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Quinta De Halicarnassus |
Accommodation |
Staff |
Cars and Drivers |
Amenities |
Potential Clients |
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CHRISTMAS/NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS: A SECLUDED TROPICAL PARADISE FOR THE DISCERNING - IN GOA QUINTA DE HALICARNASSUS Bispacho Dando, Nerul, Bardez, GOA Top 
A spectacular villa, fully staffed. Two-storeyed; 5 bedrooms, each with bathroom en suite (three downstairs and two upstairs); a vast Drawing Room and Dining Verandah downstairs and a second large sitting room upstairs; a private 23-metre swimming pool with umbrellas, shady areas and ample sun beds; set in 3 acres of luxuriant garden; very peaceful, surrounded by paddy fields across which a five minute walk leads to the beach. The shops, restaurants and entertainment centres of Calangute or Panjim are a twenty minute drive away. This house was built recently in traditional Goan Portuguese-colonial style - incorporating features such as large arched French windows in every downstairs room, leading on to a deep verandah which runs all round the house, high ceilings, an abundance of wrought iron and a tiled roof. Running hot water in all bathrooms - obviously; a well-appointed kitchen (excellent multi-cultural cuisine is a particular boast of the establishment!); a plethora of ceiling fans; cable TV; a CD/DVD player. The furniture is a mixture of antique and modern pieces from around the world (chiefly Italy, England, India). brought by the owner from where else she has lived. There is also a goodly collection of artefacts displayed, and the walls are hung with paintings, some old but mostly modern, which she has collected over the years - concentrating recently on young Goan artists of quality. You will be provided with two cars and drivers, on duty for up to 10 hours a day, so that you can explore this beautiful State, drive to the various beaches, lunch or dine at the excellent restaurants, go shopping, or to one of the Night Markets or other places of entertainment. Breakfast will be cooked for you every day and either lunch or dinner, as you choose (the extra meal might be possible on occasion by personal arrangement with the cook). The major domo (the cook's husband) will do the shopping: you will just have to settle on the menu after discussion with the cook, and pay for the ingredients. ACCOMMODATION Top Ground Floor 
The house stands on a plinth. A deep verandah surrounds the whole house and the
French windows of the downstair rooms lead directly on to it, overlooking the gardens.
You enter the house up a few stairs to the porch, through an entrance hall, into An enormous high-ceilinged Drawing Room: a large oval table and chairs (seating 10-12 people) in one quarter, and in the rest of the room comfortable sofas and armchairs, side tables with reading lamps, and a well-stocked library. Off this, on the verandah but enclosed, is a Breakfast/Dining Terrace with a big round table and chairs, also able to seat 10-12 people. The three very large main bedrooms lead off the Drawing Room: Bedroom No 1 has a king-size wrought iron double bed, a desk, bookcases and bedside tables with lamps, with an en suite dressing room, dressing table, built-in cupboards and bathroom with walk-in shower; Bedroom No 2 has an antique double bed together with a single bed, dressing table, desk, and bedside tables with lamps, and an en suite bathroom with built-in cupboards; Bedroom No 3 has antique twin beds, dressing table, book case, built-in cupboard, and an en suite bathroom. On the Ground Floor there are also A Guest Washroom with shower;  Leading out of the dining corner, a large Kitchen and Pantry, from whence the cook
produces her chefs-d'oeuvres! Her family lives behind the kitchen, and that portion of
the verandah which leads out of the kitchen serves as their living room. IIn the centre of the Drawing Room there is an atrium, with four pillars which soar up to a large skylight, illuminating the whole of the downstairs room. LLeading off the entrance hall, a sweeping staircase with wrought iron banisters takes you to the First Floor Where, passing beyond the pillars which surround the atrium, you will find the second sitting room, stretching the length of the downstairs Drawing Room. This is furnished with more casual, but equally comfortable, sofas, chairs, occasional tables and reading lamps. At the top of the stairs lie the further two bedrooms: Both Bedrooms No 4 and No 5, on either side of the head of the stairs, have twin beds, other appropriate bedroom furniture (dressing tables, chests of drawers and wardrobes) and en suite bathrooms. STAFF Top Resident: Lawrence, the Majordomo, who will do the shopping, serve you drinks and meals, and see to the smooth running of the household. His wife, Felsie, is the cook, and will prepare breakfasts and either lunch or dinner every day, whichever you prefer. You discuss arrangements with her, settle on your menus, and then give the money to Lawrence to do the shopping. (If it would amuse you to go to market with him, that can certainly be arranged) If, on occasion, you prefer to eat in for both the main meals in a day, you may so request Felsie; if it suits her own plans I think you would usually find her willing. Family weddings, christenings, funerals or feasts are significant. (I would suggest an incentive of Rs. 50 per head, per meal). The gardener, Ramu, and his family, wife and four children, most of whom help with odd jobs, live in a cottage at the bottom of the garden. Shanta, the assistant gardener, comes in daily. Non-Resident: Two cleaners come in daily: Filou (or Philomena) speaks excellent English, and is responsible for the more delicate dusting, polishing of furniture and silver, bed linen - the changing thereof and making the beds; Anand, the houseboy, does the sweeping, washing of floors, cleaning of bathrooms, and the rougher work; he speaks little English but is very willing, intelligent, and cheerful. They come in at about 9 a.m., are off from 1 o'clock to 3 o'clock, leave at about 6 o'clock every day, and have one day off a week, staggered between them. The Night Watchman, Prem, comes about 7 p.m. and stays till 7 a.m., opens the gates as you come and go during the night, and is generally extremely helpful. The Garden Overseer, Motilal, comes for about an hour a day, to check on any work necessary and give instructions to the gardeners. CARS AND DRIVERS CARS AND DRIVERS Top  The price of your stay includes the use of two cars (each carrying 4 passengers - possibly 5 if one is very small) with their drivers, to ensure you are able to take advantage of all that Goa has to offer. These are available for 10 hours a day, between 8 a.m. and midnight, with one hour off for lunch, the 10 hours calculated from the time you tell them to report in the morning. You only pay for the petrol you use (they have forms calculating the amount according to the mileage which you check jointly each morning and evening), and if you need them for more than the stipulated 10 hours, or release them after midnight, there is an additional fixed charge of Rs. 150. This should be calculated and paid daily, to ensure clarity. Your airport pick-up on arrival and departure transfer will be arranged - almost certainly by the same drivers (if arrivals of your party are staggered, then one transfer each way by each car will be included - the extras will be arranged and paid for by you). AMENITIES Top Swimming Pool, with sunbeds in both sun and shade, poolside towels. A Cook for Breakfast and either Lunch or Dinner Two cleaners every day (twice a week there will only be one on duty) Night Watchman Linen and Towels changed twice a week Collection and Delivery of Personal Laundry Gas and Electricity charges included Incoming and Local Outgoing Telephone Calls Only CD Player, Cable TV and VCD/DVD Player Two cars with Drivers. POTENTIAL CLIENTS Top Married Couples or Groups of Friends. Families (No Children Under 10). In either case, no more than ten people altogether. N.B. There are four resident dogs. They are charming, lazy and good-natured, but if you are allergic to dogs, this is not the house for you. LOCATION Top Quinta de Halicarnassus stands in the village of Nerul, on a peninsula jutting into the Arabian Sea between the mouths of the Mandovi and Nerul Rivers. The house is reached along a private drive running between paddy fields, and the whole property stands on what is here known as a morad, a geological outcrop about 2 metres high. You turn off the tarmac road towards the popular Coco Beach, after the Nerul Football Ground, just opposite a restored and whitewashed chapel with newly-commissioned frescoes inside. It is only fairly recently, since the building of a bridge over Nerul River, that foreigners - or even many Goans - have been aware of Nerul's existence. In times gone by the coastal belt of Nerul, Verem and Reis Magos, was a popular holiday resort for the Portuguese fidalgos from the capital. The property of the Quinta includes the site of a Palace built by the Bishop of Halicarnssus, Antonio Jose de Noronha, in 1763. The village church - Nossa Senhora dos Remedios, or Our Lady of Remedies - was built by the Franciscans in 1569, just before they were expelled by the Portuguese. It is a fine building, also newly restored, with some attractive old paintings on wood panels and frescos on the walls. There is a magnificent Baroque entrance to the cemetery, within the church compound. Nerul remains predominantly rural: the villagers grow paddy on fields submerged under water during the monsoon; after that harvest, they grow vegetables, water melons and groundnuts. There is also a strong fishing community. Unusually for Goa, the majority is Hindu, though with an important Catholic element (vide the references above to the church). In this village, unlike many others today, dogs and cows still lie in the middle of the roads, little black pigs dart across fields where women are busy tending their crops, and fishermen draw their boats up on Coco Beach and mend their nets. Who knows how long this will last? Enjoy the atmosphere now, before it is too late! PRICES Prices range from Pounds Sterling 4,900 a week from 16 to 23 December and from 6 to 13 January, and from Pounds Sterling 6,300 a week from 23 December to 6 January. Minimum rental period during this season: two weeks. Any extra days on a pro rata basis. At Easter, the rate is Pounds Sterling 2,940, with a minimum rental period of one week.
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