About

In late 2022 we had a slightly mad idea: find an investment property in Ukraine. Not just to earn income, but to build something of our own, develop it, bring our ideas to life. We love to travel, love interesting hotels — so we decided to move in that direction and started looking at land listings in Kyiv oblast. We only considered locations within a 2–3 hour drive from home, because we knew we wanted to be there often. In March 2023 we bought the plot, with no fixed plan yet for what exactly we would build. For several months we looked at different projects and searched for the right cabins. We understood that because of the slope the cabins would be on stilts, and then the idea came: add terraces with hammocks built into the floor. We had a lot of ideas and realised we needed architects. We found studio YUHMA, who had experience with exactly this kind of recreational property. We started working with them in May 2023 — they designed the project and drew the cabins that you can now see in person at TROKHY DALI. All of 2023 was a preparation year. We worked on the project, surveyed the land, completed geological studies, and reregistered documents. In summer 2023 we started on electrical infrastructure — a long, expensive process. We dreamed of lighting up fairy lights on the plot on New Year's Eve, but that didn't happen. The electrical work was finally completed in March 2024. Those 18 electricity poles we installed were the first physical sign of our presence. After that we cleared the plot and prepared for construction. We had a lot of wild pear trees — beautiful and green, but very thorny, and we had to remove many of them, unfortunately. In parallel we built a road from the main asphalt road along the lake to our entrance. That's when the locals started talking about us — they liked the road, but wondered: what's going to be here? We negotiated with several contractors. One experienced company quoted a price 2.5× higher than the initial estimate, so we lost about three months. Then we found Unitfab — almost by chance, through social media. A Ukrainian company, fairly young but experienced, using prefab technology: the cabins arrive on site almost ready-to-move-in because the main work is done in the factory. This had a very positive effect on costs. In January 2024 we signed the construction contract. In March we visited the factory and saw our cabins in person for the first time — walls already up, window openings in place. It felt like the real beginning of a dream coming true. Back on site we were preparing foundations — concrete piles up to 5 metres long, more than 150 of them. Separately there was the admin building, designed by the architects to blend into the hillside: a massive excavation, 53 piles, 80 cubic metres of concrete — a monolithic base, walls, ceiling. Without the panoramic windows it would have made a perfect shelter. The cabins were delivered at night — oversize loads, drivers with special permits. Trucks can't climb our slope, so the modules were transferred to a special platform, towed up by a KamAZ truck and a large tractor, with a crane at the top lifting everything onto the foundations. Very complicated, very expensive. In parallel we laid the engineering networks — over 1.5 km of electrical cable, water pipes, sewage, septic tanks. We drilled for water, hit granite on the first attempt and found nothing, brought in a specialist driller, and eventually struck water. All good. In December 2023 the pleasant moments began: ordering furniture, choosing textiles, hotel toiletries. The feeling of getting close. That same month I took Lera Borodina's NOM course — perfectly timed with the start of our project. We ran surveys, questionnaires, and in-depth interviews with our target audience and made several key decisions based on what we learned. Also in 2023 we filed to register the trademark. We came up with the name even before the project was designed: TROKHY DALI — "a little further" — because we're a little further from Kyiv, from worries, from daily routine. In October 2024, exactly 18 months later, we received our certificate. In summer 2024 our first employees arrived — maintenance staff, all local people from nearby villages. We now have 5 team members. They are simply a treasure: they treat the project as if it were their own home. Construction timelines shifted a great deal compared to our plans. There were factors outside anyone's control: staff shortages due to the war and mobilisation. We hoped to open in October, then November — but the first guests arrived in December. We caught the last train: the first booking was for 30–31 December 2024. We consider 2024 the year of opening, even if it was the very last night of that year. Our plot is 2.5+ hectares. We plan to build 13 cabins and an admin building in total. Some people said we could fit 20 cabins and earn more. But for us the concept of seclusion was important — each cabin in its own space. A second phase is planned, and there are many more ideas for the future.