Background - Arriving at Swaswara was in many ways departure from past. A typical hotel review is anything from a 15 minute quick in-out or at best 1 overnight stay. This was a 3 night stay. Typically everywhere one has a preview of what is expected as with the experience of having reviewed thousands of hotels, one is able to slot it accurately even before arrival. About Swaswara, It wasn’t the case but I was looking forward to go to a CGH experience retreat after a long time (10 years).

 

Arrival - Soon after arrival (a 3 hour drive from Goa Airport), we started to experience how ‘different’ it indeed was. The journey was well marked, but the entry gate had a small plaque with ‘SWASWARA’ written. Then upon arrival, we were greeted by a team alongwith the GM. Then we were asked if we could spare some time upfront so that we could be briefed about the concept. It was here it became apparent that we were going into a completely different experience we never knew about.

 

The Concept - Swaswara has 4 core offerings. Yoga/Meditation, Ayurveda, Painting and Cuisine. Swaswara is not a leisure retreat by the beach nor a Ayurveda cure center. Swaswara is a place where you don’t indulge but you ideate, introspect and reflect. Most guests arrive here are for a minimum night stay of 5 nights or more. I later learned that some even stay for 3 months and quite a few who stay longer are repeat arrivals who treat Swaswara as their second home, where one can be at ease, feel free and relaxed.

 

Yoga / Meditation offering helps guests to get back to their body and minds. Ayurveda is one where guests address physical aspects like stress, toxication, and ailments in an ayurveda way in consultation with the experts. Painting / Sculpting is what gives the guests an option to get back to creative ways. Cuisine here focuses on health (Organic garden grown vegetables, No Alcohol except Indian Wine, Only seafood - No white or red meat).

 

Going by the concept Swaswara is not where kids enjoy and so kids below 12 are not encouraged to be here.

 

The Food - Meals extremely tasty and health oriented are made as per recipes perfected by other CGH retreats. Menus are never large, expansive and indulging. There are no restriction as to what a guest can have and everything that’s available in the kitchen, one can walk in and out, discuss with the chef and get it made. 

 

The Accommodation – This is another amazing experience. Konkani villas are ethnic style villas with AC Bedroom, open courtyard, Open courtyard bathroom, a large sitout overlooking either a pool or lakes and to add to this there is a yoga deck on top of the bedroom overlooking the sea. Total area that one has in one’s privacy could be about 2000 sq ft. In addition to this there are areas in front and back of the villa. The light, the space and the feeling of open air are most amazing. It was not surprising we spent most of the time in the room either at the yoga deck or on the verandah / sitout / open courtyard. There is tea coffee maker and refrigerator. Bedrooms have electronic safe. (One hardly feels like keeping anything it though, as one never feels unsafe with the kind of warm and homely people around!!). The courtyard has a wardrobe and so for a change the dirty cloths, shoes and everything that you don’t want in the bedroom actually is outside bedroom on a holiday!!! To go with the concept there is no TV. We hardly missed it and were wondering why we get hooked on to it so much back home.

 

The Facilities – Swaswara has everything that a first class retreat is expected to have. Swimming Pool, Full fledged Ayurveda center, Beach front Restaurant (where dinner is served), Library, Internet Access, Art Centre, Yoga center, Meditation Dome, Restaurant that serves fixed meals and a souvenir shop.

 

Activities – A schedule for a typical day starts at 7 AM and ends at 7:30 PM before the dinner. This includes different sessions of Yoga, Meditation, Painting which entirely is optional and guests can pick and choose. To add to this guests can also opt for private yoga and meditation sessions with the in-house Yoga teachers (who hail from reputed Yogashalaas from Rishikesh).

 

One also has an option to go to the beach for a walk, do some birding, village visit, temple visit, boat ride and sea kayaking (weather permitting). With the lake around, I am sure fishing would also be an option.

 

There is ayurveda center where one can focus on a few massages / therapies related to rejuvenation or beauty care or can take up a full ayurveda package on rejuvenation / body purification or cure of any ailment or body condition.

 

Amazingly, with so many things to do within, one seldom ventures out of the retreat even as the beach to most of us sitting away seems so inviting. Beach by itself is idyllic. Swaswara is set right on the Om Beach (named for its Aum shape) and its frontage covers almost a half of the Aum shape (Its set on totally 26 acres of beach front land with a kind of hilly / sloped character).

 

What Guests love – ‘The home away from home’ feel of the place, the warmth of the people around, ‘down to earth’ nature of everything that’s being done and genuinely authentic and comprehensive attempt to give an authentic experience at everything that’s done here.

 

Everything works here with clockwork precision. If something has to start at 8, it does sharp at 8. Everything is done seriously but without the air of Military arrogance. It feels like few friends / like-minded people get together rather than a resort with 20 other unknown individuals.

 

Guests often make friends here with the team, fellow guests and often come back with their own friends back home to experience it.

 

One typically tends to equate fitness with going to a Gym, only to get bored and leave it after some time. Guests here after interactions during Yoga and meditation sessions find a connect between body, mind and soul.

 

Ethnicity is deep rooted in the cuisine and guests still have an option of continental fare or anything they feel they want have (unless they are restricted by the Ayurveda package diet).

 

Plastic use is something that we all know is bane of all beaches. Swaswara goes one up by providing glass water bottles in the room instead of plastic. If guests losing corks was a problem, they solve it by putting Indian style ethnic cork fitting system that makes sure bottle remains firmly corked and cork also does not get lost. This is just an example, if one were to investigate, right from use of the local material in construction, the architecture, the concepts, everything has a sense of purpose which we can relate to immediately and we seem to find amiss with so many modern hotels. This sense of purpose is overwhelming as it comes out in a small way all along the stay in the activities, cuisine, the stay, facilities etc.

 

The layout is another thing, which is amazing. The old Banyan tree in a corner, the two lakes, the green feel, the hills beyond, the birds and so many unique tree specimens (some planted by the guests), Swaswara could easily be a botany student’s delight!!!

 

What Swaswara is not  – Its important for the sake of other guests to clarify what Swaswara is not. Swaswara is not a holiday resort where one goes there to indulge and let oneself loose to anything and everything. This is not for head honchos of some corporate to throw his weight around. It’s also not for anyone who equates a South Goa 5-star as an ultimate holiday and unwilling to look beyond. Those who are too rigid or specific or restricted in their food preferences and their ways of life also may find Swaswara tough going.

 

What Swaswara is – Frankly I am nobody to say this. Swaswara could be different for different people. It could be the place where writers write, where friends meet, where you look within, where you get back to your body and mind or where you just ideate and rejuvenate. It certainly is an abode of sincerity and purity where everything is presented and done with a sense of genuinely and authenticity. A lot of out of the box thinking must have been done to arrive at this point. It must have been very tempting to recreate another Marari Beach here. Like Kalari Kovilakom, it’s treaded a completely different path and still maintained the same CGH experience that thrives on simplicity, ethnicity and ingenuinity.

 

Swaswara is where one arrives after one has done a lot of destinations and been there done that a lot of times. It’s a place perhaps where you come back for your mind, body and soul.

 

Swaswara to me – For me I interacted with a Yoga teacher for the first time in my life and instantly found a connect with my need to be fit, flexible and alert with the simple but effective yoga techniques. I have set myself on a yoga teacher back home to get the programme going. My interactions with Ayurveda doctor, allowed me to introspect into my skin dryness condition I have and finally concluded that a Panchkarma will be needed sooner or later.

 

To conclude - I don’t know if we are able to sustain our enthusiasm for Swaswara or it’s just something you feel after a discovery. I guess that only time will tell !!!

 

In the official capacity I did say what I felt could be done so that more and more Indians (till now the largest patrons have been the Europeans) discover Swaswara. I certainly don’t want Swaswara to change or alter its core offerings or the theme. I certainly hope more and more like-minded individuals (irrespective of where they are from as it hardly matters at Swaswara) arrive at Swaswara for the right reasons and come back with their friends to experience again as we plan to do!!!!