This is an excellent resort hotel. It is close, but not too close to the city. It sits right up next to the beach, which can serve as the base for a variety of water activities you can book through the hotel. The

The rooms were clean and comfortable and the food was some of the best I had during my trip. There is a seafood restaurant where you can pick the exact fish (or shrimp, clams, etc...) you want to eat and they'll cook it for you.

The moderately sized pool is right up against the beach, and has a great view of the sunset.

Of course, this hotel also has the drawbacks of a resort. There's pretty much nothing to do in the immediate vicinity outside the resort, and you'll have to rely on the hotel (and their high prices) for most of your dining and activities.

Overall, this is a great place to relax and find a little bit of home in India, but don't stay here too long and miss out on everything else India has to offer.

If you are considering a holiday at the Marriott Goa, then I urge you to book right now! This is a superb hotel, brilliant situation, excellent service and facilities - you will not want to go elsewhere in Goa after you have stayed here.
If you don't want to pay a supplement for a river view, ask for a first or second floor room in the North Wing - all the rooms there have a side view of the river and the passing river traffic.
The lobby bar is a wonderful place for your drink at sunset - but prices can be high. Ask to look at the drinks menu - there is a big price difference between some brands of spirits. Also be aware that the cocktail of the day can be very very pricey.
The breakfasts in the Waterfront Restaurant are superb. The staff are remarkably helpful, although at times the egg chef is so overwhelmed with orders that you can end up with a long wait until they arrive.
We decided that we would organise a trip to the Golden Triangle whilst we were staying at the hotel. We arranged this before we left England, using an Indian travel agent (Caper Travel) and ended up with a superb trip at a fraction of the price we would have paid if we had done it through our English travel agent. Be adventurous - you can do this trip for not a lot more than the side trips being offered by the rep. in the resort.
We ate at Edu's, Mom's Kitchen and Sea Pebble in the local area. We would recommend them all.
Really I cannot think of a single thing to criticise about this hotel. The staff invited all the long stay guests to a cocktail party one evening to find out what we really thought as they are anxious for feedback, and looking for ways to improve. We were delighted and hope we shall be able to return before long.

We added 4 nights here onto an 8 day tour of the Golden Triangle-this was a pleasure after all the travelling. (Someone said they found it cheaper to book 2 weeks here then pay for 4 nights GT Tour when in Goa-might be worth looking into?)The bedrooms were excellent- we got adjoining ones for the 4 of us. We didn't pay for sea views but had balconies overlooking a lovely tropical & quiet garden. The beds & furnishings are fab. Free fruit & water welcome.
The staff were great & we ate lunch by the pool each day from the Simply Fish bar which was UK price. We managed to get loungers (with free towels) no bother -but best to bags early. We ate at Mum's Kitchen (trad, Goan) nearby at night as the Hotel is more expensive than it. The buffet breakfast offered all you could wish for & you could eat it outside overlooking the Arabian sea.
We liked the control over air conditioning in rooms & breezes thru open air foyer/lobby bar.
We found the town itself quite depressing with very limited shopping which was disappointing as we didn't want to travel any more after all the other journeys. Rickshaws are 50 r. one way there -whereas taxis are 100-200 r. - avoid the Hotel taxis as double this.
Try to avoid Delhi on the return journey (if possible)as it was pandemonium especially trying to get to the International Airport from the Domestic one-we needed the 5 hours time we had.

We had previously been to Goa about 9 years ago and stayed at the Bambolin (don’t !) and the ‘poverty’ outside of the hotel and generally around most of Goa was initially a shock, so it was a researched decision to stay at the Goa Marriott this time, after plenty of Trip Advisor reading! This year we went with our 6 year old daughter and weren’t quite as shocked and can only say that from walking up the reception area steps and being able to look out through the bar area to the Mandovi River made the flight more than worthwhile.
We initially asked for a seaview but they were all full, so we ended up in the south wing overlooking the gardens/spa at the ‘front’ of the hotel. We gained a walk out balcony and a peaceful position rather than the busier seaview rooms or on the other wing where alot of the conference clients gather. The room itself was spotless and the large twin beds were fantastically comfortable. The tv has a vast selection of satellite channels (cartoons especially and plenty of sport!), well stocked affordable mini bar, good air conditioning and a good sized room for two adults and a child and was a pleasure to come back to after a hard days lazing by the pool/beach .
The hotel has a really good gym (yeah I know it’s a holiday) with running machines, steppers, bikes, weights etc, in the spa complex there is a steam room, sauna, jacuzzi. We had read that the pool was small, but maybe only if you are an Olympic standard swimmer. There is also a paddling pool for the kids but the main pool is only 4ft deep, with a swim up bar at one and poolside staff to cater for all your needs. There is no decent sunbathing beach to the front because the hotel is located on the Mandovi River, but Miramar Beach is the nearest one and is literally a few feet along from the hotel (so is the Barracuda Diving School) the local Indians go there, we never found it crowded and is pleasant enough for walking along and there is enough activity from the barges and night tourist boats on the river to break up the monotony of just seeing water!
Once again, we had read that the Goa Marriott’s position wasn’t the best for access to the beaches, but the taxis are so cheap for getting around that you can travel to the southern beaches (not as busy and better for swimming than the north) for most of the day for around £10, with the driver waiting to bring you back when you’re ready (confirm how much beforehand though!). If you need to take a taxi, walk down the hotel slope/drive to the taxi rank rather than taking a hotel taxi at the entrance, alot cheaper and the drivers have more personality! Panaji (capital TOWN) is a short ride away (£3ish ‘300 rupees’ there and back for a couple of hours) this is best done in short bursts rather than planning a day there, a few branded shops and some excellent restaurants.
The food in the hotel was always of a very high standard, particularly at breakfast (in the Waterfront) there is a brilliant choice with lots of fresh fruit, cooked English/Indian food, cereal, omelette/egg bar, juices and in the evening the Waterfront Restaurant offers a similar good choice menu. The Wan Tao Chinese restaurant is also of a high standard, but although we didn’t eat at the Simply Fish restaurant overlooking the river we heard great reports about that too.
The hotel bar at the reception area has such a relaxed atmosphere, with occasional live music and is a beautiful evening setting to watch the sun set and look out over the Mandovi River, later at nights the tourists boats with all their lights break up the darkness (we went on one for an hour ‘cruise’ and found it full of Indian tourists who clearly enjoy different styles of entertainment!) Special mention for the hotel cake shop, which sells some of the richest tasting cream/chocolate cakes you have ever tasted…remember the gym!
There are some excellent places outside the hotel to eat and we found Edu’s, just a short walk along the main road, to be a place that at first you may walk by because of the plastic chairs but the food is really of a very, very good standard (one of the best) plus they cater for fussy eating 6 year old English girls (pizza, chips & coke) and is embarrassingly cheap! We did ‘try’ Mums Kitchen, but we found the staff to be rude/ignorant, we sat for 20 minutes at the bar and no one approached us to even ask if we wanted a drink so we left. Maybe the food was good but we didn’t bother going back. The Delhi Durbar in Panaji is probably the best Indian restaurant we ate at throughout the holiday because of the whole service, food quality and hygiene but special mention also to the Venete (Panaji), Goenchin Chinese Restaurant (Panaji), Sher E Punjab Classic (Panaji). For somewhere just to sit and chill in Panaji town, drinking an ice cold Kingfisher, try the Mandovi Hotel, (about 70p for a large one). Even though the sound of car horns seems to be constant, it’s a lovely position to sit out on the balcony watching the local drivers cutting each other up, it must be a national sport !
So overall, the Goa Marriott is an absolutely superb place to stay and enjoy Goa. Ideal for families, couples, children of all ages and elderly. You could have a great holiday just using the hotel facilities but try and get out and about (NOT Dudhsagar Falls-too long a trip and about as exciting as running a bath).
When you hear the word ‘expensive’ for this place it is only by Indian standards because outside the hotel it is really inexpensive and the staff are on another planet for the highest standard of service, always polite and cant do enough to help you with some of the most trivial of enquiries, everyone of the staff always greets you with a smile. Nothing seems false about their friendliness and we were made to feel special by everyone.