The decorative fountains outside the lobby, the streams and cascades running through the resort, the largest swimming pool in India and the gorgeous Arossim beach. If you don't like water or you have a weak bladder don't come here!
If on the other hand you enjoy top class hotel accommodation, fine food and great service do come here!
After a 20 minute drive from the airport, dodging the odd cow or two along the way, we arrived at the Park Hyatt and were immediately welcomed, seated and presented with a hot towel and cooling fruit drink.
We were given a Park Room (standard room). The room was of a good size, a little dark which was actually quite nice to escape the heat of the day outside. Views were overlooking the gardens and pool area and all rooms have either a balcony or terrace.
The bathroom is one of the best i have seen in India with a sunken bath and rainshower, and if you request it with your daily turndown service the maids will arrange mood candles around the bath.
The resort is extensive with rooms spread out in clusters over the resort and large areas of landscaped garden.
There is an area of the resort called Village Plaza which contains a 35 seater cinema, Wine & Tapas bar, cocktail bar, juice bar, 4 x restaurants, a bakery, a small selection of boutique shops, a modern gym and a really good supervised kids club.
All of the meals we ate were of a very high standard and there is a good choice of cuisine so you do not have to worry if you don't enjoy Indian food.
During high-season October - end of May the cinema shows Hindi films during the day and Hollywood blockbusters in the evening, although you can request an alternative film during the day if nobody else is using the cinema. During low season (monsoon season) the hotel is mainly frequented by Indian visitors and the showings are mainly in Hindi. The hotel is usually a little quieter during this time.
If you are going in the low season like I did you will also find that during this time the beach bar is closed and you can not do watersports at this time.
The weather was changeable whilst we were there, always hot, mainly sunny but always had 2-3 hours worth of terrential rain a day.
Whilst it was raining on one of the days we headed over to the Sereno Spa and had an Ayuverdic massage - much recommended.
Some of the hotels in Goa have rooms or villas with their own plunge pools and whilst this is a nice feature it often means people do not leave their rooms. The Park Hyatt does not have any private pools and I think this is to the benefit of the resort as it remains much more sociable.
We were always greeted with a smile from the staff, from check-in through to check-out, that really made a big impression.
The outside of some of the buildings need a lick of paint however this is a minor issue and one that would not stop me from returning.
The prices are expensive, usually several hundred US dollars for a room. However this is pretty much the case with all 4 and 5 star hotels in South Goa.
I would recommend this hotel to anybody but would advise them to think about what they want from their holiday before they decide in which season to go.