The hospitality experienced by guests at the Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa is second to none at this breathtakingly beautiful venue tucked away in a secluded corner of the pristine Arossim beach in south Goa, India.
Spread across 46 acres, the resort is an excellent place to forget one's troubles. To ensure privacy and give guests a feeling of space, the 250 suites that dot this huge property have been built as Indo-Portuguese-style villas or pousadas.
These pousadas are separated from each other by lagoons, tropical gardens, Venician-style canals and bridges.
General Manager Andrew Mensforth told
Emirates Business: "The unique feature of our resort is the Indo-Portuguese-style villas. Most of the hotels in this area have modern architecture that does not give guests the feel of the real Goa. But we wanted them to experience the real thing and so our resort has been conceptualised as an Indo-Portuguese village and we have kept the patios, wooden floors, ceilings, balconies and the feel of an old Goan house in our architecture."
The resort has also been designed to keep in mind that nature's healing touch does more to calm frayed nerves and soothe the soul than the most powerful medicine.
So interaction with nature is ensured every step of the way, whether it is the bamboo branches creeping into the balcony of the suites; or the waters of the lagoon that meanders throughout the resort to lap gently just outside the rooms; or the three-level swimming pool with views of acres of manicured brilliant lawns and the roaring sea; or the resort restaurants that open on to lush vistas, or the miles of pristine beachfront. Nature is everywhere.
Mensforth said: "Nowhere in Goa will you get such a huge stretch of beach which is so secluded, private and quiet.
"So the guests can commune with nature, swim or just enjoy the sunshine and the view without being bothered by anyone disturbing their privacy.
"Also as we have a limited number of guests and the property is so spread out with so many things to do there is no danger of the beach ever getting overcrowded."
However, being 'one with nature' this does not mean that it is back to basics at this resort. It's just nature has been used to add to the opulence. For example, all suites have been equipped with sunken baths and rain showers. Many of the bathrooms overlook miniature secret gardens and some have outdoor showers hidden among the foliage and terrace jaccuzis overlooking the lawns, beach and the sea.
The award-winning Sereno Spa at the resort – whose accolades include 'Number one spa in the world' and "The best spa in Asia and India' by
Conde Nast Traveller Readers' Spa Awards 2006 and the 'Best spa in India' by
Spa Asia Readers Choice Awards 2007 – makes optimum use of the bounty of nature in every way possible.
Situated in a secluded corner of the resort, this 36,000 sq ft spa is a sanctuary designed to provide a holistic experience inspired by ayurvedic and yogic traditions.
The Sereno Spa offers treatments and programmes that promote wellness, fitness and relaxation and its comprehensive menu has the complete range of ayurvedic treatments from
shiro dharas to
marma abhyangas and detoxifying
panchkarma. The other treatments complementing ayurveda include touch therapies like yoga massage, crystal healing, aroma massage, marma energy zone massage, skin refining treatments, body wraps, holistic facial therapies and marine facial therapies.
Mensforth said: "We are the only spa that offers customised treatment to our guests. We don't just offer our guests a spa menu, the two ayurvedic doctors who manage our spa first have a consultation with our guests to find out their specific health issues and needs and then create a treatment for them. No one treatment is the same as each is tailor-made depending on the guests needs. We customise everything, right from the treatments to the choice of music to the venue of the treatment.
"Guests have the choice of either having a treatment done in our spa suites that have their own steam rooms and outdoor baths and jacuzzis or in the outdoor therapy pavilions."
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