Relax at Mayfair Hideaway Spa Resort.

On a recent visit south. I headed to Betul and found myself at the Mayfair Hideaway Spa Resort. Perched daintily at the mouth of the sea overlooking the village across the river, this spa resort in Goa is ideally located for out-of-towners, and offers a tranquil option for locals to get away. It’s barely a half hour drive from the airport and possibly 15 minutes away from Margao.

Clay elephants raised their trunks in welcome at the entrance of the Mayfair Hideaway Spa Resort, a wooden bridge lit up by bamboo stick lamps over a water body leading to the reception. The spa resort is led by Executive Director Souvagya Mohapatra who has been with the hospitality venture for the past 22 years, nurturing it with the management team into nine boutique resorts in seven destinations. Mohapatra is passionate about creating the ultimate guest experience, for which he believes food and beverage is an integral part.

As a “100 per cent destination property”, this spa resort in south Goa hosts many inbound tourists from around the world. Its 29 rooms are well-lit with both natural light and muted lighting, featuring wooden floors and an array of essential amenities. If you’re feeling like a bit of pampering, opt instead for the suite with a large living room and cosy couches, private sit out and dip pool.

 

Mayfair Hideaway Spa Resort is an excellent place to rejuvenate body and mind, thanks to its inspired setting amid lush, green surroundings. I toured the spa resort in South Goa before setting enjoying my treatment.

 

The hotel has four dining spaces with great taste as the management believes food and beverage operations create its identity and reputation in the market. Staff are always courteous and helpful and eager to leave you with the best impression. Wine ‘N’ Dine is Mayfair Hideaway Spa Resort’s wine lounge offering a beautiful dining experience with select wines and well-paired dishes. It also serves other drinks and beverages.

 

The Bar & Grill near the swimming pool has some of the freshest grilled seafood in Goa and delectable local fare. It has seen many a romantic candle-lit dinner thanks to its captivating ambience.

Aquarium Bar offers refreshing drinks while Nautica is the spa resort’s multi-cuisine buffet restaurant serving an excellent choice of Chinese, Thai and Continental dishes.

The rooms at Mayfair Hideaway Spa Resort are also excellent for all genres of visitors, including business clientele. There’s WI-Fi and tea/coffee makers, a personal safe, satellite TV, 24-hour room service, laundry services, use of the business centre, beach transfers, baby-sitting services and fitness centre facilities.

Its event space called Vasco caters to business meets with state-of-the-art technology and professional support, as well as weddings, events and other parties.

At the Mayfair Hideaway Spa, I took in the exquisite surroundings before going through the menu of holistic therapies and massages in Western, Eastern or Oriental wellness packages including yoga. The spa hotel in South Goa also has steam, sauna and Jacuzzis.

I opted for a 90-minute Swedish massage, followed by a gold facial. The massage relaxed me, and the facial used extracts of gold foil, gold powder, sandal wood and other ingredients for its cooling mask. The Mayfair Hideaway Spa Resort is the ideal getaway for a spot of relaxation.

 

GOAT Festival at Marbela blows minds

The first edition of the international music and arts festival at the breathtaking Marbela Beach Resort in Morjim saw lots of guests turn up over the weekend to catch sets by Gilles Peterson, James Priestley, Kiasmos, The Turbans, BLOT and more

The stunning sands and lush lawns of Marbela Beach Resort on Morjim hosted the first ever edition of GOAT Festival, which lived up to its promise of an intimate, exciting festival with some stellar performances and a general bonhomie that made everyone feel special and involved.

Marbela Beach stepped in after impending election rules led to a change in venue and opened up its spectacular property to all the guests who walked in for the three-day festival.

Dave Gaydon (CEO of GOAT), Jaydeep Rajbhosle (Marbela Beach Owner), Gilles Peterson, Sinead McManus

The decision proved a resounding success as the popular resort transformed itself into a floral jungle where the sounds of disco and house music accompanied the crash of the waves. 

Highlights 

The three-day GOAT Festival held at Marbela Beach Resort from January 27-29 offered the discerning music fan the best experience. It introduced new sounds – the Afrobeat stylings of Afroquoi and Eastern European, Middle Eastern melodies of The Turbans – and gave the audience an opportunity to hear celebrated DJs like Gilles Peterson, secretsundaze co-founder James Priestley, Kiasmos as well as some of the most exciting acts from India like BLOT!, Sandunes, Aqua Dominatrix and Kumail among others.

             

Gilles Peterson, who is a celebrated broadcast host, DJ and label owner played the set of the festival mixing in Latin American tunes to disco, house and techno to ending the set with a Bollywood flourish, with the popular track ‘Choli ke peeche’ from the movie Khalnayak.

Apart from the music that started at 2pm and ran till 10pm, there were activities like yoga, sound bathing, sunset jams, body art, dance workshops and stalls full of vintage finds and clothes to peruse. 

GOAT Festival is the first-ever festival put together by London-based agency GOAT that was formed in 2015 – together with Lyndon Alves from Sunset Getaways collectively they pulled off this hugely successful event which has found its base here in Goa.

Photo Credits – Carys Lavin

Experience La Vie En Rose at Michele’s Garden Cafe

Like a lot of people, Michele came to Goa on holiday. Little did she know she would spend the next 38 years here, starting an entirely new, French food filled life on the verdant coasts of India.

Michele grew up in Normandy, a beautiful region of northern France. Her family members, passionate foodies that she learned from, inspire most of the distinctive dishes on her menu.

Michele’s Garden cafe — formerly known as La Vie en Rose — was started eight years ago, and is one of the only cafes in Goa that specializes in French food. The garden is spacious and delicately adorned with furniture and fabrics from her home, with a lot of feminine patterns and of course, the color pink. Michele’s pleasant presence adds to an already refreshing ambience. She works with her chef very closely, guiding him with every dish, and her enthusiasm for her guests and her food too, is evident.

Michele’s food is all made from scratch. Her crepes, desserts and jams are all homemade, including a unique, mouth-watering onion marmalade. Some of the most popular dishes on her menu include the French classic ’Boeuf Bourguignon’ originating in the wine region of Burgundy; and ‘Chicken Normandie’, a favorite dish from Michele’s hometown which is loaded with cream and mushrooms, with a hint of mustard. The beef is marinated and slow cooked in red wine and beef broth, resulting in the meat being succulent and tender. Michele describes how every dish in Normandy is served with a little jar of cream on the side, just like we eat pickles with all our food in India.

Michele has also crafted some signature dishes that reflect her long tryst with Goa. ‘Fish Mish’ is made with ‘pastis’, a star-anise based sauce, capers, garlic and cream, of course. And the ‘Douala’ salad is made with prawns, avocado, sweet potatoes and papaya. Her salmon crepe is inspired by her aunt. Michele fondly describes how her huge family would sit on the dining table on special occasions, and relish a large plate of the highly anticipated creation.

French cuisine, according to Michele, was more popular 38 years ago when she first came to Goa, when it used to be less accessible. Although French food can be expensive since some recipes are complex, but Michele makes an effort to offer simple and affordable home cooking, that is exquisitely tasty. She definitely knows how to do both!

Above the garden cafe, Michele has four lovely rooms for her guests to stay, all surrounded by trees, and a number of adorable cats and dogs. One of the rooms is a rustic looking tree house, designed to make one feel like they’re in a home away from home. Two of the rooms are themed, orange and blue. They each have their private balconies with views of a lot of greenery and blue sky. The name of the Bed & Breakfast property, ‘La Vie en Rose’, which is a way of seeing life through rose tinted glasses, as you do when you are in love, is the kind of experience Michele wants her guests to have when they visit.