Alila Diwa Goa

Alila, the Southeast Asian boutique-hospitality powerhouse, is expanding to the west, and they’ve alighted on Indian shores — the west-coast state of Goa, to be exact. There will be some of you who need little more encouragement than just the name, and it’s not hard to see why — the place looks pretty much exactly like what you’d expect from Alila in Goa, which is to say, crisp contemporary design, glassy infinity-edge pools, locally-inspired pitched-roof architecture, and a span of flawless sand between lush plantation land and the waters of the Arabian Sea.

The rooms and suites indulge Indian coastal style with a few visual references, but underneath that the concept is very much modern luxury. Though the mode of the day is unplugging, it’s not enforced — 40-inch LCD screens and wireless internet keep you connected. Most, however, come with terraces or balconies as well as deep soaking tubs, for a more low-tech form of recreation.

As for the facilities, you’ll find everything you expect from a boutique luxury resort, including pools, a spa, and separate family-friendly areas to keep the kids contained. This being India, there’s even pitch for playing cricket, the ideal holiday sport — not only is it more social than tennis, but it moves, most of the time, at a vacationer’s pace.