Appreciation - Urba Luxury service apartments, Nova Cicade Enclave, Porvorim Goa.

So here’s an interesting question for you. With more than 2800 hotels and paying guesthouses operating in Goa, how does an apart-hotel stand out?

Meet Ratikant Mandrekar, a Goan real-estate entrepreneur who returned to Goa after spending more than three decades working within the financial sector in Abu Dhabi. During his visits to the Far East, Europe, the United States and the Middle East, Ratikant observed that within hospitality, the trend was shifting from short weekend getaways to extended stays. In Goa in particular, the demographics of tourists was changing from backpackers to business professionals, medical tourists, research students and corporate executives who needed to stay for a number of weeks or months. These travelers preferred a “home” environment rather than rooms at hotel, yet with the same level of amenities as one might expect at a hotel. “I got my inspiration from the service apartments that you can find at the Dubai Marina or at the Jumeirah Lake Towers in the U.A.E.” says Ratikant. “My dream was to bring this concept, a standalone building of service apartments, to Goa”.

This year, with the support of his wife Canti and son Nikhil, he saw his dream come true.

In October, he opened an apart-hotel that truly belongs in a league of its own. Named after his daughter, URBA Luxury Service Apartments is located in the upmarket residential hub of Porvorim, and is an example of a unique blend of old Portuguese architecture and modern green-building design philosophy.

The building itself has been designed by a well-known Goan architect, Pradeep Bhandare, renowned for his Portuguese-Goan architectural designs. The façade of the building is a tasteful olive green color adorned with coconut trees, establishing a colorful and relaxing tropical atmosphere as you approach the main gates. The building stretches horizontally rather than vertically, an intentional choice by the architect to accommodate larger common lobby areas and spacious living spaces. Once you enter the building, you step into a main lobby looking up to a glorious open atrium (very typical of Roman architecture). Each unit has been named after one of the “Talukas” of Goa, lending a distinct Goan theme to the property.

The interiors of the apartments were designed by Nikhil, who has a Master’s degree in Innovation Economics.

“I travelled extensively in Europe when I was studying in Barcelona”, says Nikhil. “I began to appreciate simplicity and cleanliness within the hostels I stayed at. I particularly valued those hostels that paid attention to detail. And those are exactly the qualities that I wanted our apartments to represent.”

Nikhil spent the majority of 2012 suggesting design changes, meeting construction professionals around the country and exploring “green alternatives”. He has a Green Tech certificate in Building and Construction Management from the Chicago Center for Green Technology and has implemented a number of green design best practices within the building.

“In the beginning, I considered getting the building certified as a Green Home by the IGBC in Bangalore, but I soon realized that I was less interested in the ‘points system’, and genuinely became interested in how the building interacted with the environment”.

Goa receives 9-10 hours of sunlight during the summer and 4-5 hours during the monsoons. One of the first modifications that Nikhil stressed was to increase the overhead slab area to accommodate large-capacity solar heaters. Today the entire building is supplied with solar-powered hot water throughout the year, reducing the dependence on electric power. At the same time, he also insisted on installing luxurious shower panels with pressure-jets in all the units emphasizing that it’s possible to be both green and high-end at the same time.

The large amount of sunlight in Goa results in buildings retaining heat longer, typically leading to higher air conditioning costs. In order to address this, Nikhil refashioned the large Portuguese windows with special tinted glass and uPVC frames, which still allow plenty of light to enter into the apartments but keep out nearly 70% of the heat. These one-way windows also offer privacy to the building’s guests.

The green design philosophy at Urba Luxury stretches beyond the structure itself. Special piping was laid out to separate greywater waste from solid waste and kitchen waste. The soil in Porvorim is rocky and clayey which means that many poorly designed septic tanks and soak pits in the surrounding area tend to overflow during the monsoons. To avoid this situation, the traditional single soak pit design was adapted into a series of mini-soak pits located next to water-thirsty plants such as banana plants allowing the greywater to be recycled for gardening. There is a generous setback of 3 metres on each side of the building, allowing plenty of space for gardening.

All the units have a consistent style, with a custom-designed Turkish divan in the living room, a sleek U-shaped kitchen with bar stools and a spacious king-sized bedroom. There are two balconies in each unit, perfect for that afternoon ‘siesta’ or that evening chai while staring into the sunset. Yet there are subtle changes in each apartment that make them unique.

“Our goal was to create a boutique experience for our guests” says Canti, who speaks fluent Arabic and spent 30 years working for the Government of Abu Dhabi. “No two units are a 100% alike”. Canti’s attention to detail was flawless. She selected all the fabric for the apartments herself. The curtains, the bed quilts and the decorative pillows are all hand-made from high quality material. She also designed the kitchens, choosing different colors for each unit, to correspond with the different wall paints and tiles. She even tends to the garden and flowers herself.

The building is equipped with smart technology. The rooms are connected with fibre-optic high-speed Internet that is available for free to all guests. The doors are installed with RFID locks doing away with clunky keys. The door keycards also work as smart energy-switches, turning off electricity when the guest leaves the room. All the units have HD SmartTVs allowing you to stream your favorite YouTube videos seamlessly.

With everything you have read above, its no wonder then, that Urba Luxury has an elite clientele. Customers are typically NRIs, foreigners or senior corporate executives who have heard of the apartments through word-of-mouth. All inquiries are made online via the website www.urbaluxury.com or by email – this allows the family to verify the authenticity of guests before accepting them. Absolutely no walk-ins are allowed.

So, how does a new apart-hotel stand out? Its simple. Passion and attention to detail. If you can offer that, people will always keep knocking on your doorstep.

Urba Luxury is located in the peaceful neighborhood of Nova Cidade, PDA Colony, Porvorim and is in close proximity to fast-food joints (Dominos, Baskin Robbins, Coffee Cafe Day), restaurants, ATMs, clinics and hospitals. Goa's largest mall is being built just across the adjacent highway. It is 15 minutes away from Goa's popular beaches (Calangute, Baga, Anjuna, Vagator) and 4 kms away from the capital of Goa (Panaji) and its famous casinos. You can find more details at www.urbaluxury.com or if,some one wants to boo the apartments, they can directly send an email to: info@urbaluxury.com or call 0091 8322415168