Goa Turns up The Woomph

GOA was waking up from its off-season slumber when APEKSHA BHATEJA stood at the temple-like door of W Goa and watched the hotel race against time to get ready for its debut this month. India’s first W has handpicked elements from the ecclesiastical territory and its much talked about hippie culture, and it makes a strong first impression.

- Ragini Singh

And the next time you come to visit, you notice the transition from a just-about-there property to a smooth-running luxury resort and think to yourself, “Look, there is no plastic cover on the huge golden W in the courtyard!”

W Goa is a little away from the neon madness that Goa can be, located in the sleepy Chapora village where everything moves slower than usual—even by Goa standards. Palm-fringed paths, green fields shining under the monsoon sun, old Portuguese houses (one of which has been featured in many movies and has a dungeon), and loitering cows mooing in the middle of road... the drive to the hotel is colourful. Walking inside the ornamental temple-like door, Phases of Moon designed by Goan artist Subodh Kerkar, I have this inkling that the hotel has retained the same earthy character, albeit in a fashionable way.

I soon discover that different versions of the state are strung together at W Goa: the wild; the artsy; the calm; and the laissez-faire. My first cue is the welcome desk, where a striking mural inspired by the Goan Carnival by Pune-based artist M Narayan has enveloped the crescent wall, like a warm hug for the guests.

I often wonder if hotel guests realise how much thought goes into each element of the design. The concept, sometimes, can be staggering, but it is not always obvious. In this case, it completely surprises me that the decorative ropes that look like they are bracing up the ceiling in the lobby-slash-Woo Bar don’t symbolise boats or the sea; they are garlands that we welcome our guests with.