The breakfast to be fair could have abit better like beans and all types of eggs available everyday instead of having to pay for them but all in all the hotel was great.

We stayed at the Nizmar first 2 weeks in December and generally it is a decent hotel. BUT for 11 days out of our stay the toilet did not flush and the shower drain was always blocked occasionally flooding Effluent into the bathroom and once into the room itself while we frantically tried to dam the flood with towels!! Lovely! To be fair our complaints about this were always attended to by the maintenance and cleaning staff but the problem continually re-occurred. Avoid the ground floor!!

My mother in laws boyfriend had his mobile phone and some money stolen from his wallet in the the room, but the door was unlocked and he was sat on the loo at the time. The hotel staff seemed more concerned that we DIDN'T inform the police than finding the culprit. The cleaning staff were more worried about their jobs than anything else. Who knows, could have been a guest??

Security at the hotel seemed very good with guards at both gates, I think this was to prevent guests from bringing in provisions from outside. This 'encouraged' people to use the mini bar which was fairly well stocked and they asked you to sign a chit for what you had had every day or two. Obviously the prices at the mini bar and indeed at the bar and restaurant were approx 40% more expensive than outside of the hotel. Did hear one guest complaining when he settled the mini bar bill that he didn't drink the Beer that was on the tab (Only hangover inducing Kingfisher stocked)

The room itself was ok, looked like it had just had a lick of paint before we arrived, there were dots of paint all over where they had patched the worst parts up.

In the shower room there was a tile missing in the corner where the water was supposed to run down, obviously with the tile missing it didn't and most often we were left with a pool of water in the bathroom. The window didn't fit right in the bathroom, we couldn't close it shut so every morning we were met with a plague of flies that had made their way in over night.

We only had 2 meals at the hotel, the Chinese garden was very good but we were the only ones there so there wasn't any atmosphere, we also went to one of the themed nights, this was ok but we thought a little steep at 600 rupees each, you need to eat a lot for that !!. We didn't get up for breakfast very much and when we did we wished we hadn't bothered.

Most mornings we were woken very early (5.30am) when we complained it was explained that the maids were getting the rooms ready for new arrivals that day, not good if you want a lie in, great if you want an early morning run without being run over.

We also realised that we had had some money stolen, we put our taxi and mini bar money to one side for the end of the holiday but when we came to pay the money had gone, we also reported this but didn't hear anything back by the time we'd left. I don't think I need to say that we won't be visiting this hotel again.

Don't be put off by spartan appearance, inside is fine, except for stairwells which are pretty grim.

Most staff are helpful, cleanliness good by local standards, minibar/fridge at shop prices. Room service, if you are that way inclined was efficient.

However, this hotel is badly let down by the catering arrangements at the restaurants. On arrival, you will be told about the numerous different restaurants - Mexican, Chinese, and Indian etc etc. This is almost entirely untrue. There are different zones around the pool which are nominally separate eateries and a bewildering array of menus will be given or requested. Except for the rooftop Chinese which was sometimes open and good, all the other stuff comes from the same kitchen and cooks. The Indian food was easily the worst I have had anywhere but the fresh fish/prawn dishes my wife ate were acceptable. I found that steak & chips (fries) were OK but not normally my idea of a good time. The best meal we had in 2 weeks was from the non-existent Mexican restaurant. This meal took two days to arrange and involved almost every member of staff including our rep. It was not possible to repeat this experience but we saw it as a major triumph at the time.

Breakfast is Continental-that's the European, not Indian continent, fried eggs etc extra, cheap & good.

What should have been a simple transaction at dinner each day usually became fraught due to the strange rules the staff chose to apply to our pre-paid half board status. Basically, the system is you 'spend' 1000 rupees allowance but they usually won't include drinks. If you aren't hungry you can under spend on the food but have to pay extra for the drinks. Staff can be unbelievable awkward in telling you how much you have spent-probably due the multiple menus from which you chose your meal. The whole edifice is so complicated that it can be quite wearing. Good job we were on holiday & had nothing much else to do!

Taxis at front or rear gate always available & good.
It is well worth having a driver 'adopt' you & take you out for day trips such as Old Goa-recommended.

It is possible to hire motorcycles/scooters but beware that it is always illegal, there is no insurance available, local drivers are probably skillful but crazy and hospital facilities/mortuaries are basic.

Please don't abuse the beggars - they really are in a bad way and even 10-20 Rupees can help.

Nice walk to beach - follow your nose out of back gate through surprisingly rural area. Enjoy!

Lovely hotel, very spacious rooms with seating area, mini-bar, full size TV. Very clean and staff very friendly and attentive.

Restaurant food was excellent, only downside being breakfast which was cereals, tea/coffee toast etc, anything cooked was extra and they managed to find tasteless cornflakes! Evening food was very good however, and the Monday buffet with added entertainment particularly good value.

Friend stayed at the Ronil, about a mile away, this has a superb restaurant but is starting to look a bit run down round the edges.

Just came back and thought the hotel was superb. The staff were very helpful and friendly, went out of their way to help. Rooms were excellent, mini bar, air con, 2 fans, sofa, armchair, sat tv, 2 balconies, very clean.

3 restraunts with varied menu's. Decent pool, not massive but ok, need to get to pool early to get a sunbed, location was good-5 mins to baga and candolim by taxi or tuk tuk, beach about 10 min walk.

You definatly go back again. Had entertainment most if not all night, s.breakfast was basic but you can order additional food at a small price.

The Nizmar is a great hotel. Accomodation is very basic - but clean and comfortable. We had a good sized lounge area with TV and minibar fridge and then a shower/toilet room and double bedroom.

Bed was comfortable and sheets were changed 3 times a week. Towels also changed 3 x a week

They also lend you towels each day at the pool.

There is a taxi rank just outside to it is very easy to get a taxi - we never paid more than 50 rupee to get to the main town / beach of Calangute.

Food is very good and cheap (as are drinks). Breakfast is basic but you can order cooked food for approx.

The breakfast was basic, toast, cereals, fruit, rolls, tea / coffee if you wanted omelettes or anything else you had to pay extra.

The rooms were very well maintained and cleaned daily; the only problem with our room was that it was positioned at the far end of the complex and adjacent to a small independent bar which stayed open until approx 4am, this did offer some disturbed nights.

The food was good and freshly prepared, both food and drinks were reasonably priced; there is also a reasonably priced mini bar in all the rooms.

The hotel is located away from the main area of Calengute but is still only about a 5 minute walk from the beach (down a back lane).

The hotel provided a variety of nightly entertainment some with a charge if you partook in the meal; if it was a birthday or some other sort of anniversary this was also celebrated.

Although we personally prefer Candolim to Calengute we would visit this hotel again.

We were greatly surprised by the Nizmar.

We arrived very tired after the long journey and had to wait a couple of hours for our room to be available, which didn't thrill us but nevertheless, the staff were very obliging and apologetic.

The staff were lovely but I suspect this was to do with anticipation of a good tip at the end! In fairness, all of the Goan people seemed genuine.

I was rather pessimistic about the trip generally but had a great time.

Watch out for the mini bar bill - we found ourselves being charged for bottles of water as the supplies were filled, then charged again once they were empty!

Clean towels/linen most days - very good standards of cleanliness within the hotel but a little tip - take some bleach tablets for the loo! They don't use bleach and the brown colour can be a little off-putting!

All in all, we enjoyed this hotel but wouldn't go back because Calangute as a resort wasn't our favourite place.