We are pleased and delighted to bring you Lua Velha, a two and a half year renovation project that reimagined a crumbling but majestic ruin into a modern & beautifully luxurious space. This was an endeavor of deep passion, creativity, challenges, occasional frustration, a lot of head scratching and many middle of the night ideas. We are proud to bring you one of the finest villas in South Goa; a heritage gem of enchanting luxury, magic & serenity.

Lua Velha represents the best example of Indo-Portuguese architecture in this far southern corner of Goa. Where the Ghats meet the Arabian Sea, this 300 year old house was a Portuguese outpost. Surrounded by wandering leopard, gaur, tiger and elephants, the vast estate was comprised of coconut plantations, rice paddies, teak forest and untouched jungle that stretched uninterrupted for miles, from the shore deep into what is now Cotigao Wildlife Reserve.

As time passed, the estate was slowly whittled down, creating the 4000 square metre plot that now represents our glorious garden. The house, abandoned in favour of the bright lights of larger cities, gradually fell into disrepair. Hand-crafted cornicing collapsed, forgotten artifacts and antiques were hidden by thick layers of dust, with only an extended family of bats as witnesses. With no plumbing or electricity, traditional mud floors and walls and a host of termites as an audience, we undertook this endeavor with the dream to restore as many of the original features as possible.

Taking on this project was like unravelling a ball of string. Having lovingly created our sister villa Lua Cheia just down the road, we felt we had gained the level of experience necessary to breathe life into this enchanting property. We passionately embraced what was left of the house, however were actually blissfully ignorant of the scale of the task in front of us. We were not prepared to discover the beautiful number of quirks that would make our work challenging, but amidst obstacles were also confronted with wonderful, awe-inspiring beauty. Each step of this journey brought new discoveries - some difficult, some delightful, and all memorable.

This project would not have been possible without the dedication, expertise & long hours put in by our small team and all those who worked with us. There are too many masons, artisans, suppliers, electricians, plumbers and everyone in between to thank each by name, but our gratitude is immense. It truly was a team effort, and we are so grateful to each person who helped us along the way to create this magical space.

This would also not have been possible without the close friendship, faith and support of our dear friends Tim & Katie Waters, Gavin & Dilshad Reeder and Chirag & Cecilia Patel.

We want to invite you to join us here, in this space which contains the magic of centuries past. Come and stay, wake up with a chorus of birds. Practice yoga in our jungle shala, get lost admidst the centuries old temple trees, mango trees and teak forest. Sunbathe among the birds of paradise and the thousands of banana trees. We want to pamper you. With massages, meditations, bicycle rides and delicious food. Healthy, nutritious breakfasts, fresh Goan curries for lunches and dinners, and evenings spent gazing at the sky full of stars.

We can’t wait to welcome you. We look forward to making you our personal guests and will be delighted to share our exquisite corner of Goa that we have chosen to make our home.

Karan and Carrie