The place where trance music was born, the beaches are unbeatable and the party never ends: so go the common perceptions of Goa, and all of them are true.
What’s equally true is that India’s smallest state offers a rich, varied culture that saw its former capital nicknamed Rome of the East, and a lush, green landscape of rolling hills and plains as well as those renowned golden shores. Indeed, the name Goa is derived from the local Konkani language’s word goyan, meaning tall grass.
This diverse setting attracts a wide range of people, from clubbers and sun-worshippers to families and spiritualists. It’s also a great location for relaxation and romance, which was clearly the reasoning behind the recent launch of The Park Baga River.
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This adults-only boutique hotel, which opened its doors in February, blends the best of East and West to create its own distinct identity. Much like Goa itself, in fact.
Where is it?
Located in the popular coastal town of Baga in northern Goa, The Park Baga River sits in a peaceful spot on a red dirt road overlooking the river from which it takes its name. The beach and party hotspots including sister hotel The Park Calangute are just a short walk or bike ride away.
The hotel
The Park Baga River is the latest addition to the luxury hospitality group owned and run by India’s so-called first lady of boutique hotels Priya Paul. After inheriting three hotels from her father at the age of 24, Paul has expanded The Park chain to eight properties across India, including The Park New Delhi, and is due to open another two this year, while also celebrating the group’s 50th anniversary.
The tireless Paul is a keen patron of the arts and her influence is evident from the moment we set foot in The Park Baga River (after cracking coconuts in a welcoming ceremony on the steps outside) during a short visit by The Week Portfolio.
Works by local artists are scattered throughout the hotel, which is decorated in neutral tones lit up by accents of yellow, the colour of Goa. The influence of the state’s former rulers, the Portuguese, is also evident in finishing touches such as the elaborately painted azulejos tiles in the bathrooms.
Resist the urge to set up camp in the ridiculously comfortable beds in the hotel’s 28 rooms, and instead head down to the elegant lounge area and the palm tree-lined outdoor pool and buzzy poolside bar, Aqua. Guests can start the day with early-morning poolside yoga classes, though we opted to take it easy on a sun lounger while enjoying a foot massage from an on-call beauty therapist.
A variety of other classes and workshops are also on offer, including photography, cookery, art, kick-boxing and surfing. Whatever you choose, just be sure to make time for one of those oh-so-relaxing massages...
Fine dining
Leave plenty of time, too, for savouring the many fine dishes served at The Park Baga River’s 24-hour in-house restaurant, Saltwater. Here you can sample multiple cuisines, though the traditional Goan curries and seafood are the standout options.
The breakfast buffet is equally impressive, with a wide selection of just-squeezed juices, fresh pastries and just about any other food you might fancy, including the best mango my companions and I had ever tasted.
Saltwater also offers snacks and meals by the pool, where we devoured a feast of freshly caught fish, expertly barbecued before our eyes as we sipped pre-dinner cocktails.
Fans of al fresco dining - and in fact, dining, full stop - should head down the road to the beachside The Park Calangute Goa, run by the wonderfully welcoming Saurav Khanna, for an evening meal served at a table on the beach. The superb range of curries and fresh seafood - grilled lobster washed down with Champagne, anyone? - is as spectacular as the setting.
We ended the evening with a glass of the very quaffable local port wine that is best enjoyed on the adult-size swing out on the golden sand.
What to do
Goa is a popular holiday spot with other Indians, perhaps because though just a couple of hours by plane from Delhi, it feels like a world away. The state’s distinct identity is largely down to its 450-year history of Portuguese rule. Goa wasn’t officially part of India until 1961, and its Portuguese colonial heritage is still evident today in everything from the local music and art to the architecture and street names.
The resulting hotchpotch of Eastern and Western traditions and religions makes for a fascinating cultural landscape, packed into a state less than two-and-a-half times the size of London. Add in the influx of hippies seeking spiritual enlightenment in the 1960s, and Goa has evolved into a region high on both tolerance and life in general.
That sense of bounty is echoed in the natural landscape, with red soil rich in iron ore, verdant hills dotted with gleaming white churches and ancient mosques, and palm-fringed beaches beside warm blue seas.
Visitors may be tempted to spend all their time exploring Goa’s great outdoors, but it would be a pity to miss out on a visit to Old Goa. This historic city was the state’s seat of power until 1635, when a cholera outbreak forced a mass relocation to Panjim, the capital city today.
Our guide explains that the stricken people of Old Goa believed the disease was contained in the structure of the buildings, sparking mass demolitions. Little was left standing except for the city’s churches and cathedrals, which in 1986 were collectively declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Among the most notable are the Se Cathedral, a vast white-washed structure said to be the largest church in Asia. Just over the road sits the Basilica of Bom Jesus, home to the incorrupt body of Saint Francis Xavier, which is put on display every ten years (a crowd of more than 4.7 million people turned up to see it last time).
Sightseeing completed, we head back to Baga, where there are plenty more bodies - live, thankfully - on display on the beaches, though as our guide sadly informs us, nudism is no longer permitted.
There are lots of opportunities to check out the anatomies of other animals, however, with a range of bird and nature spotting tours on offer. Goa is home to more than 50 species of mammals, including monkeys, mongoose and the crocodile ancestors of those introduced by the Portuguese as an innovative solution to border control (don’t tell Donald Trump).
Evening river tours are also popular, and for good reason, as my travel buddies and I discover after setting sail aboard a yacht on the serene Chapora River. We stretch out on the deck and watch the sun go down as river eagles soar overhead, before stopping for a swim and a bit of paddling on a nearby sandbank.
A glass of bubbly or two later, we head back to The Park Baga River for a final nightcap by the pool, content but aware that we have barely dipped a toe into all that Goa has to offer.
Prices and booking
Rooms from £110 per night. For more information, see theparkhotels.com.
The Park Baga River Goa, Dr Constancio Mascarenhas River View, Baga, Arpora, Goa 403516, India
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Kari Wilkin is The Week Digital’s global managing editor. She joined the UK site as production editor in 2017, after moving across from The Week magazine. Her career as a journalist began as a sub-editor at newspapers including The Sun, Metro, the Daily Star and News of the World, followed by stints at Elle and Asda Magazine. She also helped to launch the UK edition of Women’s Health magazine, as chief sub-editor with a sideline in writing; has penned travel and lifestyle articles for titles including The Telegraph and The Sun; and is a contributor on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast.
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