Over a decade in the restoration process, this 150-year-old house presents a wonderful opportunity to experience the tranquility of Goa’s lesser known village life. Warm, sensitive hospitality and the eclectic character of this lovely ancestral family home made our stay here a real pleasure.

The Secret Garden is the home of Helene, the congenial host, and aptly named after the magical children’s book by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Fitting somewhere between traditional Goan bed-and-breakfast and Goan boutique hotel,  the achingly tasteful design and authenticity is testament to the owner’s genuine feel for her family’s history and her passion to keep it alive.

Tucked away in this lovely part of north Goa, where school children wander home along dusty country lanes buzzing with scooter-riding locals, you may have to search a little to find the villa, which is accessed via passageways leading to its wrought-iron gates, splendid tropical garden and mosaic-tiled swimming pool.

Once settled by the pool with a good book, we can barely fault this place. If you don’t want a concrete box room with a flat-screen TV, the clamour of the beach or the buzz of Goa’s over-done coastal belt (and why would you?), then there is nothing to be lost and everything to be gained by choosing to stay here.