Goa, India

Amaraanth

Price per night from$305.14

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (INR25,960.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Amaraanth Photos

Style

Slow Goan

Setting

Magic Varca

Explore

More hotels in Goa More hotels in India

Mindfulness is second nature at Amaraanth, a pin-drop quiet retreat of just 12 suites on Goa’s peaceful southerly coast. A botanical-infused soak at the HVN spa kickstarts the sensory spoiling, and the Goan-Indian-Italian restaurant proves nourishment for the soul (as well as stomach). By the time you’re strolling back from the beach at sunset, a spiced cocktail on the cards, that extra ‘a’ makes sense: you’ll come to think of it as your contented sigh.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

One Signature HVN Bathing Ritual

Facilities

Photos Amaraanth facilities

Need to know

Rooms

12 suites.

Check–Out

Noon. Check-in is at 2pm, but both are flexible, subject to availability.

More details

Rates include butler service and a breakfast spread of fresh bread, cheese and fruit, plus your pick from a menu of Indian and Continental classics.

Also

Five Signature Suites, as well as the restaurant, bar and spa, are on the ground floor. The restaurant and bar have step-free access, and the hotel is in the process of acquiring ramps for better access to spa and two of the suites. Unfortunately, none of the rooms is suitable for wheelchair access.

At the hotel

Yoga deck, reflexology walkway, gym, orchard and herb garden, fashion boutique, butler service, paid laundry service and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: smart TV, Marshall Bluetooth speaker, locally sourced snacks, seasonal fruit, beach bags and Molton Brown bath products.

Our favourite rooms

There’s no dud among the dozen suites — each has a private balcony or yard, and features original pieces by local artists — but the Luxury and Signature Suites stand out for their alfresco bath tubs.

Poolside

Claim a poolside sofa and split an afternoon between lazy laps and fresh lime spritzes — you’ll soon see how the relaxation pool got its name. The pool is open daily from 7am to 9pm, and supervised children are welcome.

Spa

The HVN has already made a conquest of London, winning over dewy-skinned devotees with its nature-rooted treatments. In tailored bathing rituals, you’ll begin with a massage and mask on an oversized memory-foam mattress (with gentle chimes to wake you, don’t worry), before floating out to your private outdoor bath tub for a botanical-infused soak. If you’re staying in a Luxury or Signature Suite, you have the option to enjoy this ritual from the privacy of your room, too. And if you’ve ever wondered how a gemstone feels post-polish, the signature Hydro Spa Suite is the place for you — here, you’ll have a full-body exfoliation, Abhyanga-inspired massage, steam and shower all without having to shift from your warm water mattress. Wrap things up with a herbal tea on the leafy spa terrace, then join a guided flow on the yoga deck or try out the pebble-paved reflexology walkway. There’s also a gym (open 24 hours) with cardio and weight training equipment.

Packing tips

The hotel runs personal styling sessions with sustainable local brand Yellow House Parra, so leave suitcase space for a block-printed slip dress or an ikat-patterned shirt.

Also

Private dining on the terrace can be arranged; proceed with caution, though, lest tropical birdsong and a specially curated menu raise the bar unreasonably high for all future date nights.

Children

All ages are welcome, but really this is a grown-up retreat. Children aged 10 and under stay free; for children 11 and up, there’s a nighty fee of INR 2,500.

Sustainability efforts

Rainwater and bathwater are reused in the gardens, and single-use plastic bottles are discouraged.

Food and Drink

Photos Amaraanth food and drink

Top Table

There’s a scattering of intimate, alfresco dining spots dotted around the grounds — scout out your favourite, and ask for your supper to be served there.

Dress Code

Floaty slow fashion

Hotel restaurant

The hotel’s restaurant is helmed by rockstar of Indian cooking, Ritu Dalmia. At Amaraanth Kitchen, she pairs heritage Indian recipes with influences picked up on her travels, and in particular, her love affair with Italian cuisine. The result is a culture-melding menu of finely tuned comfort food. Breakfast might be fragrant kachori, sambhar-dipped idli or a syrupy stack of pancakes; lunch, a vibrant thali mopped up with phulka bread; and dinner, a saffron-laced seafood risotto, or the restaurant's signature thali. And, for extra feelgood points, the kitchen works with sustainable ingredients from a close-knit network of local suppliers.

Hotel bar

A big deal in Indian mixology, Pankaj Balachandran brings his signature meticulous research and respect for regional producers to the Lab at Amaraanth. Inspiration comes from Goa’s culinary heritage, ingredients from local market stalls and the garden’s fruit trees. One drink takes its cue from a traditional Goan curry, mixing tequila with tomatoes, tamarind, coriander and coconut milk. Another riffs on the refreshing cool of a hotel lobby, craft gin paired with indigenous botanicals and tea from a favourite local boutique. The small plates are equally artful — expect tussles over the last bite of masala ghee-roasted chicken, date-night chivalry be damned.

Last orders

Breakfast is served at Amaraanth Kitchen from 7.30am to 10.30am, lunch from noon to 2.30pm and dinner from 7pm to 10.30pm. The Lab pours from noon to midnight.

Room service

Any dish from Amaraanth Kitchen’s menu can be brought to your suite during restaurant hours.

Location

Photos Amaraanth location
Address
Amaraanth
Fatrade Beach Road Varca
Fatrade
403721
India

Coastal Amaraanth is in Goa’s mellow south, a 10-minute stroll from sandy Fatrade Beach.

Planes

This southerly stay is a 45-minute drive from Dabolim Airport. The hotel can arrange transfers for INR 2500 each way, plus taxes. Alternatively, some international airlines touch down at Manohar International Airport, around a two-hour drive from Amaraanth.

Trains

Direct trains from major hubs including New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata stop at Madgaon Junction Railway Station, around a half-hour drive from the hotel. Staff can arrange transfers from the station for INR2,200 plus taxes each way.

Automobiles

There’s free private parking at the hotel.

Worth getting out of bed for

If a particular aspect of local life sparks your interest, chances are the hotel can help you learn more. A guided feni tasting, under the hotel’s cashew tree, will get you up to speed on the history and cultural importance of Goa’s signature spirit. Or you can take a cocktail-making class with the bar’s mixologists. Ask in advance, and tours and talks with local experts can be arranged, on topics from regional cuisine to religious architecture. If the hotel’s art collection has caught your eye, staff can set up a workshop with a local artist. And if that all sounds a bit studious, try a sunset picnic or tea experience in the leafy grounds, with fragrant pots of tea paired with curated local snacks.

The beaches around here are remarkably well-kept secrets. Nearby Varca Beach is a good bet for dolphin-spotting; otherwise, follow the footpath down from the hotel gardens down to Fatrade Beach, a secluded sandy stretch just a few minutes’ walk away.

Local restaurants

At Cavatina in Benaulim, chef Avinash Martins spotlights time-tested local flavours in his elevated tasting menus. For laidback tunes and tandoori dishes on the beach, head to the Southern Deck, also in Benaulim. Traditional Goan seafood suppers are soundtracked by live music at Fisherman’s Wharf, a riverside spot in Mobor — be sure to save room for the bebinca, an indulgent Indo-Portuguese layer cake.

Local bars

Over in Benaulim, Feli puts a contemporary twist on the village tavern, with craft beers on tap and feni-based cocktails spotlighting traditional flavours like tamarind and jaggery.

Reviews

Photos Amaraanth reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this holistic hotel in India and unpacked their kokum and handmade kaftans, a full account of their wellbeing-boosting break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Amaraanth in Goa…

Twelve luxury suites set amid mulberry-shaded grounds on Goa’s laidback southern coast: it’s hard to imagine many improvements, but at Amaraanth, a few cherry-picked partnerships have created alchemy. Each one — a restaurant helmed by India’s doyenne of comfort food, a nature-rooted spa straight from Knightsbridge, and a bar from a team of virtuoso mixologists — furthers the retreat’s mindful MO, rather than muddling it.

But perhaps Amaraanth’s most fruitful collaboration is with the local people and landscape. Chef Ritu Dalmia’s relationships with sustainable nearby suppliers keep the thalis super fresh; each cocktail’s complexity is the upshot of months spent researching treasured regional recipes. Your favourite canvas in your suite is a commission from one of the state’s leading artists, and the chair you’ve formed a deep connection with — the one specially designed for optimum back support — is likely Goan-made. We’ve run the calculations, and Amaraanth x Goa is a winning formula.

You’ll also find Amaraanth in:

Book now

Price per night from $305.14