Kaju Varo

A hidden Zen gem near Ashvem Beach, these Japanese-Scandinavian loft suites offer stylish tranquility in a dappled orchard

The driveway looks like that to any other suburban Goan house, but enter the betelnut wood stockade and you’ll be amazed. Two old Goan houses, set admist a sea-breezed orchard, have been renovated into 3 stunning loft suites. Beautifully designed and decorated in rustic reds and earthy ochres, their large and airy living spaces soar 6.5m up to the rafters, and their loft bedrooms are reached by fun (if occasionally precarious) twists of free-standing steps. Outside the light-spilling French windows, roomy verandas are screened into privacy by the orchard of banana, mango, papaya and cashew nut trees (Kaju Varo means ‘Cashew Breeze’ in Goan). Then there’s the more modern eco lodge, built using green materials it retains a sense of simple luxury with the private lounge and lap pools. The fifth space is a unique 2-storey modular house, which feels more air than wood. If you’ve ever been seduced by the magic of treehouses, it will transport you right back there.

Created by ‘Shunya’, the brainchild of an Indian creative director-turned-social entrepreneur and his Scandinavian interior-designer partner, it’s the sister to Noi Varo, both are pilot projects, designed to boost rural employment and increase sustainable development in Goa. Great for couples, friends or families (each sleeps 2-4), the lofts and house can be booked individually or together, and the outdoor dining table can seat a sociable 14. Along with dappled shade, fans and air con, there are 3 cascading plunge pools to keep you cool, and 4 double lounge platforms on which to read, doze and dream.

Highs

• The Zen elegance, space and minimalism of the lofts, lounges and bathrooms, and the serene ambiance of the place as a whole
• Excellent staff - attentive and kind
• The delicious and exotic fusion food - perhaps crab leek soufflé or mackerel in pomegranate and tequila
• A 5-minute stroll from Ashvem Beach, one of Goa's loveliest yet and quietest sandy stretches
• The wealth of well-thumbed books to read, from Benchley to Bach
• Rates are per room/house; no extra charge for children or additional friends

Lows

• Most of the pools are too small to do lengths in
• All the plastic rubbish on your 5-minute walk through village fields to the beach
• Frequent sorties of tiny ants trekking across the floor’s ochre ocean and your bare feet
• Unreliable electricity which often blows lightbulbs
• No locks on cupboards or the outside of doors (though the owners have agreed to follow our paranoid-Westerner suggestion and introduce some!)