Travelling through the tranquil and pristine Southern Goa, a sense of timelessness and peace ushered in me. I had decided to shake the dust of the city living to adopt a holistic lifestyle blended with luxury at the Alila Diwa Goa. The exotic beach destination was home for the next four days. However, the purpose this time was not a mainstream holiday but a wellness break.
Checking in to luxury
Just my arrival into the thematic entrance lobby with its dramatic wooden trusswork set tone for an opulent hospitality experience. The General Manager of the property Siddharth Savkur greeted me on my arrival. An organic fruit juice, fluffy wet towels, an invigorating back massage just as I stepped in the property and Mumbai was drowned out!
I was checked into my swanky Diwa Club room located at the crescent-shaped Diwa Club which comprises of 27 rooms that are designed for an intimate experience. They are secluded from the main property that houses 153 guestrooms and suites. The space into the Diwa Club room exuded simple elegance of pale-wood and cream surroundings offset by latticed screens and luxury linens in shades of brown and russet.
Brass lanterns with lighting for every mood and a royal bath area which was a spacious room in itself added to the indulgence. Staying at the eclectic Diwa Club also got me benefits like a personal host, all-day breakfast and a separate lap pool with an open-air jacuzzi. The verandah overlooking the Diwa pool invited me to gaze out at the verdant landscape and porous courtyards.
Wellness bona fide
The detox detour is the brainchild of Dr Arjita Kumari, the in-house expert of Spa Alila. My detour began following a brief consultation with her wherein she explained me the course of the coming days. Dr Delilah who assisted her also assured me that my needs will be well looked after. I was handed over an itinerary that told me what my coming days would look like.
My days would start usually at 7am in the morning with lemon tea and supplements to cleanse my system. This used to be followed by a yoga session that is held at the raised floor to glass ceiling yoga studio. During the first few times, my leg doesn’t rise as high as it should and my waist resists a full rotation, but my polite yoga-instructor Ajay smiles and benignly assures me that soon it will.
The same is the case with the gym workouts wherein my gym instructor Vishal pushes me to the point of flexibility. He doesn’t take no as an answer and eventually familiarizes me with different workouts that I need to adopt for my body. Going to the food, I did approach it with some trepidation but even the most healthiest of dishes like an organic chickpeas salad or a simple muesli tasted delightful.
The exotic spa-radise
Often the best part of my days would be spent at Spa Alila. Walkaways wrapped with lush greenery led me in and out of sweet-smelling rooms where my body was being liberated of some more toxins with every passing day. The treatment rooms done in a brown and cream colour palette that complemented the greenery of the trees, themselves evoked the zen in me.
My spa sojourn was varied. It included everything from an Ayurvedic Shirodhara Massage to a Balinese one. There were days when a Hot Stone Massage would melt away my stresses or an Ayurvedic DetoxFacial would make me glow inside-out. I surrendered myself to the ministrations of the nimble-fingered therapists as they kneaded my muscles into mush.
Showered with rose petals I see a holistic bath setup for me. Being doused in hot water makes me slightly soporific. The supported physical and spiritual cleansing that follows in this healing bath of fragrant flowers and salts drowns away all my worries and uncertainties with the water. Luxuriating therapy after therapy, by the time I crawl into my queen-sized bed, I am so lightheaded that I forget to draw the drapes.
Verdict
Before I could realize, the four days of my wellness journey had melted like mist! The detox detour has made me feel like regal pampering but is also about achieving balance and harmony, without compromising on luxury. However, I wish we were to relinquish the mobile phones during check-in. That would add a notch to the whole wellness experience.
I did head out of the wellness haven with palpably peaceful energy. Coming back home, my relaxed and improved demeanour is at odds with sallow-faced, angry-looking commuters around me. I come back with a realization that one cannot stay at the Alila Diwa Goa forever but can definitely make time for a detox detour once in a while!
Where: Alila Diwa Goa
48/10, Adao Waddo,
Salcette, Majorda, Goa 403713
Phone: 0832 274 6800
Price: A 3 night-stay experience of the detox detour starts from Rs 1,41,000 (double occupancy) and goes up to Rs 5,32,000 for 14 nights (inclusive of room, meals, airport transfers apart from fitness and spa sessions)
