Nilaya Hermitage, which means ‘a place of blue somewhere before heaven’ in Sanskrit, combines cosmic elements with free-flowing architecture, with one room smoothly giving way to another.
It is a long drive up the Arpora Hills, through a 20-acre wooded jungle. At the peak of the hill, what looks like the highest point of Goa, stands Nilaya Hermitage, a retreat that feels more like a rich friend’s weekend getaway.
Terribly exclusive, with French fashion designers, Indian millionaires and Hollywood stars as regular guests, Nilaya has successfully attempted at not resembling a resort. Conceived and designed by architect Dean D’cruz, along with Claudia and Hari Ajwani, the owners of Nilaya, the 12-room holiday resort offers an alternate, less Bohemian view of Goa.
The free-flowing structure of Nilaya stands engulfed by a growing jungle spread over 50,000 sq. mt. in which grows coconut, arcana, basil, zucchini, papayas and bananas.
A flight of steps leads to the entrance, with a carved Portuguese bench as the only design element. This opens into a courtyard, around which runs an azure blue pool.
On one end of the pool is the central building, which houses an informal sitting area. Open on all sides, it is minimally decorated with an old wooden table with a stone Ganesha idol atop. In a corner stands an unusual wooden table lamp, made by fusing a yellow leaf shaped like an elephant’s ear with wood. The walls are painted with crushed seashell paint. From the central core sprout 4 arms, 2 of which form the dining and living areas, while the other 2 form 4 suites each.
“The way the rooms and the building is constructed adds a great deal of character to this place,” believes Claudia. “For instance, the dining room has no walls, which enhances the feeling of space.”
Nilaya is an earthy structure built from stone excavated from a nearby hill and uses renewable timber (coconut rafters) for roofing. Incorporated into the design are ancient artefacts like temple columns and grinding stones, and also old methods of constructing brick arches, vaults and domes.
The interiors of each suite embody strong cosmic themes of air, fire, stars, moon, earth and the sun, with each theme permeating through the colour schemes, fittings, lamps, windows and even spilling onto the floor and ceiling.
There is nothing intricate or modern about the furniture and accessories, mostly restored Portuguese wooden furniture. “We have got old furniture from everywhere,” reveals Claudia, “Jodhpur, Orissa, Ahmedabad, even Cochin.”
The bathrooms feature coloured glass, again in the form of a star or a moon, looking out to the jungle beyond, as well as broken tiles put together to form an interesting mosaic.
The blue music room sports low Rajasthani chairs, woven using blue-hued cane; mattresses covered with bedcovers from Rajasthan and Gujarat; copper pots in niches; dome-like windows; and a meandering staircase.
The reception area features walls of contrasting leafy-green and light-green, with a brown ceiling. In the dining room, the blue wrought iron furniture is an interesting contrast against the red of the laterite walls.
The building is full of airy pavilions, high dome-shaped roofs, and plenty of windows and arches, which not only let the wind and the light in, but also allow circulation, resulting in a free-flowing structure.
