Sussegado is an authentic Goan culture, originated from Portuguese time. This means a relaxed, laid-back attitude towards life which can now be experienced at The Férias House Goa. Ayushi Chauhan, Co-Founder and Director, The Férias House Goa, takes us through the age-old Goan concept of Sussegado life at her luxury boutique property.
The Férias House is a destination for unsurpassed hospitality and private relaxation. They ensure their guests find solace in a world away from distractions. They embrace a holistic approach for their guests which is rooted across hospitality, food, activities and well-being. Priyanka Parshurami, gets in a candid conversation with Ayushi Chauhan, Co-Founder and Director, The Férias House Goa to get an exclusive insight into this luxury boutique property.
Here’s the excerpt from the interview:
What does the name The Férias House stand for?
Férias actually means a vacation in Portuguese. And it is a vacation house. You come with your family, you come with your partner, you come with your friends. The idea is to give you a vacation experience like no one else does.
Can you give us an overview of your property?
The Férias House umbrella, we have multiple properties across Goa. And the idea of the Férias House is to create an experience where you can kind of come in and unwind and actually live the Susegado life. Across our properties, we have provision for a spa. So you can indulge in a spa while you’re at the property.
And more so I think the location, you know two of our properties actually overlook the backwaters. One is overlooking the Mandovi river and another overlooking the Chapora River. We also have sports activities like kayaking, speed boating and others.
So these are the kind of experiences we have curated for one to come and experience. And along with that, I think fitness and wellness is something that everybody is really focusing on currently. And here we have curated a property literally amidst nature, which is very peaceful for yoga and meditation, even along with some other fitness activities.
What motivated you and inspired you to get into the business?
Well, we have a successful restaurant in Goa called Purple Martini. And we are already in the hospitality segment for the last couple of years. And my husband and I, we actually saw a lot of scope in this segment because while there are tons and tons of villas and hotels already there, there’s no doth of that. But, something which is more personalized and curated, that is lacking.
The experience we have got is a great team on board from our chefs, to our masseuse. We only started in November, but every guest has gone back with a very, very happy and a great experience and the longing of coming back for more, which is what we wanted to create.
How does the interiors of your entire villa compliment the ambience that you are creating?
All three properties are different. They are different sets. Some are bigger properties, some are smaller. Each one of them is very unique. In fact, even in one property, no two rooms are alike. So, each has its own elements which really adds onto the look and feel and literally it’s not a hotel. You don’t see a copy-paste of every room. Every room has a different artwork. The artifacts that have been brought up, some pieces are from Bhutan, some pieces are from different parts of the world.
Each room reflects something different, and there’s one room for everyone, literally. In terms of space, I would say, especially Colvale, our rooms are massive. It’s very spacious, it gives you a feeling of, you know, kind of having your own space. That really compliments the fact that we are overlooking the backwaters and I mean in the middle of nature. So, you are literally living a very easy, carefree, every part of the property that makes you feel like you’re just relaxed in every possible way. You’re not restricted to a small space in any way.
Why Goa to start a venture in wellness?
Why not Goa actually, because, you know, Goa speaks, I think anybody you speak with, they say that from the time you land in Goa your frame of mind just changes. You switch off. Your work, everything that may be bothering you when you land in Goa kind of just poofs in the air. And I feel we want to add onto that. So, while you’re already in that viced relaxed state of mind, we want to give you an experience of the true Susegado life at the Férias house where you unwind the Férias house way. That’s the idea.
And are you planning in future to even expand out of Goa?
So most definitely, yes. Just the fact that we’ve just started our journey in Goa and when you start something new, there are so many learnings. So the idea is not to go crazy expanding, but it’s definitely to learn from each of the guests that walks in and shares feedback. And I think, like I said, we are already running a successful restaurant and it has come where it is today because we have learned over the years to bring it to where it is today. And that’s a very similar approach to take for the Férias house. We want to learn and grow, gradually for sure.