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Safari India South Asia Travel Awards 2019

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Luxe Travel Diaries

HOTEL CHECK IN


Destination: The ITC Grand, Goa

Location & Access: South Goa, amidst 45 acres of lush landscaped gardens, swaying coconut palms and shimmering lagoons. The property has direct access to the pristine Arossim beach.

Architecture: This beachside, village–styled resort's architecture draws inspiration from the Indo–Portuguese vintage and blends classical elegance with a distinctive regional touch. Rooms and restaurants are laid out in clusters.

The property: The resort houses 74 Garden View Rooms, 126 Lagoon View Rooms, 16 Pool View Rooms and 21 Sea View Rooms. Some rooms also have a private outdoor rain–shower along with a secret garden. The well–appointed rooms & suites look out in to the lush tropical gardens, the peaceful lagoons and water bodies or the multi–level swimming pool.

Our stay: We checked into a sea view suite with a private lap pool. The suite was 85 square meters with a spacious living area, a separate bedroom, a kitchenette, a Jacuzzi, an oversized marble bath and had a direct view of the Arabian Sea with multiple outdoor sit out options on the patio, private garden and poolside. This was our home for a few nights and did not feel cramped or claustrophobic.

 
 
  The ITC Grand's exterior facade and lagoon pool

In room features:There are plenty of windows in each room, which ensure that you constantly get a feel of the outdoors, from the air–conditioned comfort of your room. Some amenities seem a bit old fashioned, but this did not hinder our stay in anyway.

Room Service: Given the spread of the property room service can sometimes be slow and requires a fair amount of patience.

 
 
  The sea view suite living room overlooking the private lap pool and facing the beach

AIR BORNE

Flight: Vistara

Ground handling: Check in at the Vistara business class counter is smooth and fast and this has nothing to do with the very few business class seats that they have configured on most of their aircrafts. AISATS manages the process but there is always a Vistara associate to assist. New Delhi's T3 airport has an impressive Vistara lounge that stays buzzing pretty much through the day. The lounge feels roomy and airy even though it seems a tad bit cramped from the facade. The layout of the lounge is practical and simple with a distinct divide between the food & waiting areas.

On board

Vistara is now India's only full service airline and therefore do that little extra to ensure you are pampered and well looked after. The colour palette of the cabin is either aubergine & grey or aubergine & beige. Both combinations are soothing and distinct. The crew deserves a special mention, as the Vistara in flight team is calm, graceful and trained well to make polite and pleasant conversation, only if you want them to. The uniforms look functional but the makeup could be starker and simpler and perhaps a bit more professional than theatrical (gold eye shadow with thick black eyeliner on an early morning flight is a bit extreme by all standards).

In flight:

Food is fantastic and meals are filling, but light and wont leave you feeling uncomfortable or bloated, like airline food normally tends to. Seats are wide (40"seat pitch with a 7" seat recline) and cushioned well to ensure you reach without discomfort to your destination. I always tend to arrive very fresh after a Vistara flight and this is perhaps the reason the airline has won so many awards and accolades since it started a few years ago.

 
 
  (L–R)The Vistara business class cabin interiors, The signature Vistara meal tray

(For full stories read SAFARI INDIA)