I'll start on the postive... The reception, room boys and security staff were very friendly and helpful, but saying that we never really had any major problems. The room was cleaned every day, and when our fridge started leaking the room boy had it changed by the time we got back from the beach. The sheets were changed every other day but were quite stained and never fitted the mattress!towels were changed every other day but bit like cardboard but clean.

Right the negatives...We did know by reviews that the hotel would be a little out of the way, but it the the only place we could get a cheap single supplement. We didn't expect it to be so out of the way. There is nothing even close to the hotel and had to get taxi's to get to resort centre/beach, I don't mind a bit of walk but it really wasn't walkable. The hotel was very run down,shabby and tatty and rooms was a bit prisioner cell block. The sink without taps was interesting! The beds were very hard but I don't mind a hard bed so didn't really bother me. We tended to have breakfast there as we were too hungry to wait. Toast was hard and chewy and you needed a steak knife to cut it. The eggs were okay though whatever way you had them. The waiting staff were quite rude and it was some effort to there attention, and then they were miserable. Personal hygeine was non existant and the BO nearly knocked you out not what you want to smell when your eating.. yuk, one of the reasons we never ate there.

Would I stay there again not a chance even if it was stupidly cheap never ever again. This was not my first time in Goa so didn't expect anything fancy but this is the worst place I have ever stayed in Goa.

This hotel has had mixed reviews on this and other sites. We first visited some years ago when friends were staying there, and thought it was a bit out of the way. However, we were pleasantly surprised. It is within easy walking distance of Calangute and the beach - there is a short cut on the other side of the main road. There is also a bus to and from the beach several times a day. Brilliant place for bird watching, saw several species we had not seen before in the surrounding fields.

This is a typical 2 star Goan hotel - shoddy broken fittings, tatty decor, sheets and towels stained and full of holes, intermittent water and electricty supply. But it is not as bad as the Abalone. If I was a first time visitor to Goa I would have been horrified. But I was not, neither were the majority of the other guests.

The food is excellent, not too spicy for European tastes, steak was particularly good and the prices reasonable. But I wish they'd get some decent coffee.
The room was cleaned and the towels changed regularly, no complaints about cleanliness.

The only down side was the complete absence of water for several hours on two occasions (one due to the pump, the other time the well dried up). The lack of flushing toilet and functioning shower was irritating to say the least. Power cuts you just accept in India.

The entertainment was OK and included a Goan evening with dancing and thump-thump-thump music, at one stage a hoard of Indians appeared from nowhere hopped around the stage for a bit and then dissappeared again. Weird.

When we got to our destination we got the shock of our lives, it was absolutely appalling, its not our frist time to Goa, so we knew what to expect but this sight was exactly that, our room was like something from a turkish prison, it had a sink with no taps, a shower with bare wires and two rock hard beds slung together,straight away it was not were we would spend 2 quality weeks, it was absolutely filthy, and we complained straight way, we got shown a another more desirable room !!! which was just as decrepit as the first one only with more damp(Lovely), we asked to be moved by the reps and got our wish,(we had to pay extra of course)and we stayed then at the Birra Marra which was ten times better, although the rep virtually demanded the money up front, and didn't even ask about our concerns, it is not good to put these complexes up for people to stay in, as they are sub standard and not fit for even pets,I asked a few people staying there and they all agreed that this place was the pits,but were very apapthetic in complaining,even saying what do you expect it is Goa. Which is a bit insulting to Goan people, I would never ecommend this place to anyone and will be comppllining strongly to Thomas Cook, but positively Goa is wonderful and its people and state are a credit to themselves.

this hotel should not be rated 2stars ,what a dump taxi drivers call it colditz not far wrong.hell of walk 2 get any other activity/nightlife ,bar staff try to rip you off all the time [think they get trained by the managment cos nothing gets done when u tell them ] beds rock hard.securiry guard sells booze till the very early hours no matter what state guests are in,taxi drivers outside hotel arrogant and rude.so please take note and stay anywhere else but the village royal .

after reading some of the reviews on this hotel i was really dreading going there but it wasnt as bad as expected.
1.the hotel was a bit out of the main centre but a 10 minute walk up a dirt track and you were in calangute centre.
2.there was plenty of taxis outside and they were very good and cheap.
3.rooms are basic as expected but we asked for another mattress and we were brought them in 5 mins and were able to use 2 of them which was a lot more comfy.
4.pool was great, not too many beds and reasonably quiet.
5.food was excellent, we ate a few times here and couldnt fault it, very fresh and hot.
6.reception staff were nice and friendly.
7.most of the waiters were great, but they didnt offer their services..if you wanted anything you either had to go up to the bar or wave for their attention, but they didnt hassle you which was good.
8.a free bus runs to the beach 4 times a day and returns 4 times a day.
9.husband had a massage and said it worked wonders for his back.
10.not much entertainment, about 3 nights a week but the other nights they just had films on.
11.entertainment and tv finishes at 10.30 and you cant be served later than 12 midnight.
12.we really enjoyed goa and went on loads of trips to see different things but if you are just a beach or pool lover then this hotel is ideal for you.
13.fans in room were ok but if you wanted a/c then they were on the ground floor rooms and you had no balcony so i would prefer to be higher up with a fan

i would probably visit this hotel again but i would prefer to stay in candolim next time but that is only because we liked it there and not cos the hotel was bad

First impressions weren

The previous report by Natasha in 2005 is still correct. Little improvement seems to have been made apart from a lick of paint.

It is basic, but we had half board thrown in which was a serious mistake.

The food was a problem both my wife and I were ill, my wife required Doctors attention. The Doctor was quite a regular visiter to the hotel???

After the second week we realised that it was the hotel food and stopped eating in the hotel, but the damage was done and spoilt our holiday.

An example of the standard of food hygiene occurred during the 2nd week when a glass fronted dislay cabinet appeared in the bar area containing pastries, croissants, rolls, cakes etc in 30 degree temperatures and it was not refrigerated.

The hotel is clean and very basic, don\'t eat the food and just use it to sleep.

Certainly will not go back and I just want to forget it and put it down to a bad experience.

We stayed at the village royal hotel in november 2007 for 2 weeks. It was good value for money and yeah it was basic but that is what you expect from a 2* hotel that costs between

when we arrived at the village royale we thought it was absolutely dreadful but after two or three days of settleing in our views totally changed the staff were exellent they were very friendly our room was cleaned out daily and spayed out with mossie spray and the food was tip top our bill was even better we neer paid more than six pounds for our evening meal for both of us we had a starter a main meal also a dessert the pool was clean but needed a lot more sunbeds could have had a bit more entertainment thou it was very basic ie karaoke dancers not much to do in the evenings here waiters were very very freindly especially a guy called joseph he waited on us most days

We knew before we went that the Village royal was out in a field past st Alex church in Calangute so no shocks on arrival we also got a very very cheap deal for 3 weeks there so thought we'd give it a go & if we didn't like it we'd move. Anyway for easiness I've split my report into 3

The good:

1. Decent sized rooms basic but good standard for typical Goa 2-3 star. Usual slightly grubby whitewashed walls, hard beds, pillows like concrete, but excellent shower for Goa & bathroom better than average. Balcony facing rest of hotel decent size.

2. Fridge provided (be aware with certain UK travel co's you need to pay extra for fridge).

3. Fan over bed good - but this end of March/April exceptionally hot even Mrs hates a/c - me wished we had a/c at night!!!( no a/c rooms avail in the VR)

4. Any minor problems (our fan wasnt working properly on arrival) were sorted out quickly. staff friendly & keen to help.

5. Food in hotel excellent - big surprise!! We also got given 3 vouchers for evening meals of 350rp each which made us eat in the hotel this was unexpected & if hadn't been provided we would have eaten out every night - glad we didn't the hotel food was the best we've had in a Goan 2-3star hotel.( been in Goa 4 prev trips).

6. Gardens well kept, pool well kept, enough sunbeds if you wanted & pool towels provided.

The bad:

1. Every morning hotel staff & supervisors shouting at the top of their voices to each other - supervisor trying to find various room boys as they did their jobs etc - pain in the rear, I don't want to be woken by hotel staff every morning unless there's a life & death emergency!

2. Hotel allowed guests to play their own music in their rooms in the evenings quite loud at times unless you complained, I don't want to listen to someone else's music thanks very much, OK not hotels fault that they are stuck with inconsiderate selfish guests but do expect it to be dealt with quickly.

3. Hotel staff insisted on playing VERY LOUD music intermittently around the pool during the day & also in dining area at night, we never stay in a hotel daytime or evening but the music would have driven us away even if we had fancied a day by the pool. Much TOO loud! OK maybe I'm getting old but even as a 19yr old I did not like blasting disco music with a meal! We asked a staff member one day to turn it down which he did but then kept sneaking back to turn it up again.

Most of the hotel guests were 30-50 plus apart form some families with kids, at times I felt like id found my way into a club 18-25 hotel - aaaargh

4. Room was not cleaned some days despite us handing in the key well on time. Also occasional probs with getting clean towels but have to add these were sorted out quickly.

5. The hotel is not finished down the end is half built & screened off with a makeshift screen. The staff quarters are down this end, at times the guys were very noisy shouting to each other, playing music loudly etc, not really acceptable! I know it must be difficult for them & they obviously need to relax when they have their rare & limited time off but sorry I don't want to have to listen to them whilst staying in a hotel on my balcony. ( If you want pics of what I mean pm me & I will send you one)

6. One night my o/h had just got in the shower & soaped up water went off - OK no big deal happens in Goa..........after 20 Min's still no water, we were on the balcony & saw a reception guy wander past, asked him how long till water on, he said about 5-10 Min's, nearly 20 Min's later still no water, o/h went down to reception to see what was happening, reception gut shrugged & said maybe no water for 24 hrs!!!!!!!! o/h lost it BIG time lots of shouting etc which he shouldn't have done but did apologise for after. It wasn't the no water it was the attitude of the staff, if the water was going to be off for an extender period (it was only our block that was affected) someone should have been sent to notify us & offer us an alternative ie: use a room for showers or move rooms - there was quite a few empty rooms, this was not done until o/h went mad. Not good enough really. The cause of the problem - showers are serviced from the water towers on top of each block which run out - ours ran out on a Sunday evening so they weren't keen to pay to fill it till the next day- poor VR very poor. We saw over the next few days several other blocks suffer from the same problem.

7. Karaoke on Thursday nights - grim grim grim - but lots of our fellow guests loved it, but guaranteed to get us out into Baga/Calangute/Candolim early on Thursdays evenings - not to return until it was well & truly over!!!!!!!!

The ugly: on the Friday night before we left, we got back to the hotel at around midnight as usual. Quite a few drunk guests around the pool, we went on our balcony guests quite noisy ( our room was quite far from the pool area) next minute loud shouting, cheering, commotion etc & a splash followed by lots of others, people were being thrown in the pool ( pool rules as in most hotels for safety - no swimming after 7pm). Nothing done, next minute a large group of staff ran through the complex down to their quarters at the end of the buildings shouting & screaming at the top of their voices & then started banging loudly on doors, staff came out & loads running around yelling & screaming until around 1am when a guest came out on her balcony & shouted at them to 'shut up', I sat on my balcony shaking my head in amazement, Ive stayed in different classes of hotels all over the world & Ive never witnessed such uncontrolled behaviour in my life before. The security guards were wandering around scratching their heads not knowing what to do..........I wish Id called the Calangute police because it really was totally unacceptable.

There was a lot off elderly couples in the hotel not to mention families with young kids, me I again felt like I'd found my way into a club 18-25's nightmare!!!!!!!!!!

Would we stay here again??? Yes despite the problems, BUT only if we got again a very cheap deal! We would not pay around 500 quid for a couple of weeks in this place we would much rather go somewhere like the Osborne or the magnum again. Shame really cos despite the out of the way location, the rooms are really quite good, I like people to be happy at work but the management at the VR is just too slack, they need to control their staff a little more & get a better balance so they are happy & also guests are happy.