I was planning another stay after experiencing the out-of-the-world hospitality of the The PostCard Hotel Gir Wildlife Sanctuary with the team TechnoFino in August last year. So I started planning in November but since award flights on the Delhi Goa sector weren’t available for November on Vistara I booked flights for February using my CV points since I wanted to celebrate my wife’s birthday in a luxury resort and PostCard was an ideal choice for that.
So I booked two nights in the luxury room which was later upgraded to the Premier Room on a request and availability basis. Now the question comes why PostCard Hideaway Netravali? The simple answer to this is that this resort has 20 cabins in the 20 acres of forest which was quite complimenting our idea of having a private laid-back holiday without setting an alarm for morning buffet breakfasts and it was the most economical property among all the Postcard Hotels. So the tariff rates were 15K per night for a luxury
room at that time on which I also redeemed my Indusind Eazydiner Credit Card voucher.
Now a week before the trip I booked Luxury Airport Transfers and Meet&Assist service using my Axis Reserve credit card to zip away straight to the lounge area. There I bid goodbye to the concierge person since neither I wanted the buggy service and nor make her wait till I relax in the lounge. Luckily Encalm Lounge was open at that time and we had some light snacks since sometimes Vistara economy class food can throw some surprise. And! The food in Vistara was as expected not up to the mark as the Idli combo which they had served had become soggy!
So after landing at Dabolim it was time to drive my pre-booked self-drive car which I had booked from a company called Vailankanni Autohires Website - https://www.goacars.in/fleet, contact person, Mr Dominic @ 96194 80936 They are not an aggregator but one of the few "licensed" self-drive rental operators in Goa. They charged me Rs. 1000 per day for a Grand i10 with 1000 extra for airport pickup and drop. Though I didn’t receive a Grand i10 but was more than happy to receive a sparkling one-month-old Ignis. After making a good video of the car I straightaway drove to Netravali and reached PostCard hotel in under 2 hours and the roads all the way were absolutely pothole free! Since there is absolutely no network near the resort I would suggest you to download offline maps for navigation. Also, Since there are hardly any petrol bunks near the resort I would suggest you keep sufficient fuel in your vehicle.
At the hotel, we were welcomed in the Postcard style in which most of the available staff comes to greet us in the lobby and were handed over a steamed towel to freshen ourselves. Afterwards, we were served the local welcome drinks - Kokum Sharbat and the legendary Feni! Since it was my first visit to Goa so I tried both of them and both were a delight! Meanwhile, Mr Pankaj Joshi Whats-apped us all the menus for our perusal. After this Ms Sonia drove us up the hill in a golf cart and showed us our room and informed us about all the in-room and resort amenities.
Before telling you the story ahead let me quickly take you through the snaps of the room.
After a quick nap, it was time to experience the local cuisine and I dialled 9 on the playful old-fashioned rotary dial telephone and ordered a Konkan Thali. Wish they had a longer number to contact them! And since we wanted to enjoy the food in the restaurant itself we had instructed them to send the cart also. The thali was good enough for two people and was served with much love from Ms Worshim!
For the evening since it was a special day, I had already requested the staff for a special dinner for the evening. Since the designated menu is mostly local, I ordered indo-chinese for dinner since they serve everything out of the menu on an availability basis. So a cart reached our cottage sharp at the time we had requested and instead of the restaurant, we were taken to straight to the pool where the team had made a simply wow arrangement just for the two of us! Check for yourself!
All this was done absolutely free whereas most of the luxury resorts charge hefty amounts for such an arrangement!
And since by now, the news of my arrival had reached Mr Kapil Chopra who is the CEO of the PostCard Hotel and knows me through Twitter. I don’t know how but could be due to my tweet since he follows me. And we were surprised to know from the server Mr Raviraj that he has offered us drinks with his compliments for the special night!! He sure knows the meaning of hospitality and delighting his loyal residents.
After dinner, we were served an amazing Coconut Walnut cake baked by the bakery chef Mr Anil but since we were almost full we could enjoy it pretty less. But since my wife is also a professional baker and was intrigued to know about this relatively new southern cake flavour we asked them to deliver some portion in the room so that we could dissect it later on! 😉
After reaching back we found that our room had been decorated beautifully and the housekeeping team had placed nitty-gritty elements in the room such as the trademark tote bag of the PostCard Hotel.
The next day though we had planned to visit the nearby Savari Waterfall in the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary we planned to give it a skip and enjoy the pool. So after a lazy start to the morning, we walked all the way to the pool after stuffing our clothes in the tote bag and en route enjoyed the views of butterflies and monkeys jumping from one branch to another. There was absolute silence in the resort and the only sounds we could hear were of the birds chirping and the water sprinklers.
While playing around in the pool and soaking in the sun for two hours we had a drink or two from the in-pool bar and after this, we headed to the restaurant for our artisanal anytime breakfast at about 12 noon! A PostCard stay can literally spoil you for sure!
We tried the Konkan breakfast option which was served along with some fresh artisanal bread and a fruit platter! Let the pictures do the magic!
In the afternoon we headed out to the famous "Bud-Bud" Lake which is at a walkable distance from the resort. Just as we were leaving Ms Sonia handed us some water bottles which we slipped into our tote bag in which we were carrying apples that the resort provides in every room. The compound houses a Krishna Temple and the lake in which the algae at the bed releases peculiar air bubbles at regular intervals and is a mesmerising sight! Though you will see locals clapping around as it is believed that bubbles only pop up if you make a sound. This lake is a must-visit for anyone visiting Netravali.
After this, we enjoyed our relaxing Jacuzzi session which was part of our room tariff and the spa manager Ms Phila was very good while attending us!
Since I had already ordered the dinner we spent some time in the lounge area near the pool and it is the only room in the entire resort where you find a television!
Later during the dinner, I was surprised to see PostCard listed on the EazyDiner app and I was like how could I forget to use it? So finally I used it to pay my bill using PayEazy and got a good discount on the food using my Axis Reserve Credit Card and some EazyPoints for the next stay at another PostCard hotel! This time we tried some north Indian options and the food was better than the options we tried last night. And just when we were about to leave, Mr Anil the bakery chef delighted us with a complimentary dessert and believe me it was one of the most authentic brownies that we have ever had anywhere. An authentic brownie should be fudgy and not cakey and it was really justifying it. Here’s all that we had!
The next morning I spent hours sitting on the patio listening to birds and sipping my artisanal coffee which they had provided in the in-room bar.
After this, we headed to the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary which opens from 8 in the morning till 4 in the evening. They charge 100 per head and 100 per four-wheeler as entry charges. There are two waterfalls inside namely Mainapi and Savari and a strawberry farm which is in the village located deep inside the sanctuary. The first fall requires a bit of walking and the latter one is just 800m from the parking. We decided to go for the Savari fall and drove about 4 km from the entrance to reach the parking lot. Drive slow and be mindful of the markings else you may miss the entrance to the fall as we did!
We enjoyed the fresh and juicy apples while enjoying the cold stream of water gushing through the rocks. After coming back we had our artisanal breakfast along with a strong french press again.
Our return flight was at 9 in the evening but we were literally not worried about checking out and sitting at the crowded airport lounge for hours since they offer anytime checkout which really makes you do things at the pace you like. The team gave us a cute Colva Beach fridge magnet and this little Take Me Home pouch so that we could take back all our toiletries along.
Update: Since many were asking about the total bill amount so I would like to update that information here. The total amount including the EazyDiner payment was around 42K and I paid 37K after redemption of my voucher which includes stay for two nights and 3 paid meals other than the complimentary breakfasts.
After taking some rest we checked out at 4 PM and headed to Galgibaga Beach (also known as Turtle Beach) en route then headed out straight to the airport and handed over the keys to the pickup guy and bid goodbye to Goa until the next time!
So I booked two nights in the luxury room which was later upgraded to the Premier Room on a request and availability basis. Now the question comes why PostCard Hideaway Netravali? The simple answer to this is that this resort has 20 cabins in the 20 acres of forest which was quite complimenting our idea of having a private laid-back holiday without setting an alarm for morning buffet breakfasts and it was the most economical property among all the Postcard Hotels. So the tariff rates were 15K per night for a luxury
room at that time on which I also redeemed my Indusind Eazydiner Credit Card voucher.
Now a week before the trip I booked Luxury Airport Transfers and Meet&Assist service using my Axis Reserve credit card to zip away straight to the lounge area. There I bid goodbye to the concierge person since neither I wanted the buggy service and nor make her wait till I relax in the lounge. Luckily Encalm Lounge was open at that time and we had some light snacks since sometimes Vistara economy class food can throw some surprise. And! The food in Vistara was as expected not up to the mark as the Idli combo which they had served had become soggy!
So after landing at Dabolim it was time to drive my pre-booked self-drive car which I had booked from a company called Vailankanni Autohires Website - https://www.goacars.in/fleet, contact person, Mr Dominic @ 96194 80936 They are not an aggregator but one of the few "licensed" self-drive rental operators in Goa. They charged me Rs. 1000 per day for a Grand i10 with 1000 extra for airport pickup and drop. Though I didn’t receive a Grand i10 but was more than happy to receive a sparkling one-month-old Ignis. After making a good video of the car I straightaway drove to Netravali and reached PostCard hotel in under 2 hours and the roads all the way were absolutely pothole free! Since there is absolutely no network near the resort I would suggest you to download offline maps for navigation. Also, Since there are hardly any petrol bunks near the resort I would suggest you keep sufficient fuel in your vehicle.
At the hotel, we were welcomed in the Postcard style in which most of the available staff comes to greet us in the lobby and were handed over a steamed towel to freshen ourselves. Afterwards, we were served the local welcome drinks - Kokum Sharbat and the legendary Feni! Since it was my first visit to Goa so I tried both of them and both were a delight! Meanwhile, Mr Pankaj Joshi Whats-apped us all the menus for our perusal. After this Ms Sonia drove us up the hill in a golf cart and showed us our room and informed us about all the in-room and resort amenities.
Before telling you the story ahead let me quickly take you through the snaps of the room.
After a quick nap, it was time to experience the local cuisine and I dialled 9 on the playful old-fashioned rotary dial telephone and ordered a Konkan Thali. Wish they had a longer number to contact them! And since we wanted to enjoy the food in the restaurant itself we had instructed them to send the cart also. The thali was good enough for two people and was served with much love from Ms Worshim!
For the evening since it was a special day, I had already requested the staff for a special dinner for the evening. Since the designated menu is mostly local, I ordered indo-chinese for dinner since they serve everything out of the menu on an availability basis. So a cart reached our cottage sharp at the time we had requested and instead of the restaurant, we were taken to straight to the pool where the team had made a simply wow arrangement just for the two of us! Check for yourself!
All this was done absolutely free whereas most of the luxury resorts charge hefty amounts for such an arrangement!
And since by now, the news of my arrival had reached Mr Kapil Chopra who is the CEO of the PostCard Hotel and knows me through Twitter. I don’t know how but could be due to my tweet since he follows me. And we were surprised to know from the server Mr Raviraj that he has offered us drinks with his compliments for the special night!! He sure knows the meaning of hospitality and delighting his loyal residents.
After dinner, we were served an amazing Coconut Walnut cake baked by the bakery chef Mr Anil but since we were almost full we could enjoy it pretty less. But since my wife is also a professional baker and was intrigued to know about this relatively new southern cake flavour we asked them to deliver some portion in the room so that we could dissect it later on! 😉
After reaching back we found that our room had been decorated beautifully and the housekeeping team had placed nitty-gritty elements in the room such as the trademark tote bag of the PostCard Hotel.
The next day though we had planned to visit the nearby Savari Waterfall in the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary we planned to give it a skip and enjoy the pool. So after a lazy start to the morning, we walked all the way to the pool after stuffing our clothes in the tote bag and en route enjoyed the views of butterflies and monkeys jumping from one branch to another. There was absolute silence in the resort and the only sounds we could hear were of the birds chirping and the water sprinklers.
While playing around in the pool and soaking in the sun for two hours we had a drink or two from the in-pool bar and after this, we headed to the restaurant for our artisanal anytime breakfast at about 12 noon! A PostCard stay can literally spoil you for sure!
We tried the Konkan breakfast option which was served along with some fresh artisanal bread and a fruit platter! Let the pictures do the magic!
In the afternoon we headed out to the famous "Bud-Bud" Lake which is at a walkable distance from the resort. Just as we were leaving Ms Sonia handed us some water bottles which we slipped into our tote bag in which we were carrying apples that the resort provides in every room. The compound houses a Krishna Temple and the lake in which the algae at the bed releases peculiar air bubbles at regular intervals and is a mesmerising sight! Though you will see locals clapping around as it is believed that bubbles only pop up if you make a sound. This lake is a must-visit for anyone visiting Netravali.
After this, we enjoyed our relaxing Jacuzzi session which was part of our room tariff and the spa manager Ms Phila was very good while attending us!
Since I had already ordered the dinner we spent some time in the lounge area near the pool and it is the only room in the entire resort where you find a television!
Later during the dinner, I was surprised to see PostCard listed on the EazyDiner app and I was like how could I forget to use it? So finally I used it to pay my bill using PayEazy and got a good discount on the food using my Axis Reserve Credit Card and some EazyPoints for the next stay at another PostCard hotel! This time we tried some north Indian options and the food was better than the options we tried last night. And just when we were about to leave, Mr Anil the bakery chef delighted us with a complimentary dessert and believe me it was one of the most authentic brownies that we have ever had anywhere. An authentic brownie should be fudgy and not cakey and it was really justifying it. Here’s all that we had!
The next morning I spent hours sitting on the patio listening to birds and sipping my artisanal coffee which they had provided in the in-room bar.
After this, we headed to the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary which opens from 8 in the morning till 4 in the evening. They charge 100 per head and 100 per four-wheeler as entry charges. There are two waterfalls inside namely Mainapi and Savari and a strawberry farm which is in the village located deep inside the sanctuary. The first fall requires a bit of walking and the latter one is just 800m from the parking. We decided to go for the Savari fall and drove about 4 km from the entrance to reach the parking lot. Drive slow and be mindful of the markings else you may miss the entrance to the fall as we did!
We enjoyed the fresh and juicy apples while enjoying the cold stream of water gushing through the rocks. After coming back we had our artisanal breakfast along with a strong french press again.
Our return flight was at 9 in the evening but we were literally not worried about checking out and sitting at the crowded airport lounge for hours since they offer anytime checkout which really makes you do things at the pace you like. The team gave us a cute Colva Beach fridge magnet and this little Take Me Home pouch so that we could take back all our toiletries along.
Update: Since many were asking about the total bill amount so I would like to update that information here. The total amount including the EazyDiner payment was around 42K and I paid 37K after redemption of my voucher which includes stay for two nights and 3 paid meals other than the complimentary breakfasts.
After taking some rest we checked out at 4 PM and headed to Galgibaga Beach (also known as Turtle Beach) en route then headed out straight to the airport and handed over the keys to the pickup guy and bid goodbye to Goa until the next time!
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