Samata Holistic Retreat Center

Calmness, relaxation, mindfulness are words that resonate with Samata. It’s a scenic property, surrounded by lush greenery that would immediately rejuvenate anybody looking for a pause from the daily hustle & bustle of life. My stay at Samata was great. The management and staff were extremely helpful and proactive. The food was incredible- Samata has its own organic farms and only serve the freshest vegetarian produce available (the pineapples here are heavenly!!). The property also has a yoga hall, swimming pool, common community/kitchen area- all of which only add towards enhancing the mindful & holistic life approach advocated here. All in all, a stay at Samata is a wonderful experience to have and I would definitely recommend to do so on your next trip to Goa!

Away from the commercial and busy life of Goa, Samata is the perfect place to rejuvenate, relax and finding your inner peace. The hosts are extremely warm and hospitable, keeping all your needs in mind- no matter the time of the day. The area and the property itself are a delight to wake up to- with lush greenery all around, it truly feels like you are in paradise. On top of that the food ranges across multiple cuisines, it is simple, healthy and absolutely delicious. Would highly recommend you take a trip down to Samata, it will definitely make you feel calm, peaceful and happy!

Great place, lovely people, and lots of food options for vegetarians! Went here for a girls trip and felt super safe. The nearby beaches are beautiful and not tourist heavy. Samata is truly a gem. Can’t wait to return!

We held our retreat at Samata in December. I also work as a yoga teacher and therapist, Parivartan and I took a group to Samata and it was a delightful experience. A small boutique team of locals work with deep humility and grace. Their attitude of Karma seva of this modern 'ashram' reflects in their food, plants, gardens, spaces and sounds! It's a perfect quiet corner to go within and do some repair and maintenance work for your own sake. The yoga hall is an inspiration throbbing with energy of many great masters who have taught there, we rested in each moment spent at Samata. I highly recommend it.

Samata retreat is a pretty property with a natural set up, and lovely hut styled rooms with AC. They have twin sharing and single occupancy rooms both. This place is usually booked for Yoga retreats and does not allow non veg food, alcohol or use of tobacco. Keeping the sanctity of the place in mind, the hosts are usually found to be strict. And also cold. The service is usually poor. Local ladies are employed to clean the rooms but absolutely no staff is available till late morning and are only available till early evening. There is no security. Must you need water at night or get bitten by snakes, God save you. The hosts are rude and inhospitable. Electricity is a complete game of Russian roulette here. And also remember to make friends with the mosquitoes with or without electricity. The tea is good if they chose to serve it. Food is clean, healthy and honestly delicious for a simple meal.

Samata is a real nature experience hidden in the jungles of Goa. One's patience and acceptance of nature will certainly be tested. Go there with an open mind, an open mind to face power cuts in the middle of the night, find room's infested with red massive ants and be ready to face it on your own, because the new management of Samata retreat is there to ensure that you handle the issues by yourself. Think of it as a summer camp, or training camp. When you are constantly told what you can and can not do, and what time you should be eating your meals, and if you are late for them, get ready to be scolded. Get ready to be scolded if you ask for water in the middle of the night, get ready to receive attitude if you "dare to enter the kitchen" for simple things like salt, get ready to be on your own in the middle of the night, when you need to drag your suitcase to the upper room, because there is no staff. Again some may perceive it as bad, some may perceive it as a good experience. It certainly did test my patience and that of my roommates. We all learnt our own lessons after the stay. So yeah if you are up for an adventure of this sort, definitely go for Samata. Good things about the retreat are the lovely local ladies who prepared delicious lunches and dinners for us, of course the nature part, and the swimming pool where you can swim when it gets too hot.

Property is lush but the people are toxic, warmth is missing. My experience at Samata on our group retreat was slightly mixed : 1. The electricity failed on our first night and some of the students didn't sleep well, had to switch rooms late at night. As a result, many couldn't wake up for morning yoga next day. 2. Samata's new management was rude on numerous occasions. There was hostility, the tone was impolite and harsh. However, we adored the local women staff. 3. Some of the rooms need maintenance. Loo flush, AC etc. They replaced some of the students to better rooms after requesting. 4. Bug attacks in the room are frequent. One student had to change her room late in the night due to an influx of bugs. 5. Food is delicious, yoga shala is spacious.

It takes time for any new place to evolve and build high standards, specially when the transition in management takes place. While it is a beautifully nested place in nature, it has some flaws that can make ones experience not very pleasant. Look forward to visit Samata if it improves.

I came for the yoga retreat with Diksha (@yogabyDiksha) and it was the best experience learning and connecting with her for the five days but unfortunately Samata Retreat Center was a complete disappointment. The place itself is beautiful but the management was very poor. There was no hospitality and no orientation given to make the stay peaceful. For instance, my friends room had an outburst of insects on her bed (around 500 of them) one night and they did not even apologize and fix the issue, rather told us she switched on the lights and thus this happened, while as I have been leaving my lights on of my room throughout unless sleeping and we did not have any major insect issues. As a host, we had expected much more to make our stay peaceful, least to say it is a retreat center, the basics were not met. I would not recommend this place to anyone for sure, there are many other places where you can live in goa with ease. To iterate again, the yoga and meditation retreat on its own was beautiful, in case you are reading this, one thing to take away is to check out Yoga by Diksha but Samata Retreat Center isn't a pleasant place to stay because of the current management.

Samata is a very mismanaged place and not at all a yoga retreat destination to aspire for. There is no full time staff, the people have an Unprofessional approach towards customers , no services or hospitality. They are very hostile towards customer requests or feedback. Snakes, frogs and mosquitoes are found. Waste of time and money, not suitable for family place wise and area wise Arambol is not a place for family people in Goa.