The pool area is great for a few hours when you get back from the beach, set well back and no noise at all. Try get down with the wee fella early in the morning and watch the kingfishers take a dip in the pool When we were there there was a big Rooster with family in tow wandering round the grounds too, he made the worst noise, far worse than any traffic, have a great time

Thanks very much

Nicola

p.s. what are the rooms like?

The room we had was large, fairly basic (as usual) but comfortable enough for the time we spent in it. Balcony overlooked an undeveloped area at the rear that was used by locals as a cut through. Squirrels in the trees kept me entertained, as did the odd chap stopping for a pee (I put a beach towel over the balcony rail which obscured them). We had a kitchen too which housed the wardrobe and fridge, just used it for dumping the suitcases. The bed was comfy (compared to some we've had) and our air conditioning (which was included in our booking) was modern and operated by a remote control (never had that before - or since) Fizz

Thanks Fizz

Theres no mention of a/c on our booking, but i think we would like to have a/c.
Im sure that it was Polly50 who said they were made to pay 50pounds before they could get their room key.
Id rather pay 50pounds than pay the 50pounds each that thomascook are charging.

It was me yummymummy, Irishcolleen had the same problem. Are you not travelling with Thomas Cook, as it may be that its only them that are forcing the payment for A/C? There was certainly rooms allocated for just TC customers. We had a letter from them in our welcome pack, stating that we had to pay and that we couldn't change room! Having said that the rooms are fine and I would have no hesitation going back there, at the right price of course

Polly50, yes i booked with ThomasCook, so i shall be expecting the 50pounds charge

Are thomascook allowed to get away with this? why cant thomascook inform guests before they book, rather than have to face this messing about after a long journey.
At least if you are expecting the charge then there will be nothing to worry about.

It seems that we were pretty lucky to get the air conditioning in the price, (and it must have been a good price cos we always look for something that is as cheap as possible) but for the life of me I can't remember who we booked with. Maybe the hotel has since realised what they can make out of this "little extra" I know we paid extra for a TV which looking back wasn't really worth it as the picture/reception was poor but it was handy to keep up with world news. Fizz

Hi Back today from the SoMy and i have to say i would have no hesitation staying there again . As for the Air con, on our first day i got a letter pushed under the door saying we had to pay 300rps per night (took my invoice as proof) . I flew down as i was livid as we had paid £56 pp, surprise surprise the £56 pp is an error and we got £224 cash returned to us in resort that was a welcome surprise.

thanks Fizz and Debgreg.thats good to hear. do you know the quickest route to the beach. do u walk throuhh holiday street? also what shacks are close? we tend to spend most of our time on Baga and the far north beaches,but we dont want to go too far on the first day.thanks

Hi Yummymummy glad to hear you are going back, have you been to Mexico yet?

We only got back at 1pm today and i am missing it already. You come out of the front of the hotel cross to Montannas(bar) walk straight down past falcon resorts and were the road ends go left (you will see a sign saying Chelsea shack) I timed it and it takes 7mins at a strolling pace. We spent almost every day at The Ritz shack , lovely food lovely people and used by many long timers. Lawrence the owner and Leena the worker are a delight as is the food and never once was the bill wrong. The beah is really quite there and we left our towels and they saved our beds. Any questions about the Somy just ask. I liked the Somy better than the MD where we stayed last year only because you were right in the middle of Baga and Candolim and not stuck with Mojos if you wanted a drink before bed.

Hi, thanks for that. I know where you mean now. We havent been to Mexico, we were planning on going to Mexico instead of Goa this month, but with the prices in the resort, and not wanting to be stuck to all inclusive, we decided to go back to Goa. I just hope i have made the right choice.

Mojo's isnt too bad, but i wouldnt go there everyday for a drink

Hi, we got back a few days ago from staying in the Somy, we didn't have air-con in our room. We didn't miss it either.

The fan on the ceiling did a good enough job & saved us £50. We booked with Thomas Cook.

As others have said, the rooms are basic but clean & there's no noise from the traffic as the accommodation blocks are set well back from the main road.

We would stay there again.

Hi thanks very much for your post , i really appreciate it.

Did your room have the same layout as most of the other rooms, shower room, bedroom, room with a wardrobe and sink, and balcony?

thanks very much,

Nicola

P.S what is the size of the swimming pool.

Nicola, stop asking questions..... you will have no surprises left when you get there

, I don't like surprises, not even at christmas.

Our room was a little bit smaller than some others we saw into but it was plenty big enough for the two of us, there were 3 beds, a couple of chairs & a small table, some of the other rooms had dressing tables but ours didn't. Nor did we have a tv - but I don't go on holiday for that. We had a good sized bathroom & a kitchen, with a sink, fridge & wardrobe in it. Oh & yes we had a balcony, I think all rooms do.

If you're anything like us then the room is just somewhere to sleep & get ready to go out anyway.

I don't think there's any need to worry about staying there, as long as you don't expect too much, the most important thing is that it's clean.
Oh, nearly forgot, the pool is a good size but we never bothered with it, the beach there kicks-ass over any pool!

Thanks very much

We like the pool because we have a 5 year old son, and the sea isnt really that safe in Goa.

You're right there, I was surprised how rough it was! Saw one person have to be rescued & given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, it was good to see him start breathing again!

The pool is a decent size at the Somy but I don't think there's a kid's bit so don't forget the inflatables!

There seems to be a lot of people getting into difficulty in the sea

Just one more quick question. Did you notice if the pool went into the shade during the day?
The reason i am asking this is because we tend to use the pool after being out all day, around 4-5pm, but sometimes we just have lazy days and dont go out until after lunch.

I always get paranoid about my son burning in the pool in the afternoon, which is why i tend to go to the beach so i can keep him in the shade more.