He was born in Madrid into an aristocratic family, and, being the older son, was entitled to inherit the title of Marquis. But his sexual extravagance, which he made no attempt to conceal, made him into something of a black-sheep. He was interested in working-class rent boys and was often seen with them in literary salons and cafés. His family became embarrassed by his reputation and mention of his existence was excised from family chronicles.

He wrote scores of pulpy, popular narratives, both novellas and short stories, which nowadays are notoriously difficult to find, as most were never reprinted. Although only a couple of them feature homosexuality in an explicit way, they reflect some of the topics of the homoerotic immagination in Spain. The role of social repression, especially coming from institutionalised religion, often is brought to the fore, showing a keen awareness of the ideological slant of homophobia: homosexuality appears not as a mere "perversion" but as dissident.

With the arrival of Francoism, Hoyos faced marginality and prison, and died shortly after the end of the Civil war, poor and ignored by his old acquaintances, hounded by his family and with no friends at all.