As I enter through the beautiful wooden doors of The Resort Hoka, I come across a charming, colourful, vibrant interior, which is reminiscent of an old Portuguese house, an artist’s home and a beach shack, all rolled into one. In fact the use of colour is something that I notice through out the property.
From our turquoise coloured doors to the psychedelic mosaic work done all over the property, The Hoka Resort has definitely been designed by someone with a finely tuned aesthetic. There are lovely, Van Gogh-esque paintings hung up all over (of the sun, coconut trees, fish) which have been painted by the owner Aditya Dogra’s sister. My room follows multi-colour schemes- yellow walls, mosaic bathroom, orange curtains and a delightful garden sit-out with blooming pink bougainvilleas.
There is a pretty sea green and white winding staircase that leads up to the thatched roof restaurant and the rest of the rooms. Although the building isn’t old (built in 1998), The Hoka Resort gives the impression that an eccentric old Portuguese wine maker’s house was taken and lovingly restored; “We have built in harmony with the surroundings”, says Aditya Dogra and I couldn’t agree more. There is a tiny little swimming pool which is perfect to laze in with a fruit punch to beat the heat.
After checking out the beach nearby (Diu, especially on a weekend, is extremely crowded. Due to prohibition in Gujarat, flocks of Gujaratis migrate to Diu on the weekends and all major holidays to drink and make merry) I settle into my charming room and then venture up to the restaurant for lunch. The menu is limited but the bar serves a variety of drinks..
The vibe at The Hoka Resort is total family-style. There are children jumping in and out of the tiny pool, mothers instructing them to stop jumping and the dads guzzling steadily in the corners. But there are little pockets of peace like the garden balconies, where couples can romance.
The Hoka Resort is the only one in Diu that does not dump its waste off the cliffs or worse, straight into the sea. They have a towel reuse policy, collect rainwater into their well, segregate waste and compost as well as conserve electricity. I guess drilling eco-awareness into the staff seems to be the biggest challenge for eco-resort owners everywhere due to lack of education. But they seem to be persevering which is good news.
On the whole I enjoyed my stay in this cheerful, colourful little resort.
Stay
The colourful rooms at The Hoka Resort are one of the highlights of staying here. There are none of the anomalies that haunt other “fancy” resorts like satin curtains and ornate lampshades. Here the rooms are cute and cheerful, with a superb mix of colours. Their walls are painted yellow in some and blue in others, the doors are turquoise, the curtains covering the little garden chill-out areas are a bright orange and yellow giving it a nice bubbly beach feel.
The garden sit-out is one of the best room-features, perfect to enjoy a cuppa under the shade of some swaying palms and hibiscus or a beer in the evening.
The bathrooms are small but done up with nice colourful tiles and mosaic. The mosaic work outside the rooms, in the corridors and passages of The Hoka is absolutely stunning and so are the art works depicting sunsets and coconut trees done by the owner’s sister. A nice big double bed, A/C and TV complete the comfort factor in the rooms, along with cubby holes to put your things and a safe inside the room itself. The self switch-off key socket ensures that there is no electricity wastage once you remove the key from it.
Dine
The garden restaurant with a Bar serves limited but decent meals and a wide variety of drinks which are not too highly priced, Diu being a union territory.
The Breakfast is a typically continental one. Menu consists of eggs to order with bread, fruit juices, and cornflakes. They also have an upma (spiced semolina cooked wth vegetables) and chutney (Indian sauce) as an Indian option. Their cheese omelette is really good- light and fluffy!
The main meal menu is limited at The Hoka, with hardly anything on it. There are some Indian vegetable dishes and 3 items of seafood- fish curry, prawn curry and fish & chips. The ‘fish and chips’ is good, grilled instead of drowned in batter.
You could opt to walk around and discover small food joints around for local food. The vegetarians will be lucky since you have lots of outlets with great variety. However, if fresh sea food is what you want, I would recommend the Palms Hotel, their whole crispy fried Pomfret was yummy!
The Hoka is situated about 5 minutes walking distance from the Nagoa Beach, which is populated by large Gujarati families floating jovially and full clothed in the shallow waters. Especially on the weekends, there is a large influx of alcohol starved folks from neighbouring Gujarat and you will find groups of men drinking beer and letting loose. It is quite safe; just very crowded.
But as you walk past the chaos on Nagoa, you come to a different world. An empty cove, surrounded by beautiful weathered rocks on either side, beckons, quiet and tranquil. It is a bit rockier on the Kodhidhar beachbut it is full of shells and very peaceful. On one of the rocks there are some small ancient temples, worshipping Shiva the destroyer. Watching the sun go down, the waves pounding the eroded rocks, the Shiva temple set aglow, was one of the most special moments of my entire Gujarat trip. Further down this coastline, one comes across even more little shrines on top of another rocky hill- this time family temples built in memory of the dead.
The forted city of Diu is charming too, tiny roads with towering ancient Portuguese buildings on either side. Rent a scooter and go exploring the fort, the churches and the little streets.
A few kilometres away in the Gangeshwar Temple, again dedicated to Lord Shiva, with 5 shivlings (the holy phallus) which are said to be laid by the Pandavas themselves! (the protagonists of an Indian epic called the Mahabharata)
At the resort there are enough and more things to awaken your lazy self… hammocks, swimming pool, board games the bar or just the couch that lies next to the window of your room! Settle down with a book and enjoy the hours passing by.
Hammocks, open spaces, lots of trees, close to the sea, swimming pool, homely food…. but this is not just another seaside hotel. They consciously reduce the negative impact on their environment as much as they can.
The Hoka Resort is one of the only resorts in Diu, that doesn’t dump its waste into the sea! Garbage collected in the hotel is segregated into natural and plastic and natural wastes are dumped into a compost pit to create manure for their garden. They are trying to train their staff into separating waste to educate them about the goodness of natural manure, although the staff is taking quite some time to understand the concept. All the plastic is collected and sent for recycling.
Water consumption is also closely monitored and wastage is curbed as much as possible. They have a water collection pipe that carries rainwater straight to their well; an improvisation due to the rainwater harvesting systems evaporating too fast in the heat. There are sign boards in every room requesting guests to reuse their towels and linen unless it is absolutely necessary to change them. This saves water to a large extent. Also they use only cotton towels and linen to keep it as natural as possible.
As far as electricity consumption goes, all the rooms are equipped with a power saving “switch off” system, where you remove your key from the socket to leave the room, the power automatically switches off. CFL bulbs are used extensively to minimise consumption.
The Hoka sources all its utilities locally to help develop the local economy. They also employ locally and try to educate staff as much as possible about all the phases of the “going green” process including reducing wastage of water and electricity, composting and being environmentally friendly but have been met with some resistance which they are trying hard to overcome.
What’s Hot!
- The structure is lovely and colourful and so are the rooms.
- The rooms have a garden sit-out that is enchanting, full of plants and birds.
What’s Not!
- Very limited menu at their restaurant encouraging you to explore local food options outside.
- Very noisy over the weekends with large groups of Gujarati families coming in.
Ideal For Whom
Just about anybody who wants a break – beach bums, families with little children who love the beach waters… I recommend couples to go in the off season when it isn’t so crowded.
When To Visit
Diu being an island enjoys a maritime climate, with the constant sea breezes affecting its temperature. The plain topography is the reason for its dry plain weather, though pleasant throughout the year. During summers, the climate in Diu ranges between a maximum of 36 degrees and a minimum of 20 degrees. However, during winters, it comes down to a maximum of 26 degrees and the minimum temperature remains about 20 degrees. The monsoon season lasts from the month of June to September. The maximum rainfall during the monsoons is about 63.5 cms. Because of its mild tropical climate, the best time to visit Diu is from September to April.
How Many Days
3-4 days, if you want to just chill out on a beach doing nothing.
Things To Bring
Swimsuit, preferably one piece, sun block, hat, camera with a good memory, a good book, flip flops and light cotton clothes.for summer and light woollen for winter.
The Hoka Resort is situated in the Nagoa Beach area, 9 km. from Diu City, Diu, which is a Union Territory neighbouring Gujarat.
By Air:
The most comfortable and fastest way is Jet Airways Early Morning flight Delhi to Mumbai and then Jet flight or Deccan Airways from Mumbai to Diu. A more economical way is to fly to Ahmedabad from Delhi and then take an Air Deccan or a Spice jet into Diu from Ahmedabad.
By Rail:
There are three trains from Ahmedabad to Verawal now. Verawal is 90 km. from Diu..about 3 hours by bus and 2 hours by taxi. Trains from Ahmedabad are Ahmedabad-Verawal intercity express, Somnath express, Jabalpur-Verawal express. There are trains from Mumbai to Rajkot which is 4.5 hours away from Diu.
By Road:
The other option is to drive to Diu. There are direct sleeper buses from Ahmedabad to Diu. You could also drive or take a taxi, but the driving time is a good 7 to 8 hours. The roads are very good and there are nice eating joints to break for food. The route from Ahmedabad is Bagodara – Dhanduka – Vallabhipur – Bhavnagar – Talaja – Mahuva – Una –Diu (400 Kms). From Rajkot it is Gondal – Virpur – Jetpur – Junagadh – Verawal – Kodinar – Diu.
Once you are in Diu the local transport is excellent. Autorickshaws will take you to any point on the island. You could also rent mopeds or scooters at a nominal rent, and set about discovering the island on your own!
Aditya Dogra follows a character profile of many who have set up resorts on beach sides all over the world. Born in Poona and working with a company which took him all over the country, one thought got lodged in his head and wouldn’t go away. A thought, which kept reminding him of his fondness of the sea and open spaces. So finally, breaking out of his safe, company mould, Mr.Dogra set up, The Hoka Resort in 1998 and has been living his dream every day since then.
