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Seré Resort, Vagator: That Design Studio's Debut Project Brings Tropical Modernism to Goa
- Style Essentials Edit Team
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
That Design Studio, led by principal designer Piyusha Upadhyay, has completed Seré Resort in Vagator, Goa, a 30,000-square-foot hospitality project that marks the studio's first built work. For a debut, the scale and ambition are considerable, and the images make clear that the execution has kept pace with both.
Vagator is a specific kind of Goa. Less commercial than Calangute or Baga, more considered in its pace, it attracts a traveller who is looking for something quieter without sacrificing quality. Seré sits within that context deliberately. The white plastered exterior with black-framed openings reads as clean and contemporary from the outside, the lit signage at dusk being the only formal gesture toward branding. What lies behind it is more layered.
The communal pool area establishes the resort's outdoor register immediately. A large central pool is flanked by timber-decked lounging platforms, rope-weave sun loungers, and green-scalloped umbrellas that carry a quiet retro quality without being nostalgic. Stone-clad boundary walls run along one side, and dense mature palms rise above the lower-level accommodation block behind, their canopy preserved and integrated into the site plan rather than cleared for construction. The outdoor dining and seating areas step down toward the pool through lit stone-faced risers, keeping the restaurant connected to the pool deck without collapsing the two spaces into one.
Inside, the material palette is consistent and controlled throughout. Cane and rattan appear across almost every interior space: the bar counter front and overhead storage structure in the restaurant and the bedroom headboards, wardrobes, side tables, and chairs in the guest rooms. The material is not used decoratively. It is structural to the interior language, giving warmth and texture to spaces that might otherwise read as too minimal in their cream and off-white finish.
The restaurant and bar is where the interior work is most developed. The bar itself has a rounded terrazzo counter with cane-fronted cabinetry below and a curved overhead storage canopy in cane and brass framing that extends across the ceiling above the bar. Green metro tiles run as a backsplash behind the bar; the same tile appears again in the villa kitchens, creating a material thread between the communal and private spaces. Sculptural woven pendant lights hang at different heights near the reception desk. The dining area uses marble-topped tables with green velvet seating, bringing in a color that runs through the resort as an accent without ever becoming dominant.
The dining room used for breakfast is a lighter, more open space. Framed botanical murals with tropical bird illustrations line the wall between the windows, bringing the greenery outside into the interior through the artwork when the actual landscape is not directly visible. The cane-fronted buffet counter and dining chairs with green upholstered seats continue the material and color language established elsewhere.
The guest rooms use the same color palette as the communal spaces. Cane headboards span the full width of the bed wall, with cane-fronted wardrobes and side tables continuing the material into the rest of the room. Abstract artworks in greens and creams hang above the beds. Floor-to-ceiling sheer curtains diffuse natural light and allow the greenery outside to register as a soft presence without full exposure. The bathrooms are finished in microcement throughout, with open-shelf timber vanity units and glass-enclosed rain showers. The detailing is clean and functional without being generic.
The villa interiors are the most complete spaces in the project. An open-plan living, dining, and kitchen arrangement occupies the ground floor, with a floating staircase in timber and black steel rising to the bedroom level. The kitchen uses light timber cabinetry across floor and wall units with the same green tile backsplash seen in the bar, and an open-plan living area with a curved cream sofa, rounded timber coffee tables, and organic-form armchairs sits adjacent to it. The palette is restrained, but the furniture selection gives the space enough character to avoid feeling like a serviced apartment.
What the images confirm is that This Design Studio has approached Seré as a fully integrated project rather than an architecture commission with interiors added afterward. The material choices, the color accents, the furniture selection, and the landscaping all operate within the same design register, and that consistency is what gives the resort its particular quality.
Fact File
Project Name: Seré Resort
Location: Vagator, Goa
Area: 30,000 sq ft
Project Type: Hospitality Architecture
Design Firm: That Design Studio
Lead Designer: Piyusha Upadhyay
Photography: Suryan and Dang
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