Let’s start with defining the scale: This is Arambol Beach in Goa. The typical accommodation varies from a shady backroom or a beach hut made from plywood to actual houses. Many places call themselves hotels, but don’t expect to see hand towels, buffet breakfasts or fancy soaps. Expect to have a bed and a roof. If you aim for more comfort, some hotels have rooms with an AC. On this scale, Luciano Guest House lies somewhere closer to the upper end.

Although lacking free toiletries, or even towels, Luciano provides customers with a free Wi-Fi, clean rooms and actual bathrooms. We were first accommodated on the third floor of the main building, but a week later were (luckily) moved one floor lower. The top floor’s rooms have holes in the roof, and a questionable amount of wildlife inside. However, there’s hot water (or warm, to be exact), and the Wi-Fi works relatively okay if you sit outside. Naturally, the whole existence of a working internet connection seems to be connected to some main supplier here; if the Wi-Fi is down in your hotel, the hotel next door won’t have it, either.

The second floor room has a much nicer bed, tidier bathroom and although it may cut down the cooling flow of air, there’s thank goodness no holes in the roof or walls. This has led the enginerd to be less occupied saving me from bathroom wall climbing frogs. The internet works even inside, a miracle that very rarely happened upstairs. As a matter of a fact, I’m sitting inside, under the fan, and typing away.

The owner, by (or from) whom the guesthouse got its name, is a man providing tourists staying with him several necessary services, like taxi and laundry. Before the Christmas season, doing laundry costs 350-450rs per load. However, I’d expect it to get higher in a week or two, as all the prices will do when most of the tourists arrive.

The landmarks of the guesthouse are Luciano’s dad sitting outside the gate, or Luciano himself sitting behind the reception desk, watching football on his tablet. The yard is very nice, with plants and a small garden, you can very easily recycle your empties, and your balcony is cleaned on daily basis. However, blankets are on request only, and each room has just one pillow per visitor, at least in the rooms we’ve been to. Writing this, Luciano promised to try and see if he could get us one or two more pillows, and even a second blanket. (An update: Got one extra pillow and a second blanket ♥)

Some serious partying seems to be happening by some guests every now and then, but although the guesthouse is located very close to the beach and bars and restaurants, it’s still relatively nice and quiet (if you get lucky and get quiet neighbors, that is!). You can even see families with little kids staying at Luciano.

Getting here is easy, you just follow the main road of Arambol all the way to the Northen end of the beach, and you’ll find the guesthouse in the beginning of the long, long row of hotels, restaurants and bazaars. People seem to know Luciano, too, so just ask around.

I’d definitely recommend Luciano Guest House for your next stay in Arambol. You might just want to ask for a second floor room, especially since the Wi-Fi router seems to be located right outside our balcony. We paid 900rs per night, however expect different seasons to change the rooms prices hugely. We paid via Western Union, and were able to book the room online. As a nice surprise to all his fans, unlike in earlier years and due to a huge demand, Luciano is planning on keeping his guesthouse open through the summer season in 2017, as well!