An utterly unique blend of Portuguese, Hindu and colonial British personas inside a beautifully restored 8-room villa. Vivenda offers a superbly hosted stay that’s by turns romantic, fantastical, humourous, homely and luxurious. For sheer charm alone it’s hard to beat.

The Portuguese and Hindu aspects of the house come in the form of architecture, with the elegant, delicate façade and front rooms of the former leading to the older, thick earth-walled sections of the latter. But it’s the colonial role that really stands out and fills the villa, coming less in the form of bricks and mortar than in the presence of Simon and Charlotte Hayward, the brother and sister owners and scions of the famous Hayward family (of Haywards 5000 fame), whose long and fruitful involvement with India stretches back over a century.

Memories and artifacts of the family are liberally scattered throughout, and their happy ghosts linger in the corridors and rooms, where even the names reference different moments of their lives in India.

In this erudite and nostalgic atmosphere there’s a great feeling of warmth and affection, an old-world public school charm, with fixed weekly (excellent) dinner menus and communal meals, books scattered about the property, dog-eared and intended for reading, and the boyish, irreverent humour of Simon over dinner or around the brightly coloured bar (built from the back of a truck, no less).

A counterpoint to Simon’s nocturnal presence is the daytime attention afforded by Charlotte, a dab hand at discerning the needs and interests of her guests, helping plan their days through her vast knowledge of Goa and beyond.

Although quite far from the beach we didn’t miss it for one second; the presence of the pool and gardens at the rear of the property helped with this, but more than that it was the pitch perfect hospitality, five-star service and winning food and drink. We really can’t recommend Vivenda enough.