We were in a one bed apartment.

We found that the apartment needed a good freshen up. The furniture could do with updating as it was very tired looking. A coat of paint would have improved things a great deal too.

The staff were friendly and nothing was too much trouble, even down to removal of a frog in the room. There were a family of coackroaches in the kitchen drawer that were a shock as the drawer was opened and they ran out.

Had to spray air freshener round the room when we first arrived.

Other than that, the hotel grounds were well maintained and they were some good restaurants nearby.

Myself, my wife and my two 7 year old children stayed at the Royal Palms for a fortnight in February 2006, it was our first trip to Goa.

The exterior of the hotel looks ok, it has a main gate at the front with security guards which only guests and staff can pass - which is sometimes a sanctuary from the sellers on the street outside which is lined on both sides with stalls and shops.

The hotel is set in beautifully maintained gardens, and there are people constantly tending the plants there.

The room itself was pretty basic, comprising of a fairly spacious living/dining area with a table and chairs and a sofa-bed, leading out onto a balcony(with washing line to hang stuff), the bedroom was also a decent size and had a fitted wardrobe. The bed itself was quite firm! Luckily I hate soft beds. The children slept on the sofa bed, which was sufficient for them for the whole fortnight. Fans in both rooms, and a noisy but effective air conditioning unit in the bedroom. The bathroom wasn't the most fragrant, and could have done with a good going over with some domestos. shower was ok.

The hotel staff were always polite and courteous - they soon figured out what times we came and went and would pop into our room to tidy it, and make the childrens sofa bed up for us each day which was really nice to come back to and saved us messing about when the children just needed to get to sleep.

The location of the hotel is good, leave the main entrance then turn left along the road the at the crossroads left again which will take you to Benaulim beach. It is probably about a kilometre walk from the hotel to beach, but is a pleasant walk and we often did it by choice even though the taxi ride cost next to nothing.

In Benaulim there is plenty of shops, money exchange and a (very good and cheap) chemist.

Benaulim is also well placed for many of the sight-seeing tours - Feeding the monkeys at Dudshagar waterfalls, the spice farm and elephants at Ponda, and an easy drive down to Palolem and the stunning Agonda beach

We stayed for a month at Royal Palms in Benaulim. When we first got there it looked lovely, clean and a good range of activities such as Swimming lessons, cooking classes and entertainment.

The room was a 1 bedroom apartment with 2 ring cooker, kitchen, iron, hair dryer and a bathroom. Not much thought was put into the allocation of our room as we were put 4 floors up with no lift youngest is 5 years old so bit of a trek carrying her up when she fell asleep before we got back in the evenings. We asked for a room change to a lower floor and got one (on the last week of our stay).
Also I was expecting 2 single beds in the living room of the apartment for the kids but when we got there it was a double sofa bed (not good when you have 15 yr boy and 5 yr girl) So we complained and low and behold a bellboy appears with a kingsize double mattress and dumps it on the floor! Now we have no space to walk in the room once the double sofabed is pulled out. Complained again, and got a single mattress for the floor! Not chuffed for the amount we paid.

We only ever ate breakfast in the hotel which was ok buffet style cereals, fruit, porridge or a cooked breakfast (Indian or English) not too tasty though. Drinks and Meals were very expensive and the hotel was trying to squeeze every penny out of you they could. There are plenty of restaurants on the way to the beach though.

The staff were quite friendly but once they realise you are not spending in the hotel they cool off until the last few days of stay then service gets better. On paying the Bill (ours came to