Cactus Guesthouse

Overall it's ok property to stay until you find (on the ground) a place where you're going to stay until the end of your vacation. This is common in Goa, to book some place for a few days via Internet, arrive, and spend the time visiting premises and finding something more suitable. I'd recommend to consider neighbor villages (Mandrem, Morjim, Querim) if you're looking for more peaceful stay as Arambol is a party town. Also, if this is your first time in India, I'd recommend to be open-minded during the first several days (this is in general, not related to the property) :D Considering all above the guesthouse in review is OK. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Despite the dated look of the room, it was clean, including bed sheets. Sanitary equipment worked fine. And finally it's listed on booking.com and can be paid online. The latter helps to arrive to Arambol and have a place as an initial exploration base.

It's not a hotel, it's a basic guesthouse close to the beach at moderate price, so do not expect much. Property is dated and doesn't have "polished" look at all, but it was sufficiently clean. Obviously proximity to the beach and lack of sound proofing (like in the rest of India) means that you'll have to plug your ears, as otherwise you won't get any sleep until ~ 2am. Room has a small kitchen, but cutlery is in a dire state. Overall kitchen equipment doesn't look reliable, but I didn't try using it. There's no AC in my room (ok for this price), only fan, and the latter couldn't be configured to run at low speed (minimum speed is still to fast).

Friendly helpful staff /owner, very close to the beach with restaurants and also little shops nearby, also helped us with transfers .

Nothing to report could add a kettle.

The location is great. It's right in the heart of it and its literaly on the beach. The only thing is you can hear loud music coming from the beach bars which are suppose to stop around 11pm but in my experience it was more like midnight.

Loud music between 10pm and 12 midnight

The hosts are really kind and trying to help. When I arrived I couldn’t find the address and they send a guy to help me. The sound of waves at 5 in the morning is really nice! Good for party people

If you want to rest, this is not the place. Loud music till 1 in the morning, and after that you still hear people screaming. In the morning you have the construction noise in the same building. Impossible to relax and have a good sleep. But if you are there for party probably it’s a good place. They don’t have 24h service. I had to leave at 5 in the morning to catch my flight and they said they can’t help me at that hour with the luggage. The stairs getting to the ground floor are so small and the taxi can’t get close to the place so you have to walk alone at night on small streets with barking dogs with your luggages. As a woman I didnt feel safe at all.

Very close to the beach, modest but quite neat. Bedsheets are clean, hosts are decent. Located where a lot of locals stay, so good cheap Goan eateries are there (near Narayana temple).

One huge drawback are the beach bars nearby, they are extremely load at night, especially on the weekend. The passage to the beach is very dirty and narrow.

The owner is really nice and friendly, the room was great

The Owners are very very kind and understanding. They can really help you with everything.

Waking up with the sounds of the sea is always a pleasure and the view from the Balcony in 2nd floor was great.