Vaayu Kula

Time Out says

Vaayu Kula’s been nine years in the making, and it’s not your standard North Goa beach club fiesta. Sure, it’s committed to bringing you a proper beachfront property with a full-on luxury experience – but with upcycled antique furniture, environmental film screenings, and regular beach clean-up programmes. 

There’s a sense of responsibility and community living at Vaayu that’s sort of sweetly inspirational in a way. One could call it conscious capitalism – yeah, your couple’s bathroom is fitted with marble, but they’ll make you lug your own suitcase up a sandy village path. 

Why stay at Vaayu Kula?

Mandrem’s a delectably empty spot on the wider crowd-filled Goan coastline. Vaayu Kula, in fact, is the grown-up sibling of the original Vaayu Village started by surf-lover Rahul Malaney back in 2013, and it wears its maturity well. If you’re the sort that prefers dolphin-watching over sunbathing and ticks people off for reducing sustainability to a buzzword, this is the place for you. It’s very much a hotel for people who’ve outgrown the party scene and want to remember what the original Goan beach holiday felt like before the rest of the world showed up.

They’re also dizzyingly sincere about the sustainability bit. They use a heat pump hot water system to conserve energy, there’s a biodigester waste treatment on site, all their waste is composed, and they also organise regular beach cleanups and dog sterilisation programmes. The folks are founding members of the Responsible Tourism Collective, and source heavily from local vendors and cottage industries. 

What are the rooms like?

The rooms are modernly tropical. Lots of peaked roofs inspired by wave crests, French doors opening to ocean breeze, furniture built from cyclone-felled wood. None of it is too ostentatious, but you’ll find yourself furtively coveting some of the curated handicrafts and artwork they have on display – much of it from Vaayu’s own artist-in-residency programme, the Vision Collective. 

The four ground-floor Ocean View rooms come with blackout curtains and direct access to the tropical garden. They’re kitted out with king beds, day beds, and desks for those of you who absolutely must work. The Lofted Ocean View rooms add a mezzanine level in the rafters with a single bed for families or friends who don’t mind sharing space. 

The Sunset Suite’s the crown jewel though, and comes with a wraparound balcony built specifically for sunset viewing, and couple’s showers that come with two showerheads. The Moonrise Suite looks east towards jungle hills, and is similarly intimate, with an open-plan bathroom setup. Fair warning though – both suites come with sheer curtains, so you’re waking up with the sun whether you planned to or not. 

There’s also the very cute Mowgli’s Beach House, which is named after Rahul’s dog. It’s a two-bedroom cottage with a full kitchen, outdoor patio, and enough room to do a private yoga session. 

All rooms, by the way, come with a minibar stocked with organic snacks from a local zero-waste store. 

Where to eat?

Prana, their in-house restaurant, is spread across two storeys, with great ocean views on top and feet-in-sand deck chairs below. The menu borrows liberally from southeast Asia, Mexico, and China. Fish laksa, Kerala beef bowls and jackfruit burgers are community favourites, with regulars like smoothie bowls rounding everything off. 

Vaayu is big on sunsets: all sundowner cocktails feature feni heavily, so be warned. Though the house special Ocean Swell does use gin to great effect. They also serve homemade flavoured lemonades and locally brewed kombucha called Booch. 

What are the facilities like?

The surf school isn’t a half-hearted add-on, I can tell you that. ISA-certified instructors with over 10 years of experience will guide you through the basics of reading the waves and standing up on a board. Sessions start at ₹2,500 (or you can rent a board for ₹500 per hour if you know what you’re doing), and the best time to take a lesson is between 9am to about noon. You can also take a stand-up paddle out to the adjoining lagoon for dolphin watching.

The art space, meanwhile, hosts regular exhibitions from Vision Collective artists, but can transform into a yogashala or dance floor depending on the day. Or a space for film screenings, live music, or community markets – it’s all fair game. 

Noted yoga practitioners like Kavya (Nomad Yogi) and Iona offer regular yoga sessions here, while counselling psychologist Rhea Elizabeth Mathew runs breathwork and ice bath workshops. A dedicated wellness space for spa treatments is in the works.

What’s the service like?

Genuine without being fussy. The team knows when to appear with recommendations and when to let you be. Book surf sessions or SUP lessons directly at reception, or ask about the current schedule of yoga and workshops, and they'll sort you out. There's an understanding here that people come to Vaayu Kula to disconnect from chaos, so the service style respects that.

What's the area like?

Like I said – though Mandrem’s up north, it much more closely resembles south Goa in ambience. It’s a quiet stretch of sand, with regular yoga and wellness sessions even outside the hotel. The local fishing community keeps the area from becoming too much of a tourist trap. You won’t be in a resort bubble – it’s a place where real people live. 

Closest transport: The nearest airport is Goa’s MOPA Airport, 30 km away.