Zuri White Sands, Goa

Zuri White Sands, Goa is also located in south west Goa, around 500 mts from Taj Exotica.


We visited Zuri in Jan 2010 and then again in July 2011. Needless to say, the experience was quite varied. As January is the tourist season, the hotel is filled with foreigners and all the restaurants and bars were fully functional. In June, the hotel was relatively less glamorous and the beach front bar was closed.


Like Taj Exotica, Zuri also has vast lush green grounds which lead to the beach, though the landscaping is not as imaginative. It has a spa and also organises yoga and meditation camps. Cycles are also available for the guests on a chargeable basis.


The high points of the hotel property are its pool area and the beach front bar called Fins & Rambooze. The pool is shaped  like a curve that meanders around the main building of the hotel. It has been imaginatively designed and because of its size, offers some privacy. It also has a bar and is a good place to relax and have fun. The last time we visited Zuri, we spent almost 6 hours in the pool!!


Fins & Rambooze is an open air bar overlooking the beach. The set up is quite basic but the view is phenomenal. The choice of music adds to the mood. In good weather, the area is breezy and cool and is the perfect place to chit-chat and spend the evening.


In case one is looking for a more happening evening, Tangerine is the place to be. The hotel organises live music in the evening and then a DJ takes over in the night (the music is bollywood and hip-hop). The terrace attached to it has been tastefully done up and it serves sheesha.


The food is nothing to talk about. The buffet spread at the Waterfall Cafe gets repetitive and boring. Even the dishes ordered a la carte are not as appetising as one would hope. In fact, after two meals, we were thinking about other options and places to dine.


The rooms are basic yet comfortable - like all standard hotel rooms. We stayed in the Superior room for Rs.6,500 per night. The hotel staff is very cooperative and helpful.


When we visited Zuri, the casino was not very busy and seemed sort of seedy. However, we did not get a chance to gamble, so cannot say much about the experience.


On the whole, Zuri is a good option to consider if your budget is not very lavish. The rent for the basic room is reasonable and the in-house entertainment is good. However, spending more than two days within the hotel grounds may get boring and you may want to plan something more if you want to stay longer.

Taj Exotica, Goa

Taj Exotica is located on the south west coast of Goa. It is 45 minutes away from the airport, about the same distance from Panaji and around 90 minutes away from the Baga beach. We visited the hotel in June 2012 for 2 nights and 3 days and the experience was wonderful. 


The entrance of the hotel is grand and a perfect prelude to what lies ahead. The vast green lawns leading to the beach consist of a golf course, a cricket pitch, a football field and a duck pond. The property is huge and cycles are available for the guests to explore the grounds. Golf carts have been provided to help the guests to move around the property. The pool is big and beautiful and though, there is no bar inside the pool, a stall has been set up to provide drinks and refreshments. Though the bar tenders in the stalls get you the drinks in the pool (in special plastic glasses which can float in water), it doesn't replace the advantages of having an actual bar with bar stools submerged in the pool area itself (which is now a common place in other big properties  like Zuri and Marriott in Goa).

We stayed in one of the villa rooms which was much  bigger than the regular rooms. It was comfortably furnished and had a private balcony. The bathroom was neat and clean with a bath tub and a shower cubicle but, frankly, we have seen more luxurious set ups. The bed  is huge and can accommodate 3 people comfortably (but there is no reason why you would want to do that to yourself).


Some of the villa rooms also have a private pool attached to them but these pool areas are barely hidden and visible to everyone crossing the room. So don't be naughty in your private villa pool with your partner (unless you don't mind an occasional passer by having a peep).



The breakfast buffet which is served in Eugenia was our best meal with a lavish spread ranging from punjabi to south Indian to continental. I particularly loved the dhaba chai served during breakfast. When we visited, the beach front Lobster shack was closed though it looked quite appealing. Adega Camoens which is the bar area inside the hotel was also quite dead.















The management is very cooperative and helpful. As we arrived much prior to the check in time, they provided us with a temporary room to rest in. The concierge was helpful too and assisted us in planning a trip to the city. The location of the hotel is such that it may be difficult for you to arrange for your own bikes/cars on rent and you are dependent on the hotel to arrange the vehicles for you - more so in the non-peak season. This has additional cost implications, but well, if one is choosing to spend a vacation in  Taj Exotica, this may not seem to be a heavy burden.


The only thing lacking in the hotel is a good evening entertainment programme. When we went the hotel had organised a magic show on a Friday night! Even though it was an off season, considering the occupancy it may have been worthwhile to arrange for a good live band on the weekend. Though, Adega Camoens did have a live band, considering we were the only people in the bar, it wasn't that fun - the singers were good though. 

Our overall cost of the entire trip - including accommodation, airfare (to and fro - Mumbai), food, drinks, travel within Goa - came to about Rs. 1,06,000. We were five people so took two villa rooms with an extra bed in one room. We would say it offered value for money spent.

Overall, the hotel is a good place to stay in if one has already experienced Goa before. If however, you would want to experience the typical 'touristy' Goa, head North (towards Baga, Anjuna et al) and stay there - Keep Taj Exotica for the next visit. It offers almost everything that Goa has - beach, beauty, beer, greenery, water sports - with the comfort and without the chaos. 

Beyond, Sula Vineyards, Nasik

The entrance to the resort

Beyond is the resort opened by Sula Vineyards. It (like the vineyards) is also situated in Nasik and is 2 km ahead of the vineyards itself. We visited Beyond in June 2012 and the trip turned out to be much more than we had expected.
From Mumbai we took the NH3 - the highway is well maintained and the drive is smooth and enjoyable - there is a short stretch that goes through the hills and the view from there is beautiful. 
The highway has a lot of punjabi dhabas. On our way to Nasik, we ate at Oye Punjabi. We ordered  one aloo paratha, a plate of chole bhature, chaaas and lassi. The food costed us approximately Rs.700 and was decent, though nothing to rave about. The place has been done up like a village haveli, which was quite interesting.

The cool and pleasant evenings

It took us around 4 hours door-to-door to reach Beyond. We had rented a deluxe room as opposed to other more luxurious choices available. The room was simply yet tastefully done. Every room has an attached balcony - our's faced the beautiful lawn and the vineyards. The bathroom is smartly designed with modern furnishings, though there is no bath tub. Overall, the room was very comfortable and we had no complaints.
The location and the architecture of the resort offers a beautiful view of the lake in the vicinity and the mountains in the area. Even though in June the area was dry and arid, the view was simply gorgeous. 

The grape plantations - you can see the lake and mountains in the background

The resort also has an infinity pool, though it is not much to swim in considering its size and  depth. Wine is served in the pool if requested. Sitting in the pool with a glass of wine and looking at the lovely scenery was one of the most relaxing experiences. 
The resort also has a spa attached to it - Aura. It offers couples massages as well which is perfect for a romantic weekend. A basic massage costs Rs.2000 per person.

The 'inifinity' pool - sitting with a glass of wine makes the experience even more enjoyable.

A very good thing about the resort is the peace and quite it offers. Even though the resort was fully occupied when we visited and there were some not-so-quite families (with kids) around, we never felt our privacy  being encroached upon. 

The view from our balcony

There is only one cafe in the resort which is not open 24 hours. The breakfast that we had (which was included in the package) was not very impressive. Sula Vineyards has three more restaurants - The Tasting Room, Little Italy and Soma.  We had dinner in Little Italy (you know to behave like Italians - since we were having wine!), and like every other Little Italy outlet in India (as were told there) serves only vegetarian food.

The restaurants Little Italy and Soma - they open to a nice courtyard

Though one can rent a bicycle from Beyond to reach these restaurants, the road is  not lit in the night and it may not be safe to walk or bike the distance.

The grapes used in the fermentation process for preparing the Sula  'Sauvignon Blanc'

Do note that the resort does not have network coverage everywhere. Also, though it was warm during the day, the evenings were cool and pleasant. 
We paid Rs.6,500 for the stay which included one night stay, breakfast and a tour of the vineyards. The tour of the vineyards was quite informative, though it is actually for only Rs.300 and does not add much to the package.

The barrels in which the wine is stored

On our way back to Mumbai we ate at Daras Dhaba. We ordered kadai paneer, daal tadka, breads and a Carlsberg and the total bill was around Rs. 650. The food was better than Oye Punjabi, though the place has no ambiance to talk about.
Beyond is a perfect destination to relax and a great weekend getaway.  We do recommend taking this stress free weekend if you are in or around the Mumbai-Pune-Nasik region or happen to be here on a long trip. If you are residing in areas beyond this Maharashtra region, hold your trip plans till January - February - thats when the Sula Wine Festival takes place (dates are announced closer to the festival) and we have heard its pretty good. 


We plan to visit it again during the wine season.