Hotel Apaar, Diu Review: Great Location, Mixed Reviews — What Guests Say

My Stay – August 2023

I visited Hotel Apaar in August 2023 and got a good sea view room. Food was ok and reasonably priced.

When we reached the hotel, room was not available offline at the reception, so staff suggested to book it online instead, and we did the same. Room itself was ok, nothing extraordinary but fine for the stay.

Location is walking distance from the market, and good food options are available nearby too.

My rating: 4/5

Overview

Hotel Apaar (also written Apar or Aapar) is a centrally located 3-star hotel in Diu, near the Diu Jetty and Bunder Road, within walking distance of the bus stand, INS Khukri Memorial, Diu Fort, and the local market. On Google, it holds a 4.0 average rating from 4,593 reviews. To get a clearer picture of what guests actually experience, we went through a sample of 100 recent reviews (spanning 2019 through mid-2026) and pulled out the recurring themes, both good and bad.

Here's the rating split from that sample:

This is a more spread-out distribution than a typical resort roundup — a solid majority (74%) rate it 4 or 5 stars, but a meaningful 19% land at 1–2 stars, mostly tied to room size, service consistency, and pricing versus what's promised.

What Guests Consistently Praise

Location — the biggest selling point by far

No theme repeats more often than location. Reviewers describe it as walkable to nearly everything: the bus stand, INS Khukri Memorial, Diu Fort, Zampa Gate, churches, the international market, and the jetty/seafront. Several guests explicitly say this alone makes up for the hotel's other shortcomings.

Food across three in-house restaurants

The hotel runs a vegetarian restaurant, a non-vegetarian restaurant, and a garden restaurant, and food comes up as a strength across many reviews — Gujarati thali, Punjabi dishes, Chinese, tandoori, and seafood all get individual praise. A few reviewers do note it's priced higher than eating outside the hotel, but most consider it worth it given Diu's limited food options (it's a dry, largely vegetarian-leaning region).

Value and hospitality gestures

Multiple reviews single out small acts of staff generosity: a free room upgrade to sea view, a complimentary short-stay room offered to a guest whose wife needed to rest before a flight, an extra hour granted at no charge for a delayed bus connection, and proactive help with luggage or arranging a birthday cake. Staff named positively across reviews include Sahil, Usman, Yasin, Sarfaraz, and Prakash.

Sea-view rooms and balconies

Many rooms — particularly on higher floors and at the front of the property — offer sea views with a private balcony, which reviewers consistently call out as a highlight worth requesting at booking.

Recurring Complaints

Room size, especially for the price. This is the single most repeated criticism. Multiple reviewers describe rooms — sea-facing ones in particular — as small, with one guest saying they couldn't even fully open a suitcase. Several note that back-facing rooms are noticeably larger than the sea-facing ones.

Inconsistent staff behavior, particularly at the front desk. While many reviews praise helpful staff, a distinct cluster of 1–2 star reviews describe rude, dismissive, or unresponsive reception staff — most often when guests raised a complaint, requested a room change, or needed help resolving an issue. One manager is named directly in a negative context for unhelpful, robotic responses.

Cleanliness inconsistency. Most reviews describe rooms as clean, but a meaningful minority report dirty pillows, damp or smelly bathrooms, and outdated interiors — enough that a couple of reviewers said the hotel doesn't match its advertised star rating on this front.

Slow or unreliable room service. Several reviews mention long waits for food (one specifically cites 90 minutes for lunch that never arrived), limited breakfast variety, and in at least one case being denied a reasonable accommodation (taking food to a room for a sick child).

Parking congestion. Reviews are split — several call parking ample and convenient, but just as many describe vehicles blocking each other in a tight lot, with keys sometimes required at reception to manage the congestion.

Pricing vs. amenities mismatch. A recurring complaint is that Hotel Apaar charges rates comparable to nearby properties with more amenities (pool, gym), while offering neither — several guests explicitly say it doesn't feel like a "true" 3-star on facilities alone, even when they rate the stay positively overall.

Accessibility. More than one review notes there's no lift serving the upper floors (up to the 4th floor in one account), which is a real consideration for elderly guests.

"Sea facing" claims not always accurate. At least one detailed review disputes the advertised sea view for a specific room category, with a photo included as evidence — worth confirming the exact view before booking a premium sea-facing room.

Should You Stay Here?

Based on the pattern across 100 reviews, Hotel Apaar works well if:

• Location is your top priority — it's hard to beat for walkable access to Diu's main sights
• You want solid in-house food options without needing to venture out, especially given Diu's limited dining scene
• You're booking a standard room and not expecting five-star space or resort-level amenities

It may be worth reconsidering, or at minimum setting expectations, if:

• Room size matters a lot to you — ask specifically about square footage, not just "sea view" vs. "no view"
• You're traveling with elderly guests and need a room below the 4th floor, given the limited lift access
• You want guaranteed responsive service if something goes wrong — the negative reviews cluster heavily around service recovery, not baseline hospitality
• You're booking during peak season, when a few reviewers report noticeably inflated rates for the room quality offered

FAQs

Where is Hotel Apaar located in Diu?

It's centrally located near the Diu Jetty and Bunder Road, within walking distance of the bus stand, INS Khukri Memorial, Diu Fort, and the local market.

Are the rooms at Hotel Apaar actually sea-facing?

Many rooms, especially on higher floors, do offer genuine sea views with a balcony. However, at least one review disputes the sea-facing claim for a specific room category, so it's worth confirming the exact room and view before booking.

What's the biggest recurring complaint about Hotel Apaar?

Room size relative to price, particularly for sea-facing rooms, followed by inconsistent front-desk service when guests need help resolving an issue.

Does Hotel Apaar have good food options?

Yes — it operates a vegetarian restaurant, a non-vegetarian restaurant, and a garden restaurant on-site, with reviewers praising Gujarati, Punjabi, Chinese, and seafood dishes, though pricing is on the higher side compared to eating outside the hotel.

Is Hotel Apaar accessible for elderly guests?

Partially — reviews note the lift doesn't serve all floors (up to the 4th floor in one account), so it's worth requesting a lower-floor room if traveling with elderly guests.

This roundup is based on a sample of 100 Google reviews for Hotel Apaar, Diu (out of 4,593 total) and reflects guest-reported experiences, separate from the first-hand stay described at the top of this article.