Park Hyatt Goa closed its doors for the public on September 19, 2018, and ITC took over the hotel from then on. The property has had a fair share of a legal tussle. ITC renamed it ITC Grand Goa, adding another hotel to their Grand brand of hotels. The hotel has been shut since September 19.

Now, it seems the hotel is ready to open their doors again. This will be ITC’s first luxury hotel in Goa. The property only underwent a branding change. So, they have kept the same room and restaurant count. ITC Grand Goa has 72 Garden View Rooms, 128 Lagoon View Rooms, 16 Pool View Rooms and 21 Sea View Rooms. Apart from these ITC Grand Goa boasts 4 Lagoon View Suites, 4 Sea View Suites, 4 Sea view Suites with a lap pool, 2 Luxury Suites and 1 Presidential Suite.

It features six restaurants:

• Pavilion at the Village Square: Round the clock restaurant featuring Indian & International cuisine with an outdoor open kitchen.
• Kebabs & Kurries: It offers heritage cuisine fine-tuned through years of research by the celebrated chefs of ITC Hotels in a warm, luxurious setting.
• Ottimo Cucina Italiana: Italian restaurant
• Tempero: Signature Goan Restaurant
• The Royal Afghan – Seaside Barbeque & Grill: Set on the shores of Arossim beach featuring cuisine from the North-West frontier
• Farol: Two-floor lighthouse poolside bar

ITC Grand Goa also has a massive 3,344 sqm. Kaya Kalp Spa that will replace perhaps one of the most well recognised and awarded spa in the country, which was at Park Hyatt Goa.

Rooms start at INR 14,400 per night for Garden room going all the way to INR 54,900 per night for Sea view Suite with plunge pool. Too bad the 35% off Hyatt sales won’t come handy anymore to reduce the cost of the stays. Rooms are bookable for stay from November 1, 2018, all the way to March 31, 2019, for now.

ITC has appointed Bhagwan Balani as the General Manager of ITC Grand Goa. He has 23 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Bhagwan Balani isn’t new to this property. He was a Sales Manager and rose to Director of Sales and Marketing at Park Hyatt, Goa from 2002-2013. Later on, he was the General Manager at Hyatt Amritsar, Hilton Shillim Estate Retreat and Spa and Hilton Mumbai International Airport from 2013-2018. He joined ITC recently as General Manager of ITC Grand Goa.

It looks like ITC is pulling all the big guns. ITC will give a fierce competition in an already competitive market. Goa will also see new hotels like Delta, an upscale brand from Marriott’s stable and there are also talks of Four Seasons making an entry.

However, for Marriott Rewards enthusiasts, the bad news is, as of now, there is no news about this hotel participating in the Luxury Collection and being available to Marriott Rewards members.

Bottomline

This will mark ITC’s first luxury foray into Goa. Many have fond memories attached to the Park Hyatt Goa. For Ajay & Shipra, it was their second home. I enjoyed sitting at what will become The Royal Afghan Seaside Barbeque & Grill restaurant, as it has incredible views. Let’s see what ITC does with this fantastic property.

Are you excited for ITC Grand Goa? Will it exceed the standards set by the previous hotel which many were attached to?