The best budget hotel in Panjim is one that sits inside the city centre, not on its outskirts, because Panjim's attractions (Fontainhas, Miramar Beach, the Deltin river casinos, and the 18th June Road market) all sit within a 3 to 5 km radius of M.G. Road. A genuinely affordable hotel in Panjim saves you money twice over: once on the room rate, and again on the taxi fares you skip when everything is walkable or a short auto-rickshaw ride away.
If you've spent any time comparing listings on booking sites, you've probably noticed the same problem: every hotel calls itself "centrally located," but almost none of them tell you what that actually means in kilometres or minutes. That's the gap we're filling here.