One of the biggest recent trends in Indian tourism has been the growth in ‘offbeat’ experiences, as domestic tourists in particular become more savvy and less excited by the plethora of cheesy, concrete hotels, many devoid of personality and completely at odds with their environment.
As one of India’s main tourist destinations, Goa inevitably attracts a lot of the hype. We’ve seen articles in the glossy travel mags, on Indian travel blogs and (the best of the bunch) in The Guardian newspaper, courtesy of Tripzuki’s senior contributor Deepti Kapoor and photographer Matthew Parker.
Earlier this month we added a villa on Chorao that really hits the mark for tourists seeking something new from their trip to Goa. Chorao is a great location: a large island in the Mandovi River estuary, known maybe for the Dr Ali Salim Bird Sanctuary but little else.
Terra Rosa ticked a lot of boxes for us: unique, renovated with taste and style, and a location that is a perfect fit for a group or family seeking that ‘offbeat’ experience. While it’s always easy to be cynical about trends in tourism – well, inevitably they become mainstream, overdone and predictable, right? – for now it’s places like this that make ‘the other side of Goa’ so worth visiting.
The villa: 4 bedrooms, pool, courtyard. Beautifully renovated and deceptively large.
The location: beautiful, peaceful, an hour from the beach (but that’s the point).
The food: the local cook can hit you with all the Goan food you can eat, or you can use the kitchen and cook yourself.
The rates: for the whole villa rates start from 15,714 Rs. per night during low season, to 31,429 per night during peak season. Divide that by 8 people and it really is exceptional value!
Head over to our full write-up to book Terra Rosa and see the full details of this lovely property.