Originally reported and written in March 2023, this story has been republished as part of our archival content. 

The air at Villa Saudade — a refurbished heritage Portuguese mansion in Arpora, Goa — is filled with the aroma of sausages, while in the distance, sounds of the gentle lapping of the water emanate from the swimming pool, making the ambience seem one of relaxation and leisure. Guests here wake up to the first rays of the sun filtering through the colourful, paned windows lining the many rooms of this heritage homestay.   

“This is just the vibe we were looking to create,” says Govardhan Damaji, the founder of Acaso Living, a realty firm based in Goa and the venture behind the restoration of this structure. 

It has now been over two years since Villa Saudade first began welcoming guests from all over India and even overseas. Architect Rochelle Santimano, a 33-year-old who calls Goa her home, says that designing this property was an exciting opportunity. 

The first reason for this was the centuries of history that remains in the core of this structure. 

Looking back 400 years 

As the story goes, the 400-year-old heritage mansion was home to the Pinho family, one of Goa’s oldest Portuguese families. The descendant, Vasco Pinho, a famed historian and author, was the one to lease it out to Acaso Living for revamping in 2020.  

Rochelle recalls that the first thing that struck her when she lay her eyes on the building was its resilience after all this time.  A walk around the 4,500 sq-ft property, which took her a total of six months to restore and revamp, revealed that it also harboured many........

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