'Tajness' was sorely missing at Taj Cida-de-Goa Horizon. We are quite accustomed to great Taj quality, hospitality and service of staff over years, and Goa Taj was a sorry exception. Food was avearge, restaurant staff was, well, ...unattached and carefree...to put it mildly. They understand that you are there for leisure, and they partake their own share of leisure while serving you. In our 5-day-4-night stay, 5 times the cutlery was dirty - it had remnants from the food last eaten stuck to it, when it was presented before us for dining. When we pointed out that it is happening far too often, the curt response was, "I am anyways changing it na!"
We were supposed to feel apologetic for pointing out such 'trivia' and disturbing the serving staff. Wow!
This casual approach was visible nearly everywhere- in room cleaning, definitely in dining and with even more with the pool staff. The only person to show earnestness was the person who collected the payments on final day, and the driver who dropped us off to the airport.
It is sad to observe one of our favourite brands - the one whom we assumed to be a mark of good quality always - coming down to this average level.
One tip for those still reading:
Taj Cida-de-Goa has two properties: Heritage and Horizon. Horizon is new and better kept, Heritage is renovated and much older. However, heritage has a private beach just adjacent to your rooms while a shuttle is needed for Horizon guests to reach the beach.
Choose accordingly