Nilaya Hermitage

Heaven , simply put. In the middle of the forest overlooking apora. Teeming with exotic birds and monkeys . Spa is a must . Staff went above and beyond. I forgot the guide book and just asked them. I shall return . One of my favorite hotels in the world . And I’ve been to a few

I recently visited the Nilaya hotel and spa with three girlfriends to celebrate our friend's birthday. I booked ayurvedic spa massages for each of us. Nilaya staff were very accommodating in accepting my booking but did not inform me that the massage therapists were all male – as always I was expecting female masseuses. Having heard horror stories in the past, I felt vulnerable and uncomfortable when I realised my masseuse was male but I didn’t want to make a scene as we were celebrating my friend's birthday and I wanted this to be a fun experience for us all.  I’ve had many ayurvedic massages over the years but always by female masseuses in India, largely due to spa policies.   My masseuse didn’t speak a word of English which was surprising given this is an exclusive establishment that attracts so many foreign travellers. We were not offered towels to cover our bodies and we did not feel relaxed. I was worried my friends would feel uncomfortable and clearly, my intuition was right.   Unfortunately, my friend who was massaged by the same masseuse after I was indecently assaulted. My friend was shaken and horrified by the experience, but understandably she was equally confused and shell-shocked at the time of the incident. Being the selfless and considerate friend she is, she also didn’t want to spoil our friend's birthday and therefore did not share her experience with us until the following day.   My friend's husband visited the hotel to make a complaint and was shown very little compassion. He was kept waiting for an unreasonable amount of time and the staff denied and brushed off the incident. Later they apologised and assured us the masseuse had been fired, but have never provided us with any proof of his termination. As a bare minimum, the hotel agreed to reimburse our costs, but has failed to do so or subsequently respond to messages.   This entire experience has been incredibly upsetting and scarring for all involved. I am not a person who leaves negative reviews,  I do not believe in spreading negativity, but I feel it would be utterly irresponsible of me not to warn others.   After many back-and-forth conversations with hotel managers Jomy and Jonny, we feel the manner in which this incident has been handled is unjust and unprofessional. To protect other women from suffering the same experience I hope this review will be read and acknowledged by all female travellers planning to visit the Nilaya spa (or any spa for that matter,) for your own safety, please be aware, vigilant and always ask for a female masseuse.

I am writing this review to strongly warn ladies against visiting this hotel. On December 16 I visited the spa together with 3 other friends from Singapore as a birthday treat for one of our group. When we made the booking we informed the management about the make up of the group and that we wanted an Ayurvedic massage. Despite management being aware that we were a group of ladies we were never informed that the hotel only employed male masseurs - which would have been a natural fact to share with a group of female customers. With regret now, and going against my intuition on the day, I proceeded to have the massage. To my horror and disgust the masseur touched me inappropriately during the massage and I shouted to him to stop. I felt violated and sickened and was left in state of shock about what had just happened. It took me some time to process - as is very usual in cases such as these. Late the same night I sent an email to the management of the hotel and received a pathetic response. The next day my husband went to the hotel to confront the General Manager - Ramakant Pal - about what had happened. The hotel’s attitude was to state that in more than 20 years of operation such an incident hadn’t happened before. They believe this was a defence against what happened to me. They suggested as the complaint wasn’t made immediately that nothing could have happened. Unsurprisingly the management we met were all male and perhaps lack the empathy and understanding that a female member of staff may have shown. The General Manager after some discussion confirmed that the employee in question would have his employment terminated but only after my husband said we would write a review detailing the events. When asked about the checks and balances that the hotel employs when hiring staff we were told that the staff member in question was employed on a seasonal basis and had only been with them a short period of time. Despite management promising that they would provide written confirmation of the action they had taken and despite another phone call with another seemingly senior member of staff (Joemee) where similar promises were made, we received nothing. The management refuse to respond to our messages and refuse to take any action. I would strongly urge women to avoid at this establishment. There are probably many fine establishments in Goa for an Ayurvedic massage but this is NOT one of them. For your safety please avoid this hotel. I am writing this review as I strongly believe that if I can prevent something similar happening to just one other person then it will be some form of closure on what was - and still is - a traumatic experience.

Let's get this out of the way. There is nothing wrong with the rooms, the property, or the staff at Nilaya. All were perfectly lovely during the course of our stay. However, there are several things that make staying here impossible to recommend. 1. Terribly overpriced. Granted, we visited during December which is peak season, but the close to Rs 12,000 for a room with no breakfast is laughable. And if you go by online listings, the breakfast comes to close to Rs 2,000 per head, which most 5 stars would be ashamed to ask for. We did not try the breakfast, obviously. But I'm rather certain it's not worth that insane price. 2. Wildly different prices on different websites. There was a constant feeling that we were being ripped off. We made our reservation on ***********, where the room with balcony was supposedly the most economical option at 12k per night. But on other websites, there were rooms listed at 5k a night, but no pictures included. I am inclined to believe these were the exact same rooms, but deliberately without images, so that you are inclined to book the more expensive version. When confronted about this, the manager just laughed it off and gave no explanation. 3. Terrible communication. The phone number on Google, Booking and even their own website DOES NOT WORK. Until the day of our booking we were simply unable to reach the property to check if it was even operational. We asked for our booking to be cancelled owing to non-responsiveness of the hotel, but the request was denied and the tariff non-refundable, so we just had to arrive in Goa and hope and pray that the place existed. Fun! 4. Rules & Restrictions. We were told upon arrival that outside food and drinks are not allowed inside and that our booking would be cancelled if this rule were broken. Literally the first thing told to us upon arrival. I understand that hotels are allowed to impose their own rules, but at no point in our booking experience was this communicated to us. The property is also at the top of a hill which is a very steep climb, and you need to have a car to get in and out. We had one, because we're regular visitors to Goa and know people who can organise vehicles for us. But again, this was not communicated anywhere. Their last order for food is at 9.30pm. So you are stuck ordering from their insanely overpriced menu (seriously, more expensive than Mumbai) if you need food. Even after their last order, you cannot bring in food from elsewhere. So unless you have a private/rented vehicle to go out for dinner, you'll be paying 12k a night for the luxury of remaining hungry post 10pm. The pool is open for only very restricted hours (10am to 5.30pm). Again, not communicated. TL;DR - Unless you plan to spend every waking hour at the property to get value for the money you're paying (which involves spending EVEN MORE exorbitant money on F&B), I simply can't recommend this place. There are dozens of hotels that give you far better value, are more accessibly

I found this hotel by serendipity while making bookings for our Goa trip. It seemed exceptionally extraordinary and inviting from the photographs. Even though the tarriff was way too high, I thought this would be some experience and booked it on gut-feel. We were traveling with our tenaged daughter and wanted the best in any case. I must say we were not disappointed. The resort is so unlike Goa. Spread over a very large area in dense mangroves that are barely 5 kms from Baga but seem totally like being inside a jungle. The beauty of the place is completely breathtaking. We were totally taken in by the beauty and tranquility of the place.The staff was extremely welcoming. The rooms were beyond beautiful and very very large. The swimming pool is absolutely stunning. And the lush lawns and sandstone rock construction makes it very ethnic and pretty. We had all our meals there, and the chef's for the Continental food as well as Indian food came and met us and painstakingly explained some exotic dishes. Whatever we ordered was extremely delicious. Would love to go back again!

This resort is almost there in terms of being a boutique offbeat luxury place. The rooms are fantastically designed, perfect for a hermit seeking luxury! It's perched on top of a mountain with a rustic, Jungle feel. Everything in and outside is classy. The staff and help are very cool, well spoken and friendly (but not too friendly which is perfect). What didn't work for me was the vast number of ants and insects inside the room, the fact that it's a little far from all the action, the broken approach road, and the average food (6/10). Another thing, although small - once you're out of the room, you're out. Then, you can't even ask for a bottle of water unless you pay for it. That did leave a bit of a bad taste. I'd stay here only with a big group, with alcohol and games smuggled in. Because on its own, it's a bit boring and overpriced.