Figueiredo Mansion

Review and recommendations

This grand, opulent heritage home in Loutolim is both a private museum and homestay. At 50,000 sq. ft, it has vast rooms, tall doors, and windows with views of lush, paddy fields and a definitively ornate décor. Every nook and cranny of this palatial home showcases the wealth created when Goa was a major trading entrepot in the 17th and 18th centuries. Divided into the Old House and New House, the former was built in 1590 by a Hindu Brahmin family that were driven from their village by the bubonic plague. Originally from South Goa, the Podiars were significant landholders who took on the name Figueiredo after converting to Christianity. After a quick restoration in 2016, the Old House was opened as a homestay with 8 rooms, each named after female members of the family who played a role in protecting the property post-1961. When the family wanted to expand their space, they commissioned Jesuit priests to build the New House in 1791. Today, the New House is a museum where guests can walk through a ballroom, dining room, office space and bedroom preserved as they were in the 1700s. Throughout the home, expect to see elements such as Belgian crystal chandeliers, dinnerware in 24-carat gold, oyster shell window panes, Burmese teak floors and intricately carved rosewood furniture. Rooms have modern bathrooms and there is free wi-fi throughout the property. The owners are hands-on and present to guide new visitors to Goa and to hold rich conversations about the family’s prominence through Goan history.