Nirvana by the Sea by Sanara Living … my home in Goa this monsoon!

When I go to a large city, I like the convenience of a large hotel. But when I go on a vacation I feel the need for escape and I find big resorts just don’t work for me. I don’t want to share a pool with thirty loud people, nor do I want to take a long walk every time I feel like a swim. I don’t want giant breakfast buffets that look and taste the same and even sound the same with the big  families and screaming kids. From the Hyatt to the Marriott, I have hated every single resort stay in Goa I have had in the last decade. As a result even someone like me who has been a Taj Village loyalist cannot imagine staying in a place like that anymore. 

Unfortunately the alternatives are still limited in India. Unless it’s Postcard, boutique is just a euphemism for limited service. And there are very few places like Assagao’s The Project Cafe that give you that feeling of intimacy, privacy, a creative aesthetic and a sense of escape. Villas increasingly seem like the way to go but here again you often end up having to deal with the very domestic chores you’re running away from unless you pay through your nose. 

When we decided to spend the monsoons in Goa as a family, I asked my friend and brother Ashish Dev Kapur for advice. Even aside from owning Antares, Ashish seems to now spend half the year living in Goa and knowing him, I knew that he wouldn’t bring his family to stay in a place that was anything short of spectacular. He was kind enough to connect me to the same people that they had lived with and it ended being the single nicest family holiday we have ever had in Goa. 

A 3 bedroom villa with a private pool, Nirvana by the Sea is the sort of place that makes you want to move permanently. Located centrally, in the heart of Vagator/Anjuna, it was like we stepped into an island of serenity every time we walked in.  Huge glass windows overlooking the pool and garden, a wonderful staff that looked after all your needs and were a phone call away, and a home that was put together not just with taste but with personality, reflecting the tastes and interests and lives led by the owners Sunita and Nauhar, making it a home (albeit a gorgeous home) rather than just a place to stay. 

I wanted to know more about Sanara Living, the company behind Nirvana for our future visits and that story was even more fascinating. It’s run by a 22 year old called Sayrah Rana who started the company while still in college. She started with her family home in Goa and then her grandparents’ home in Dehradun because she hated the kind of guests they got on Air B and B and got fed up of having to manage all the logistics and realised there must be more people with wonderful homes who feel the same. She now looks after some 18 properties across Goa, Mussoorie, Mukhteshwar, Mashobra and more. The idea is to find actual homes that are not just done tastefully but that have spaces that allow people to come together for moments that create magic. Whether it’s a patio with mountain views or a poolside deck, there needs to be a space where guests can create memories. If the place we stayed in is any indicator, I can see us staying at their homes for a holiday every single year.