Casablanca Resort in Goa, India

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Updated: October 9, 2019

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Review of Casablanca Resort in Goa, India.

Casablanca Beach Resort – Huge rooms, great value, and serene location, yet so convenient to the beach and main road.

This adorable hotel offers virtually four-star amenities at two-star rates (including breakfast). With a café/bar alongside, the pool is fairly large, while the shady palm trees all over the grounds add further to the tropical-resort vibe. Far larger than those offered at resorts costing much more, the rooms feature proper living areas (with sofa alcoves) and balconies/verandas with inviting chairs. Even better are those on the top floor featuring charming outdoor terraces rather than sitting areas inside. And the hotel is located only a two-minute stroll from the beach lined with cafés as well as the main road with its numerous tourist facilities.

Casablanca Resort – The Location

  • Address: Just off a side street (Krishna Naik Road) which runs off the main road midway along Candolim, a major tourist region in a southern part of North Goa. (Most places in Goa don’t have an address.)
  • Area: Only 200m from the main road which is packed with places to eat, drink, and shop. Also, buses and moneychangers. Barely 300m from the beach, with plenty of cafés on the sand.
  • How to Get There: From the airport (36km, 60 to 70-minute drive), there is little choice except overpriced pre-paid taxis. The nearest major train station is at Vasco da Gama, 39km away (70 to 80-minute drive).
  • Handy to: Facilities and beaches at Candolim.

Casablanca Resort – The Basics

  • Guests: Many Indians from Mumbai and packaged tourists from Russia.
  • Views: All rooms overlook the gardens and/or pool, while a few face other balconies. Those on the ground floor provide no worthwhile views.
  • Private Pools/Jacuzzis: Certainly not expected (or provided) at this sort of mid-range hotel in Goa.
  • Wi-Fi: Free, but only available at the café/pool area, not in the rooms.
  • Parking: Possible outside the gates, and the hotel guard should ensure safety.
  • Phone: +91 (0)832 247 9224
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Website: casablancagoa.com

Casablanca Resorts – Amenities

  • Pool: Inviting and shady, with a café/bar alongside.
  • Spa & Fitness Center: Not expected (or provided).
  • Other Facilities: Laundry. Money-changing. Car/motorbike rental.

Casablanca Resort – Food and Drink

  • Restaurant & Bar: The Saffron Restaurant & Bar alongside the pool looks modest but offers more than expected, including a full menu at pleasing prices. Special evenings, such as ‘Tandoori Nite’, regularly offered. Also, impressive happy hours and an extended wine list.
  • Breakfast: Included in all rates, which is not common among rivals.
  • Room Service: Available during restaurant hours of about 7 am to 9 pm.

Casablanca Resort – Rooms

  • Room Types: Terrace Rooms • Suite Rooms
  • Smoking Rooms: No smoking in the rooms, but permitted elsewhere.
  • Best Room: Suite Rooms are larger, and the sofa alcoves are particularly inviting.
  • For Families: Both types of rooms offer space for an extra single bed, maybe even 2.

Casablanca Resorts – Local Transport

  • Walking: Plenty to see along the main road, which offers some sidewalks. More pleasant along the side streets to the beach.
  • Public Transport: Local buses are convenient and frequent. They travel up and down – and stop anywhere along – the main road through Candolim and Calangute. Some detour to Panaji (Panjim), the state capital and regional transport hub, via a stop opposite the Acacia hotel (300m north, 4-minute walk). No metro or any local trains of use to tourists.
  • Taxis & Auto-rickshaws: No auto-rickshaws or metered taxis in the immediate area. Uber/Ola don’t operate anywhere in Goa, but app-based rides can be arranged through Goa Miles. The only option for longer trips are unmetered private ‘taxis’ which can be arranged at the hotel or with drivers hanging about the streets.
  • Cars & Motorbikes: Goa is the only place in India where renting a car or motorbike is feasible. No internationally-recognized agencies are present, so renting at a local shop presents obvious risks. Best to organize through the hotel. Rides on the back of a motorbike (called a ‘pilot’) are possible; ask around.

Casablanca Resort – What’s Nearby?

Restaurants & Bars

    Plenty to choose from along the main road, but traffic noise can be bothersome. Instead, these 3 places are along the side street between the main road and beach, so they’re far quieter:

  • Café EDR – Cute café named after the mantra ‘Eat. Drink. Repeat.’ Laidback but gets lively as the night progresses. 2-minute walk (120m).
  • Co Co Mo – Breezy and serene setting on 2 levels. Seafood a specialty, but plenty of other reasons to come night after night. 2-minute walk (160m).
  • Kokoons Modern Indian Diner – Classy bistro/bar offering contemporary Indian cuisine, kebabs, and shishas (hookahs). 2-minute walk (170m).

Also, there are lots of beach cafés at the end of the side street from the hotel. Friendly, cheap, and simple – picture plastic chairs and sandy floors.

Shops

  • Abundant places to spend money along the main road, 200m away, including a few minimarts and moneychangers. The closest supermarket is Delfino’s, 650m north. 8-minute walk.

Beach

  • Turn left where the short lane to the hotel meets the side street. The glorious beach, about 300m away, is packed with casual cafés on the sand that also rent out sunbeds and umbrellas. Always swim between the flags. Lifeguards are on duty between about 10 am and sunset. 4-minute walk.

Casablanca Resort – The Hotel

The resort is located in north Goa.

This resort is quietly located down a side street within a busy tourist region of North Goa.

The resort features terracotta tiles and whitewashed walls.

The likable design features terracotta tiles and whitewashed walls.

The resort has a very tropical vibe.

With plenty of shady palms, the Casablanca provides more of a tropical-resort vibe than some higher-rated hotels.

Rooms at the back offer better views and serenity.

Rooms at the back are more distant from the pool, so they are a little quieter. They also offer more interesting views.

The resort has a large pool.

The reasonably large pool dominates the hotel grounds.

The pool offers plenty of natural shade and sunbeds.

The pool provides plenty of natural shade as well as umbrellas.

The food and service at Saffron Restaurant & Bar are excellent.

The Saffron Restaurant & Bar next to the hotel pool may look modest, but the food and service are excellent.

Ground floor rooms offer little privacy or views.

Rooms on the ground floor don’t offer great views.

The upper-floor rooms are more appealing.

The rooms on the upper floors are certainly more appealing.

The rooms are very spacious.

All rooms are more spacious than many offered at resorts costing much more.

Suites Rooms come with large living areas.

Each Suite Room features a living area larger than the bedroom.

Suites Rooms have large balconies, most with pool views.

The balcony attached to each Suite Room is quite large, and many overlook the pool.

Terrace Rooms have lovely outdoor terraces.

The Terrace Rooms forego indoor sitting areas for lovely outdoor terraces.

Terrace Rooms are reminiscent of a Mediterranean guesthouse.

With an inviting terrace, these rooms are reminiscent of a Mediterranean guesthouse.

There are several signs leading to the resort.

The resort is well-signposted along the side street leading to the beach from the main road (but the turnoff to the side street from the main road is less obvious).

A few souvenir stalls are near the side street turnoff.

Directly opposite the turnoff from the side street to the hotel are a bunch of souvenir stalls.

The side street connects the main road to the resort and the beach.

This side street links the main road with the beach and is the way to the resort.

Café EDR gets livelier in the evenings.

A cute café that livens up as the night progresses is Café EDR, along the side street from the hotel.

Kokoons bistro nearby offers shishas.

Also along the side street, the stylish Kokoons bistro offers shishas (hookahs).

Co Co Mo has a quiet and breezy setting.

Best of the bunch, if only for the quiet and breezy setting, is Co Co Mo.

Co Co Mo is popular for its seafood and cocktails.

About halfway between the hotel and beach, Co Co Mo specializes in seafood and is renowned for cocktails.

Lezero's offers street-side seating.

At the corner of the main road and side street to the hotel, Lezero’s is ideal for people-watching.

Tony’s Place is know for its western meals like fish and chips.

Opposite the turnoff to the hotel from the main road, Tony’s Place serves up western meals such as fish and chips.

There are several beach cafés nearby.

About 300m from the hotel, numerous cafés are dotted across the sand.

The beach cafés rent out sunbeds and umbrellas.

These beach cafés also rent out sunbeds and umbrellas.

The beach nearby is wide and clean.

The beach, only 300m from the resort, is wide and clean.

Flags identify areas with lifeguards that are safe to swim in.

Waves can be a little rough at times, so always swim between the flags.

The sign to the resort on the main road is not prominent.

This is the turnoff along the main road for the side street to the hotel. There is a sign at ground level, but it’s not entirely obvious.

The resort is located in Candolim in north Goa.

The resort is about halfway along Candolim, one of the more developed tourist regions in northern Goa.

There are several tourist-friendly facilities on the main road.

The main road near the hotel is packed with shops, cafés, and bars, as well as travel agencies and moneychangers.

Buses connect to facilities in Candolim, Calangute, and Panjim.

Buses ply the main road, linking all the places along Candolim and Calangute, as well as Panaji (Panjim), the state capital and regional transport hub.

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