Laidback Luxe

A subtle but emphatic makeover later, a well-loved Goa property is welcomed into ITC’s ‘responsible luxury’ stable. Amit Dixit comes away charmed.

- Amit Dixit

Anywhere in Goa at any time is great but the short drive from Dabolim airport to the ITC Grand Goa was unexpectedly beautiful in the afternoon, on tree-lined roads laced with dappled sunlight. Until quite recently, this sprawling hotel, spread over 46 acres of landscaped greens and artificial lagoons, used to be the popular Park Hyatt Goa. It’s a strategic acquisition that has placed ITC right in the thick of the Goa action. It also means that they’ve hit the ground running. I was curious to see if it was going to be a case of ‘different but same, same’ or if there was something more to this makeover.

On the face of it, it’s not easy to tell. But look closer and you’ll find the ITC stamp in every aspect of the experience, and most of all in F&B. My lavish suite, which came with a sunken bath and its own private pool, opened on to well-manicured lawns which led to the beach, but I turned my gaze navel...and belly wards, diligently checking out all the F&B offerings, fussed over throughout by my personal butler.

I had a sweet welcome with ITC’s ‘Local Love’ selection of delicacies from Goa in my suite. These included dodol, a sticky rice pudding enriched with coconut milk and brown palm jaggery; bebinca, an interlayered dessert sweetened with coconut milk and ghee, which is traditionally cooked over charcoal embers; alle belle, traditional Goan panequettes stuffed with jaggery, fresh grated coconut and raisins; and doce, a festive Goan sweet made with lentil and coconut.