Ahilya by the Sea

intimate and personally hosted

Set on the north side of the main river in the Goa area, Ahilya by the Sea is a lovely boutique property.

Unlike most of the hotels in the Goa area, this place is not set out on the beaches, but is instead tucked away by the mouth of the river, across from the main settlement of Panaji.

The reason for this is that, despite its name, Ahilya by the Sea is not so much about the beach and the ocean, but is much more focused on the diverse history and culture of this area.

This is a small and intimate place, a personal passion project, with four houses contained within pretty tropical gardens and with two swimming pools. It is modest but stylish, filled with sculpture and other decorative items collected by the owners.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Ahilya by the Sea is in just 10 rooms, which are set across four buildings. You can either book a whole building and have the lounge and dining spaces to yourselves, or you can simply book by the room and share those areas.

All rooms have a private bathroom and air-conditioning.

Leela Villa

This house has pride of place on the property, overlooking an ancient banyan tree, the Sunrise Pool and the ocean. The villa features a living room on the ground level and a wrap-around verandah where breakfast can be served.

• Trindade Suite
• Music Room

Sunset Villa

This house offers four charming individually-decorated bedrooms, plus a large common living area and verandah.

• Florentina Room
• Sanyasi Room
• Fakir Room
• Nascente Room

Sunrise Villa

This villa offers three beautifully decorated rooms, all with ocean views. There is also a dining room and a shady wraparound verandah.

• Barco Room
• Annalia Room
• Minestrel Room

Arjun’s Tree House

This smaller house is perched amongst the branches of a 200 year old banyan tree. There is just one bedroom, a cosy hideout for a solo traveller or a romantic couple.

• Arjun’s Room

Activities

Ahilya by the Sea offers an unusually carefully curated range of largely guided activities …

• beaches
• fishing
• historic tours

The Goa area is the classic beach extension to a private-guided overland exploration of Rajasthan. It can be easily reached by air from Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai.

Seasonality

The best time of year to visit the Goa area is generally considered to be during Oct-May, although there are considerable climatic variations over that period.

October is the transition period between the end of the monsoon rains and the start of the cool dry season. During the month the daytime temperatures usually rise to around 33C/91F, whilst the nighttime low temperatures remain up around 23C/72F. Rainfall remains high at around 125mm (5”) per month. Sunshine is around 8 hours per day (around 70% of daylight hours), meaning that skies are usually clear.

Nov-Feb is the main dry season. During this period the daytime temperatures usually rise to around 31C/88F, whilst the nighttime low temperatures hold up around 20C/68F. There should be very little rainfall. Sunshine is around 9 hours per day (around 90% of daylight hours), meaning that skies are usually clear.

Mar-May is the hot season, the often uncomfortable build-up to the main monsoon. During this period the daytime temperatures can climb steeply to around 33C/91F, whilst the nighttime low temperatures are up around 25C/77F. Rainfall usually increases through the period, from almost nothing in March to around 100mm (4”) in May. Sunshine is around 9 hours per day (around 85% of daylight hours), indicating that showers tend to be occasional, set against a usually clear sky.

Jun-Sep is the main monsoon season and is generally considered to be the least favourable time to visit. During this period the daytime temperatures drop off slightly to around 29C/84F, whilst the nighttime low temperatures remain up at a stifling 24C/75F. Rainfall climbs to a massive 850mm 34”) per month. Sunshine drops to around 4 hours per day (around 25% of daylight hours), meaning that skies are very often heavily overcast.

Getting there

The main access is through Vasco da Gama Airport (GOI), located on an ocean peninsula 12km to the south of Panaji, with regular flights from cities including Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mumbai and Pune.

carefully curated explorations and activities