A tale of two Radissons: My birthday week in Goa

March is my birthday month, and it is usually the month that I go to Goa. At this time of the year, the crowds have thinned, the room rates have come down, and the heat is beginning to build up, but not so much as to become unbearable. It is still very pleasant in the mornings and evenings to walk on the beach, to feel the wind in your face, and to experience a sense of rejuvenation.

Radisson Mandrem Beach Resort

This time my wife, Saroj, accompanied me. We started at the top end of Goa where there is a cluster of four beaches – Morjim, Ashvem, Mandrem, and Arambol – which are my personal favourites in the North. Far from the madding crowd, you can still enjoy the isolation and solitude that Goa was long ago known for, before hordes of budget tourists began to descend and ruin the place. The issue has always been the lack of decent places to stay — mostly you have to pick from homestays, family-run hotels, and backpacker shacks. But now there is an exciting new place, the Radisson Mandrem Beach Resort, which has changed the name of the game.

The first branded boutique hotel to establish a foothold on these deserted shores in the North, the Radisson Mandrem opened its doors in December 2023. Strategically, the group took over an existing property that was languishing and completely refurbished and upgraded it, taking advantage of its prime location right on Mandrem beach. Beach access is the number one thing I look for in Goa, as I am totally in love with the sea and can spend any amount of time in or around it.

The Radisson Mandrem has 41 rooms with sea and river views, and we were given the very best — the premium suite facing the sea, visible through a curtain of palm trees, and with its own private plunge pool. The suite has its own sitting and dining area and a comfortable patio just outside the bedroom area, perfect for sipping your gin and tonic while watching the sun melt into the Arabian Sea. It is actually one half of a villa, with a high sloping roof. The bathroom is truly spacious, with a separate large bathtub, a shower cubicle, and two separate wash basins for him and her. Nice touches of luxury are the Lavazza Blue coffee machine and the Kimrica Earth toiletries.

Outside is a flat green stretch of lawn with plenty of deck chairs to view the ocean at your doorstep from a raised platform area. From this, one drops down to the small family-oriented pool with deep blue tiling and the Sunset Cove multi-cuisine restaurant, the only one where all meals are served. But I discovered yet another USP — the ever-smiling Chef Yaman Lohia who is always ready to turn out his specialities for you at the drop of his chef’s hat. A memorable meal he served us in the suite consisted of an amuse bouche of shrimp with coconut mayo and C3 (Chicken Chettinad Cheese) Sphere, followed by the main course of pan-fried pomfret along with soy ginger sauce and raw papaya and peanut salad and a wonderful mango prawn curry (an innovative combination of Thai and Indian cuisines), accompanied by feta and parmesan naan, and then finishing with raisin and cranberry compote.

Breakfast is a decent spread of fruits, salads, eggs, pancakes, and dosas made to order. Chef Yaman introduced us to the Turkish savoury breakfast dish Cilbir, poached eggs served over a bed of thick, garlicky yogurt and finished with a generous drizzle of olive oil and red pepper flakes. Any hotel guest can approach him and ask for off-the-menu recommendations, and he will gladly rustle them up for you. Overall, the service is what sets the Radisson Mandrem apart – everybody does everything with a smile. I would like to make a special mention also of Kashmira Kasar at the front office who was really helpful in getting us whatever we needed.

Birthday party at Cellar 1612

I celebrated my birthday which falls on the Ides of March with a small group of close Goan friends at Cellar 1612, a new culinary venture launched by the Albuquerque family that has the Radisson franchise. This fine-dining restaurant, set within the historic Aguada Jail, used to be the former women’s cell; the wide stone pillars and restored cell doors remind diners of the origins of the place. It is a unique setting for enjoying Chef Jaskaran’s specially curated menu which kicked us off with a wild mushroom soup, followed by a delicious selection of starters – chicken with Japanese mayo and curry gunpowder, betul fish tacos, almond-crusted dahi kebab, and mushroom galawatis. For the main course, one could choose between mutton salli boti, grilled fish with romesco sauce, and a tomato and cheese risotto, all of which were made to perfection. The grand finale was a chocolate birthday cake whose lone candle flared to life as my friends regaled me with ‘Happy Birthday’ – it was certainly a celebration to remember!

You can book your stay at the Radisson Mandrem Beach Resort here.

Radisson Blu Resort, Goa Cavelossim Beach

We made our way down South, travelling practically the length of Goa to our next destination, the Radisson Blu Resort, on Cavelossim Beach. It felt like entering another universe – from the serene and secluded beaches of the North to the plush resorts, wedding banquet halls, and family groups in search of a beach holiday in the South. Two hours later, we entered the tall iron gates of the resort and were ushered into the cavernous lobby. With its soaring Corinthian columns and elaborate metal latticework holding up the roof, it resembles a giant aircraft hangar with its sides open to the skies. I admired the elaborate murals that cover the walls, depicting scenes from Goa’s history and prominently featuring Vasco da Gama, the famous explorer, and Afonso de Albuquerque, the founder of Portuguese Goa. There is even a large wooden mock-up of the Santa Maria, the ship that bore Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic (sourced from China, where else?) and tucked away in one corner is the shiny bright yellow VW Beetle, the cherished first car to be owned by Victor Albuquerque, the head of the family.

The lobby gives onto a large kidney-shaped swimming pool. Clustered beyond it are is a group of brightly painted villas that house the guest rooms, four to a villa. Every colour of the rainbow is represented, and the villas remind me of the homes in the Fontainhas quarter of Panjim after which they are clearly modelled. There are 125 rooms and seven suites scattered through the grounds, and they blend nicely with the lush greenery and tropical landscaping of the property. Our room is comfortable and well appointed, with all the usual amenities. Outside is a traditional Goan porch with stone benches built into the walls.

We were a stone’s throw from a smaller, more secluded pool which I much preferred to the big one. It was great to laze in its cool depths and sip on a chilled beer. Unfortunately, the resort rooms have no sea views, but the beach is only about a seven-minute walk through the grounds of the adjacent Novotel complex. At night, the pathway to the sea is lit up with lights in earthenware pots; it leads into the outer darkness like a secret route to an unseen shrine. Finally, you emerge onto Mobor Beach, which is one of the best in Goa, straight as an arrow in both directions and flat as a pancake, where you can walk for miles and miles and encounter very few people.

All meals at the resort are served buffet style in a spacious all-day dining restaurant called Upper Deck, overlooking the main pool. There is a very wide selection of Indian, Asian, and Western cuisines to choose from. The staff are friendly and helpful, and whipped up waffles at breakfast and dosas at dinner on demand (I want to make special mention here of Heena, Rony, Floyd, and Tauhid for their exceptional service). Even my special dietary requirements were gratifyingly met by a menu of poached eggs on pumpkin and spinach puree. And at dinner, the two Goan crooners obliged me with old favourites from Neil Diamond, Lionel Ritchie, and Barry White.

The Radisson Cavalossem has one fine-dining restaurant called Greco where we had lunch on our last day with Vishal, GM Operations, and Arindam, Director F&B. Greco evolved from its beginnings as a fine-dining Goan restaurant in 2017 when the Radisson imported Greek Chef Stellios to curate and introduce a Greek menu in recognition of the increasingly sophisticated palate and demands of their dining clientele. His worthy Indian successor, Chef Jaskaran (who also did the dinner at 1612 Cellar), prepared for us a delicious tasting menu consisting of a parsley-flavoured soup of seafood and eggs, followed by a mezze platter for starters and cinnamon-spiced braised lamb shank as the main course and closing with a delicious Greek ekmek(layers of pastry topped with custard, syrup, and pistachios) for dessert.

The resort is also perfectly positioned for a short excursion further south to visit the ruined Cabo de Rama Fort. The fort was captured from the Raja of Soonda in 1763 and subsequently rebuilt and fortified by the Portuguese, who elevated it to a crucial strategic military outpost. In my opinion, of all the forts in Goa, Cabo de Rama has the most spectacular setting, located on a promontory jutting into the Arabian Sea. It was the perfect place to watch the stunning sunset from the ruined ramparts on our very last evening in Goa.