for but I doubt you will in Goa.
I should add that this is my opinion, I might well be wrong. Good luck !!!!!!

Thanks Dave, very helpful. It was COSMOS we were booking through, not First Choice. My mistake.

I would say forget Cosmos/Monarch and go with First Choice