After a relatively smooth 6 hour long drive when we had but given up on the idea of catching up on the sleep debt accumulated after an early morning and hunger pangs were just setting in we reached the Deltin Hotel. With a predominantly box like structure, it looks quite unassuming from the outside but it makes the interiors all the more alluring by contrast. The huge chandelier gazing down upon you or the flower arrangements which are changed every week or the ever ready to help staff, everything seeks to provide a larger than life experience with the guest at the center of it all.
We were ushered in to the Deluxe room which is above the superior room but below the Deluxe & Presidential suites in terms of hierarchy and the check-in process which happened in our room was quick and hassle free.
Lunch was on our mind ever since we stepped out of the car and was something we wasted no time getting to. The executive chef Mr. Mayur Ramachandran received us at the Vegas restaurant which doubles up as a 24 hour café and the venue for all buffet meals. Having noted our food preferences he and his team of chefs went on to conjure up a magical meal which kept us enthralled for the better part of 2 hours after which the guilt of indulge crept up and we opted to go directly for a walk with Ms Yogita who volunteered to show us around the property. The property can be termed as a resort seeing the number of in-house facilities and the number of guests it can accommodate at a time. Though its show stopper, the casino which will be the only and hence the biggest Land casino in India, is still to be operational, its 4 banquets and a grand ballroom which combined with the pool area would have a capacity of entertaining about 2500 guests at a time makes it an ideal venue for a destination wedding or corporate events. The property has 3 pools, a kid pool, the main pool and a VIP pool reserved for occupants of the suites with the main pool being the largest and having a pool bar for swimmers or sun bathers who would be too lazy to walk down to the hotel for a quick snack or drink. Wading across the water for a quick drink under the warm daman sun sounded like an ideal vacation activity for us.
After a brief walk and with the multiple courses of lunch having settled down we decided for a quick tour of their Spa which we had heard great things about. The dim lighting, pleasant ambient music and the stone and clay walls give a very earthy feel to it and the interiors were perfect except for an overkill on the Buddha theme to it. The huge sculpture/art piece of Buddha at the reception and the Buddha head lights in every part of the Spa seemed going a little overboard with the theme. The spa itself is wonderful and the massages quite relaxing. We opted for the Neck and back therapy but there were a few others including foot reflexology and Swedish massage. We also saw arrangements for couple massages if that’s your thing. Personally we were very satisfied with the Spa even though at the end of it, the 30 minutes massage seemed more like 10 minutes and the hour spent lazing around in the room like an incomplete TV commercial.
The evening started well with our tummies just about done with the afternoon meal and getting prepped up for the evening bonanza. We headed towards their Bar area which is called Whiskeys though we were unable to glean from any of the staff the reason behind the preference for a particular drink. Being Teetotallers we were offered their flavoured Teas of which we had the Black currant which was quite different from what we’ve had before. We were then tutored by Mr. Mayur on the nitty gritties of making a Falafel, the ingredients and the recipe and ended up devouring an entire plate post which we realized we had an entire meal to get to. Thinking back, we could have done without that last batch of falafels.
The Emperor is primarily an Oriental / Tangra Chinese speciality restaurant with an ambience which beats quite a few fine dines we’ve been to. Superb is the only word comes to the mind as we went about clicking dozens of photos of the then thankfully empty restaurant. We settled down into a corner seat at the edge of the restaurant which a little later into our meal was no longer private with the many walk-in’s from the guests at the hotel as well as from Surat & Valsad. We absolutely loved the Burmese Khowsuey which was served as a soup with an entire range of stuff to add as per our liking. It was the best khowsuey we’ve had in years! After yet another multiple course meal by the end of which we were asking the chef to create even smaller portions for us to avoid wasting the food which we couldn’t get enough of nor were we able to polish off. The tired us then proceeded to walk off the meal with several rounds around their gorgeous pool which looked heavenly at night. We proceeded to curse the chefs a bit more for preparing such a meal which led to us binge eating and then retired to the room for a peaceful sleep. That the huge TV in our room went unattended was a big testimony to the fabulous meal and our urge to sleep. The only caveat was our inability to increase the temperature of the room from the chilling Antarctica it has become to the moderate Ahmedabad wintery chill we are used to, though once under the covers it mattered not.
Breakfast was yet another foodie delight with a huge spread which although primarily Indian was delicious. We had huge servings of fruits, juices, milkshakes, dosas, paranthas, poha, poori sabji, baked beans and potato wedges with muffins to top it off. We would have loved some more sweet offerings but then that’s us being greedy. The breakfast as with the other meals left us with no doubt with what to do next, a long walk on the Daman beaches. Jampore beach is a short drive away and is a stretch of black sand littered with a long line of shacks. The entire stretch reminded us of Kashid beach in Maharashtra which has a similar setting. Due to it being a holiday weekend and a sunday we encountered a fair number of revelers but a few stood out, like a group of school/college girls playing an indianized version of baseball, a single kid practising his soccer moves with a huge beach ball or the typical vacationing family having a fun run on a horse carriage on the beach. Devka beach was more picturesque with its rocky layout which again reminded us of another beach, Harihareshwar. The rocky beach would typically be covered during high tide but fortunately, low tide and a very beautiful cloud formation helped us click some beautiful memories on the beach. Though onlookers would have had a good laugh seeing us posing for a seemingly non-existent camera person unless they caught sight of a carefully placed camera with a self-timer setting. The things we do for our great candid pics!
We were dreading facing the team of chefs for lunch and with a heavy heart we had to tell them that we would only be able to have a light lunch. With a twinkle in their eyes they said that the lunch would be light for sure – pinky promise. With a shudder we waited for the onslaught of delicious food which would leave an indelible impression on us for months. The theme for the lunch was Indian – a combination of North & south Indian dishes ending with a 3 dessert platter. If you’re heading there and are going to order Ala- carte, have the “Aaloo chutneywala” – Potato stuffed with cottage cheese in a green gravy. The food was heavenly and all we could think of was that the chair in our room would be much more comfortable than the car seats for our 6 hour drive back home.
For the non-peak season, the hotel had a respectable 25-30% occupancy rate which affirms our view that this can be a great option for people wanting a weekend respite at a comfortable distance from home. Though we were invited by Deltin and in essence pampered a bit extra, judging from what we saw around us, the other guests were having a blast as well. We loved the place for its food and its hospitality and though the rooms can do with a bit more soundproofing (kids running across the hallway, even though it was carpeted, can make for a fair bit of unwanted noise) the pampering we got from the staff more than makes up for it. A big resounding 5 stars and thank you to the brilliant staff who took care of us while we were there.
If you loved it as much as we did and want to book the property right now, you can mail us your requirement, we might be able to arrange a special deal for you.
And some fun clicks at the Daman beaches
