Two 14-day corporate workations in Goa for Fairmatic's team from four countries

Goa is one of ICE India's own delivery locations (see the Goa destination page). Both resorts were chosen to balance work requirements with inspiration. Alila Diwa offered contemporary Goan design, large conference facilities and South Goa's quiet. JW Marriott Goa brought North Goa's energy, clifftop ocean views and proximity to cultural attractions.

Weeks before arrival, ICE India stress-tested the resort internet, because engineers need reliable connectivity. Bandwidth, backup systems and coverage across meeting spaces and rooms were checked, extra routers were placed so every war room had a strong wireless signal, and VPN and video-conferencing were tested with Fairmatic's IT team.

The event spaces were varied to prevent cabin fever over two weeks: a main hall for all-hands sessions, breakout rooms for team strategy, hackathon war rooms with whiteboards, power strips and acoustic treatment, lounges for informal work, and outdoor areas for working in the open. Rooms were allocated to match people's needs: leadership in premium rooms suitable for private calls, engineers in clusters for collaboration, single rooms for those wanting privacy, pairings to encourage relationships, and quiet zones for introverts.

A two-week format has to be paced: too intense a programme causes burnout, and too relaxed a one wastes rare time together. Mornings ran from 9am to 1pm, when energy peaked, followed by working lunches and afternoons free for processing and planning.

Week one set the direction. Leadership presented the company's vision, product roadmaps covered the coming quarters, cross-functional discussions surfaced opportunities, and teams set the annual priorities together. In person, people could whiteboard architectures, argue through technical approaches and read each other in difficult conversations.

A mid-stay hackathon ran for 48 to 72 hours, long enough for ambitious projects and not a rushed overnight sprint. War rooms stayed open round the clock. Teams organised themselves around challenge themes, engineers worked across normally separate teams, product managers advised on feasibility and designers produced interfaces. Coffee and snack stations were kept stocked, late-night meals went to the war rooms and breakfast opened early. The hackathon ended with team demos, peer feedback and prizes from leadership.

Extended time also made performance conversations possible. Managers held one-to-one sessions of 45 to 60 minutes in private spaces, some beachside, to talk about career growth and development plans. Group retrospectives covered quarterly execution, process refinement and team conflict, with a shared meal afterwards.

The early days set the rhythm: morning strategy sessions aligned the company on direction, working lunches extended the discussion, afternoon breakouts took on specific problems and evening activities began the relationship building. Colleagues who had only met on Zoom were now sharing meals, and small talk grew into longer conversations within the first days.

The hackathon changed the energy of the second week. War rooms stayed busy late into the night, whiteboards filled with architecture diagrams and engineers who had never worked together built working prototypes. Between sessions teams sat on the beach, and conversation moved between technical problems and personal stories.

Not every useful moment was programmed. People took morning beach walks before sessions, stretched at sunset yoga after long days, held strategy conversations late in the resort lounge and talked over coffee between meetings. The last evening was a slideshow of two weeks of photographs, followed by departures to different continents.

The 2023 edition coincided with Holi, and ICE India organised a celebration around it. A briefing explained the festival, play areas were set up with organic gulal, photographers covered the day and shower and changing facilities were ready nearby. Eye protection was advised, only skin-safe colours were used and boundaries marked participation levels, so some people joined fully and others watched. Participants from the United States, Israel, India and the UK played together.

An evening cruise on the Mandovi River showed the Panjim waterfront, with champagne and canapés, live music and views of heritage architecture and the floating casinos. Half-day tours covered the churches of Old Goa and a spice plantation, with guides explaining Portuguese colonial history and how the region's agriculture feeds its cooking. The tours gave a break from the resort and showed international colleagues another side of Goa and of India's regional variety.

Beyond the formal programme, informal activities built relationships. Cricket on the beach introduced American and European colleagues to Indian passion for the sport, and touch football put the Bengaluru engineers against their San Francisco colleagues. The rules were explained patiently, and the Bengaluru team's cricket impressed everyone. Tournaments used progressive brackets with humorous trophies, and leadership played alongside interns, which flattened hierarchy for an afternoon.

Professional facilitators led drum circles that needed no musical experience, with teams making rhythms together. A large-format art puzzle tested patience and teamwork. Instant Polaroid cameras were handed out for a photo challenge through the stay, with an evening slideshow and a vote. Game nights offered Codenames and Pictionary, strategy games like Settlers of Catan and simple party games across several tables.

Two weeks needs variety, so dining moved from resort food to local restaurants. Daily working lunches followed a rotating theme, with light, healthy options to avoid afternoon slumps, and dietary restrictions handled without drawing attention. Evenings out used full restaurant buyouts for privacy and service: Martin's Corner for Goan seafood, Purple Martini for beachfront Mediterranean cooking and Nama by the Waterfront for contemporary Asian. At Martin's Corner the table was served family style, with recheado mackerel, cafreal chicken and bebinca for dessert, and servers explained each dish. Sunset beach barbecues combined seafood grilled that morning, a bonfire and acoustic music, and executives and junior engineers sat on the same blankets.

Arrivals were staggered across a 48-hour window, so every flight was met by a greeter with a sign, and luxury vehicles took guests to the resort with refreshments on board. Teams arriving from within India travelled on charter buses from Bengaluru, with scenic stops and snack breaks. Daily shuttles carried teams to restaurants, heritage tours, sports venues and beaches.

For two-week stays a dedicated concierge desk handled laundry, restaurant reservations for personal time, local recommendations, medical needs, travel changes and parcels. The resorts' spa and gym were available, with morning yoga on the beach. Not every hour was programmed: free afternoons let people explore, catch up on work or rest, which suited introverts especially.

Length gave depth

Two weeks let the initial awkwardness pass and the later days become more reflective, without jet lag consuming the time.

Work and play together

Strategy, the hackathon and one-to-ones were set against culture, sport and unstructured time, with opt-outs for people who preferred quiet.

Real Goa

Holi, real restaurants and heritage tours with guides replaced manufactured tourist activities.

Feedback used

2023 participants wanted more unstructured time and fewer restaurant dinners, so the 2025 schedule added longer breaks and more resort meals.

The wellness retreats guide and the corporate offsite planning guide cover the choices behind a long team stay like this.