MTDC Exotica Beach Resort at Diveagar . Review on Diveagar

We had been to Diveagar from 1st May to 3rd May. We stayed at the MTDC Exotica beach resort .

By the way, the resort is located almost on the beach. You can hear the lovely sound of waves.And now for the review of the place: I came across two or three very good places to stay which offer better amenities (like ACs which work on high powered generators), in house local food and good service. Please note the numbers:

1. Ambience Cottages : Located in a wadi. Pros: Good ambience (as the name suggests) and affordable Room rates:- 700/-, 900/- and 1200/- (with AC). Con: Laid back service

Phone no: (0)2147-224091, 225334, 225335 (Mr. Vijay Patwardhan).

1. Hotel Pinakin : Pros: Newly built, so good clean rooms, Good generator back up which is important in Diveagar, the rooms had refrigerator and AC and Dish TV so that you don’t miss the urban necessities. I think the refrigerator was an important add-on cos you don’t get any kind of liquor locally and if you get it from pune or at the nearby town called Borli (just 1km from Diveagar), you can store it in the refrigerator.Another pro is they offer local menu with excellent fish. The location too is not very far from the beach.Con; It looks like a hotel, I mean it is a building, so if you want to stay in a wadi like place, you will be disappointed. Rates: 1200/- and 1500/- . Again call directly to book.Contact no: 9423533314, 9421080150 Mr. Hemant Kene, Mrs. Arti Kene.

3) MTDC’s Exotica beach resort has better location and a good cottage but the generator back up is poor, so ACs are there but not working. Cable TV too is useless. Contact nos: 02147-202012 .The manager there is one Mr. Jagdish Khadpe His cell no is 09421967767. If you call him directlym, he will give you better rates than those quoted by Nivalink or other travel sites like Holiday IQ. Food is largely conventional and not very impressive. For Food , I would strongly recommend trying two eateries:

4) Wadi Miravi: A 3 BHK Independent AIRCON Bunglow surrounded by Lush green Betel and coconut plantations. Home Made food as per your order. Manager/caretaker at your service. For Bookings contact: Mrs. Rachana Kamerkar 09822078181 / 02027291049. This place is good for two or three couples.

Suhas Bapat’s eatery: This is a truly amazing place with awesome food. You will be served authentic maharastrian food with Modak. The contact number is: 09423837967, 09271127337. you need to call in the morning and confirm your order. Ad-hoc visits will leave you disappointed, cos often the food is cooked as per orders and there is no surplus as good food never goes waste ;) Suvarnaganesh Khanaval by Anant Parker: Contact no: 952147 – 225045. Very near to Pinakin Hotel and Ambience cottages (by walk 10 min): Amazing non-veg food. The pomfret served was the best we had in long long time. The rate for a non veg thali is 150/- which includes a decent sized pomfret fry.

Things to do in Diveagar:

1. The virgin beach: The best thing to do in Diveagar is **nothing. Just visit the virgin beach and do nothing else.

2. Murud-Janjira Fort: Another must see location is the Murud-Janjira fort.

*Note: Please hire a local guide( charges 15/- if you go in a group)..If you are a couple, you can bargain for 120/-…there is a lot of historic information which you rather have for relevance, than aimlessly roaming around the fort. To visit Murud Janjira you should be leaving Diveagar early at 8.00 and go to a town called Dighi (takes 45 minutes) and take the ferry boat at 9.15 am to go to the fort.

1. Golden Ganesha temple: And of course visit the Golden Ganesha temple. It is nerve wracking experience to see the Golden bust of Ganesha displayed in the temple .It was found buried in the ground in a 900- year old chest trunk in a wadi nearby. Dont forget to go to the wadi ( prakat sthan) and meet the lady (in seventies) who actually discovered the golden ganesha.

How to Reach there:Pune to Diveagar - 156 km (via Mhasala). Approx time: 4.5 hours

(Route - Pune - Paud - Mulshi - Mangaon via Tamhini Ghat (turn left from the Highway and later right from the Main Market) - Sai-Morba Ghat - Mhasala (before S. T. stand turn right from main road) - Vadavali phata - Borli - Diveagar).

I would say the roads were newly laid so we were lucky. And yes, as he said the view throughout was refreshing and makes the 4.5hours journey enjoyable. The only con about the journey is lack of good places to eat. So make sure to pack some sandwiches or chips on your way.Also, only IDEA and Reliance have some kind of a network , so inform your family not to get worried if you are not reachable.Have a happy Outing!Cheers!!