Zostel Munnar

I had a horrible stay at Zostel Munnar. The rooms were old and poorly maintained, with cockroaches in both the room and bathroom. The bathrooms smelled awful, with paan stains everywhere, and when we asked the staff to clean, they lazily used just a handful of water. The furniture looked older than my grandmother, and the bedsheets were filthy, covered in stains. The only saving grace was the view, but everything else about the stay was absolutely awful. If you value hygiene and comfort, stay far away from Zostel Munnar!

In short - it is dirty, noisy, with cigarette smoke filled everywhere. It's not a backpacker hostel. It's a cheap (not really so cheap anymore) place for groups and couples to smoke, drink, and make noise. Even the hostel encourages noise. They have kept huge speakers right in the reception on the ground floor where there's loud noise until 11:30-12 in the middle of the night. When complained the response was - people are having fun, we can't stop them from having fun. The rooms are dirty and are not cleaned properly. Bathrooms have mould, rooms have mould, lockers (those are barely lockers) have mould. Windows and doors are such that mosquitoes would enter effortlessly even when closed. Common areas are cigarette smoke filled, people even smoke at the entrance which is right next to reception. You walk on any floor in the corridor and there's a strong stench of cigarette all around. The sofas had a layer of dirt on that, looking almost like those were polished with dirt. Food is nice. But it's the only option really, because there's nothing else within few kilometres of that place. Also, if you don't have your own vehicle it will be difficult for you to get around - you should know that. Linen felt used. When I was checking out they were actually changing the linen and the "fresh" linen they brought was so soggy and slightly dirty. tl;dr: Do not go there for peaceful or backpacking hostel experience. It's not that place. Do you want to find an affordable place to go in group and party. Yup, that's the place. Also, the place is not at all clean and hygienic, especially the bathrooms; and linen.

The stay was peaceful with a lovely view of the mountain ranges covered with clouds (especially in monsoon). One can never get bored of the view. The rooms were clean with basic amenities. Pleasant stay. Food was nice and staffs were very friendly. The most interesting thing was the dedicated area from where you can work!! The space was well designed with a mesmerising view. I think I will stay again with them for a week - working and having fun at the same time. The Wi-Fi was decent enough to take vid calls.

Stayed 2 nights at Munnar Zostel. The location of the Hostel is quite remote from Munnar "center", about 15 minutes by rickshaw. The trip would cost you 250 INR should you book from the Hostel and between 150 - 200 INR if you get one outside, which added up, represent quite an extra expense overall the stay. The cleanliness of the establishment was good. Not much information provided on potential activities and overpriced excursions (in my humble opinion). It is to be noted that during my stay, only 2 staff members were taking care of reception/attendance area for an establishment which seemed fully booked. This might explain a few gaps in service quality, although efforts were definitely visible thus big Kudos to the local team. Overall this establishment has a great potential but is not quite there yet.

Rudest manager ever! We are just off the road after an 8 hour drive and decided to stay at the Munnar Zostel. When I asked about rooms the manager was so unfriendly and rude! This is the second Zostel in India with rude staff. I am American and my husband is Indian..maybe that has something to do with it, I don’t know. We normally stay at Moustache which is always great…great staff, properties, especially in Rajasthan. But never again will we stay at a Zostel and since all my friends are travellers and bloggers in India, I will be advising them the same.