The Lotus Beach Eco Resort, Murud-Harnai - Wish We'd Stayed Longer

We chose to stay at this resort for only one night, and felt very bad leaving the next morning.

The deluxe AC room where we stayed had a fabulous sea view. The room was spacious but cozy and very well maintained. The important part (very important for me) was that it was absolutely free from lizards and other insects which is inevitable in Konkan. The clean, beautiful beach is hardly 2 min walking distance from the resort.

The staff was courteous and worked hard to make us comfortable. The restaurant is reasonably good. There was no buffet due to low occupancy on the weekday, but we got whatever we ordered. The fried fish and chicken was especially worth a mention.

We took a boat ride to see dolphins early the next morning (again this was arranged by the resort), which was an unforgettable experience.

All in all, it was a hassle-free, peaceful stay - with no arguments, no reminders to the staff and no complaints.

I would definitely recommend this resort for at least a 2-3 night stay. The standard rooms do not have much of a view though, and the deluxe rooms come with a higher price tag. However, the view makes the incremental spend worthwhile.

Refreshingly Konkan – Part V – Murud Harnai

From Bankot, we took the road to Kelshi phata and reached Murud Harnai via Anjarle. There is a new road from Aade to Dapoli now, saving distance, and again offering fantastic scenary that is characteristic of Konkan! Especially worth mentioning is the bridge across the creek at Murde soon after Anjarle. Both Aade and Anjarle are typical Konkani villages and you'll enjoy the drive through them. It does tend to get a bit remote and lonely between villages though. And the road is not that great at certain places. It is best to avoid traveling after sundown.

Our resort at Murud Harnai was bang on the beach (something that we didn't get to enjoy at Diveagar actually) and we could see a beautiful sunset right from our room's sitout.

The next morning we went to the beach early and took a boat ride to see dolphins. The atmosphere was so serene, with the sound of the sea waves, flocks of birds of all sorts flying across and then the dolphins, gently cruising along the water revealing themselves every once a while. The shine and the grace of the species are unparalleled and I have a feeling they too are more than aware of the interest they generate among us humans.

It was time to pack up and leave soon after. The end of a holiday always brings two-fold emotions – the reminiscence of the days gone by and the regret of having to leave behind the beauty and peace and get back into routine.

The drive back via Dapoli -- Poladpur -- Mahabaleshwar -- Wai -- Pune was uneventful, except for the stopover at Mapro's in Panchgani where we had dollops of soft strawberry and lichee icecream and the jumbo grilled sandwich - their specialty.

My verdict: If you live in Mumbai/Pune (or anywhere for that matter) and haven't been to Konkan, you are really missing something in life.