Thursday 10 June 2010

Leela Kempinski Goa - Ritzy Kid friendliness - Little Jet Setter 5 Stars


Leela Kempinski Goa
Mobor, Cavelossim.Goa, 403731, India
Google Maps Reference: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGIC_enGB241GB243&q=Mobor%2c+Cavelossim.%0d%0aGoa%2c+403731%2c+India

Date: April 2010

Overall Little Jet Setter Rating: FIVE STARS

Hotel Class (as per http://www.tripadvisor.com/): 5 stars

The Room:
Size: Varies depending on room type - Conservatory Premier offers a full conservatory room excellent for baby cot/baby room
Cot: Travel Cot with full bedding supplied
Child Amenities: Fridge in the room including juice boxes.
Cleanliness: Immaculate
Bath v Shower: Both
Location of Room: The grounds are immense, and the rooms are spread out, however, there is a buggy service at your beck and call to take you anywhere you want to go - and Little Jet LOVED the buggy rides!
Noise: none
Air Conditioning: Blissful.

The Room Score = 4/5

The Grounds:
Buggy-friendly?: Yes - paved paths to all areas - motorised buggies also on call should you not wish to walk. They even have a vegetable and fruit garden and a spice area you can walk around in and visit some of their animal enclosures with bunnies, birdies and parrots!
Safety: Patrolled gates at front of resort and security at the beach and perimeters. You need to walk across a small road to the Italian restaurant, but all other facilities are on site.
Shady areas: Pool area has plenty of umbrellas and the Kids pool is in a shady area. They should have had some shade over the kids playground area - the plastic and metal climbing area, slides and swing were just too hot to touch!

The Grounds Score = 5/5

The Pool:
Shallowness: steps on one side of the pool that allow for gradual entry. Kids pool very close to main pool and activity center and has an interesting layout with a tree in the center.
Cleanliness: Very clean.
Water Temperature: very warm – heated by the scorching sun!
Toys: allowed
Safety: Wide areas around the pool, Main pool has a feature of a waterfall over some manmade caves - children could be out of sight under these caves.
Location within grounds: central to the grounds. Close to the beach - nice view of the beach/ocean from the pool area.
Shady areas: Lots of umbrellas and the kids pool has umbrellas, loungers and natural shade.

The Pool Score = 5/5

The Food:
Kid-friendly food: Extensive buffets ranging many genres of food.
Toddler breakfast: Included with parents - we were always offered juice, chocolate or water for Little Jet.
Proximity of restaurant to rooms: Rooms can be quite a distance from the main restaurant which is in the central building. There is an Italian restaurant very close to the rooms in the 700-800 block.
Kids in the bar: Allowed - at both the lobby bar and the lovely beach bar.
High Chairs: Yes
Will they do purees?: Yes - needs to be requested and takes some explaining.
Access to milk or formula: You have to get in a taxi to get your own milk or formula from a nearby grocery (10 minute drive).

The Food Score: 4/5

The Location:
Access to local restaurants and bars: There are 3 beach shacks within a few minutes walk along the beach. Betty's is particularly yummy and serves the kids food quickly if asked. Restaurant out of the resort along the adjacent river area for a different view (Fisherman's Wharf - with a kids play area!). Other restaurants at the nearby hotels are walkable.
Buggy routes: A number of restaurants outside the gates are buggy friendly. Beach shacks are very close, but still painful to drag a buggy to!
Drives: Palolem Beach 40 minutes, Anjuna Flea Market 2 hours, Spice Plantations 1.5 hours, Panjim and Old Goa 1.5 hours, Airport 1.25 hours
Taxis: arranged by the hotel or negotiated yourself by walking just outside the gates.

The Location Score = 5/5

The Baby Services:
Babysitting: Yes
Kids Club: Yes - Children under 5 need supervision but are welcome to join in the activities and use the well stocked airconditioned kids club.
Laundry: Yes
Fridge: In room
Amenities: no kids amenities in rooms
For Mum and Dad: Lovely award winning spa, airport transfers included, bar service to your lounger on the beach, shopping at a few local touristy shops within a 5 minute walk.

The Baby Services Score: 4/5

General Comments:
Lovely resort on a lovely stretch of beach. It excelled at providing a very luxurous stay when on the property and still allowed for some offsite adventures for food and fun. We were there in the heat of the Indian summer, so the kids pool, kids club, and very chilled out beach area were all amazing. The luxury could make you feel like you were anywhere (ie: not a cultural trip), however, to get some local flavour venturing to the beach shacks or some adventures inland solves that.

We were stuck here during the ash cloud invasion of the spring of 2010 - it was very hard to complain about our delayed return date with a straight face when stuck here!

See Photos under India.

Overall Score = 27/30

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