"We recently stayed at ITC Grand Goa and came away with mixed feelings. The property itself is stunning and impeccably maintained. To their credit, they upgraded us to what may be one of their best rooms- a luxurious suite with a beach view. However, the service and dining didn’t match the setting. Even a simple club sandwich at the Pavilion restaurant took over an hour, despite repeated follow-ups, and we were the only guests dining there at the time. The breakfast buffet was also a massive let down- no matter what I touched, the food just didn’t taste good. One person, though, deserves a special mention: Xavier from the room service staff. On learning it was our baby daughter’s first trip to Goa and that she was turning five months old, he went out of his way to decorate our room beautifully and even gifted us three customized cushions with our names on them. A genuinely thoughtful gesture that stood out. Would I return? Perhaps, but certainly not for the food."

"Visited kebabs and kurries for some biryani. Chef kureshi is not just a fabulous chef but also an intuitive gentleman who just knew what we would love. He served us chicken yakhni pulao with burani raita and nihari gravy(traditional salan) . Service was on point and the food was exceptional. We over ate as the portion size served is overwhelming. And polished off everything off the plate and our fingers."

"Our third visit to **ITC Grand Goa**, and as always, it was a truly memorable experience. The property is absolutely beautiful, with its stunning pools, lush surroundings, and gorgeous beach. There was a bit of a mix-up with our rooms at check-in, but the exceptional hospitality of the F&B team truly made our stay special. A special mention to **Mr. Swaroop, Chef Anirudh, and Mr. Abhishek** for their warmth, attentiveness, and efforts throughout our stay. A special shout-out to **Alana, our wonderful hostess at The Pavilion, and Hlutel, our server**, who took such great care of us and added to the warmth of our dining experience. A heartfelt thank you to the **housekeeping team** as well for being incredibly attentive and responsive. And a special mention to **Mr. Niven**, who ferried us around the resort and was always so pleasant, friendly, and wonderful to talk to. **ITC Grand Goa has always been our go-to destination for special family vacations, and it will continue to be so.** Looking forward to our next visit! ❤️"

"We recently celebrated our daughter’s first birthday at ITC Grand Goa, and it was an incredibly special and emotional occasion for our entire family. Since this was her very first birthday, we wanted to celebrate it in a beautiful and memorable way with our family, and ITC Grand Goa made the occasion even more special than we had imagined. From the moment we arrived, the warmth, hospitality and attention from the entire team were exceptional. The beautiful property, peaceful surroundings and wonderful ambience provided the perfect setting for such an important family milestone. A very special mention must be made of the birthday cake and decorations. The cake was absolutely beautiful and was prepared with so much care and attention to detail. The decorations were equally wonderful and thoughtfully arranged, creating a beautiful birthday setting for our little one. Every detail felt personal and carefully planned. Seeing our daughter enjoy her first birthday celebration and seeing the happiness on the faces of our family members made the occasion truly priceless. What impressed us most was that the team did not treat this as just another birthday celebration. They understood the importance of a child’s first birthday, and the effort they put into making the day special was genuinely appreciated. I would like to make a special mention of Mr. Samir Jilani, whose personal attention and involvement made the experience even better. Samir was extremely warm, courteous and professional and went out of his way to ensure that everything was taken care of perfectly. He was personally involved in making sure that the arrangements were in place and that our family was comfortable throughout the celebration. His genuine warmth and willingness to help really stood out. It is people like Samir who make a hotel experience go beyond just good service and turn it into a lasting memory. A heartfelt thank you to ITC Grand Goa and the entire team for helping us celebrate such an important milestone in our daughter’s life. Her first birthday will always be a very special memory for us, and we are so happy that we chose ITC Grand Goa to celebrate it with our family. The beautiful setting, wonderful hospitality, thoughtful decorations, lovely birthday cake and, above all, the personal care shown by the team made the entire experience truly memorable. A special thank you once again to Mr. Samir Jilani and the entire ITC Grand Goa team for making our little girl’s first birthday so beautiful and unforgettable. We look forward to coming back and creating many more family memories here. ❤️"

"I stayed at ITC Grand Goa for what was intended to be a relaxing three-night workation. The property itself is beautiful, expansive and very well suited to a resort stay. The breakfast spread was good, and I had some very good dishes at Ottimo, particularly the crab ravioli and eggplant parmigiana. I was also pleasantly upgraded to a sea-view room, although this was never communicated to me at check-in. Unfortunately, the overall experience was let down by inconsistent service and, more importantly, a recurring lack of proactive ownership. At check-in, the process was largely transactional, with little orientation about the resort, breakfast timings or facilities. At Ottimo, when I left the tiramisu unfinished and mentioned that I hadn’t enjoyed the breads, nobody asked what had gone wrong. The tiramisu was simply too sweet for my taste and lacked the coffee bitterness I would expect from a good tiramisu. Breakfast was a more significant concern. On one morning, I noticed children picking up cut fruit with their hands and no staff intervention. I was also seated directly under a ceiling fan while the AC was running. When I requested that the fan be switched off because it was making me uncomfortable and causing my food to dry and coffee to cool, the request wasn’t addressed. When I asked another staff member later, I was told that the remote wasn’t working. What disappointed me most was that nobody came back to explain the situation or offer an alternative table. I eventually left breakfast halfway, and nobody checked whether everything was alright. What was particularly disappointing was the lack of service recovery. The hotel proactively emailed me on day 2 morning asking how my stay was going. I responded honestly that I was unhappy with the service and was not enjoying the stay. Though no one reached out. I ultimately decided to check out a day early. Even when I informed the front desk that I would be leaving early, there was no curiosity about why a guest who had originally booked three nights was choosing to leave a day early. The only thing I heard from the front desk was, they won’t be able to reduce my charges. So focus was more on transaction than customer. That said, I want to specifically recognize two employees who demonstrated exactly the kind of hospitality I expected from the property. Vaman at Ottimo was attentive and responsive, and he later served me at breakfast as well the next day. On the following morning, my coffee arrived on time and plates were cleared proactively before I went for my next serving. His service was noticeably different and was one of the reasons that breakfast, which I had actually considered skipping after the previous day’s experience, turned into a pleasant meal. Anand at the pool bar was another standout. What impressed me was not just how he looked after his guests, but how proactively he observed the area and spoke with his team about how they could help other guests. He demonstrated genuine ownership and was exactly the kind of service professional I would expect at a luxury resort. I personally thanked both Vaman and Anand because good service deserves recognition. My overall takeaway is that ITC Grand Goa is a beautiful property, good facilities and some genuinely excellent employees, but the level of service ownership is not consistent enough for me to consider returning. My expectation from a five-star resort is not simply that requests are eventually fulfilled. It is that the resort anticipates needs, closes the loop when something goes wrong and makes the guest feel that someone is genuinely looking after them. I have stayed at several resorts in Goa and all the Marriott properties for sure, and there are properties where I have felt that level of hospitality more consistently and I keep visiting them regularly. For me, that is ultimately what makes a luxury resort worth returning to. When I’m relaxing, I prefer to be lazy with my comfort and let the hotel take care of them proactively. If I have to apply my thoughts everywhere, a five-star property isn’t necessary. Beautiful resort, some excellent people, but the service experience needs greater consistency, ownership and proactive guest care."