SANDRAY LUXURY RESORT. PEACEFUL, PRIVATE AND FRIENDLY

The description given by the owners of this small private hotel is exactly what you find on arrival. The south of Goa is the lesser cultivated area so it gives you the opportunity to see it before the big hotels arrive and take over the lovely coastline and beaches. We opted for the villa as it gives a greater amount of privacy whilst sunbathing but the self contained flats were just as well kitted and comfortable. The Resort is located in a quiet residential area close to the beach which the local rickshaws take you to in 5 mins. The pool was lovely 9/10 strokes in length and as there are only 5 units in the entire place you can always find a time to use it on your own. If you insist on self catering there are the basic kitchen facilities but we were happy to let Shelish the chef take the strain and he did not disappoint, everything is cooked fresh at the time of ordering and if you make a special fish dish request he'll be sure that the fish is purchased only an hour or so before cooking. If you ask nicely he'll let you watch him cook and give a good running commentary. Most importantly the kitchen runs on Western standards with use of purified water. The villa and apartments are cleaned thoroughly each day and if you needed something you only had to ask. The staff are energetic and friendly so nothing is a too much trouble. A small medical problem was resolved by a quick trip to the local Dr within half an hour of making the request, the manager even drove us there and back. This property is best suited to those travellers who want to be away from the madding crowd but with easy accessibility to the bars restaurants and beaches. The only noise you will hear at night will be the neighbouring farm animals and the early morning birds. We personally loved that fact that Colva Beach is used more by Indian visitors than Europeans. It is a long stretch of sandy beach bordered by palm trees with beach shacks for drinks and food. The hawkers are not allowed onto the beach until after sundown so you do not get pestered repeatedly as on other nearby beaches. It was our first visit to India and we enjoyed the experience hugely but at the end of a long day in the sunshine it was lovely to come back to the Sandray to know the staff would look after us and we would have a quiet nights sleep.

What a brilliant place Sandray is. It was everything we expected of it. Thank you Clement and all your staff for looking after us. We'll be back. Janet and Jean