斯里那加佐斯特飯店

This was my second experience at a Zostel. Out of the 5 nights I had booked, I only stayed 3. I will go through the good points first. Located at a stone's throw away from Dal Lake, this Zostel makes for a pretty convenient stay. I liked the practice of providing guests with slippers to wear indoors, something I sorely missed at Zostel Shillong. The cafeteria on premises provided satisfactory meals at reasonable rates, although it strangely didn't keep a stock of water bottles, beverages and packaged snacks. Rameez, who manages the cafetaria, stands out as a model hospitality employee. I couldn't say the same for the rest of the staff, most of whom seemed untrained in basic etiquettes such as knocking and asking permission of guests before entering a room etc. This coupled with a particularly alarming incident made me feel a little unsafe to continue my stay. I don't wish to go into details since the issue has since been resolved by the management. But this experience exposed the biggest flaw in Zostel India's model. As I looked up the way to request support, I realised that you don't have a customer care hotline. The only way to raise a request or a complaint is to fill out a form on your website. Considering nearly your whole business hinges on solo travelers and backpackers, I feel you should be providing a more hands-on external support for emergencies and distress management. If a guest is facing danger to themselves or their belongings from the local management at any of your properties, you need to be able to provide them with immediate assistance on call and, if needed, in person. Anything short of this is not acceptable. As a female solo traveler and a Zostel patron, I want to believe you can do better.

Location easily locatable, food good, bed clean, washroom clean, hospitality excellent. Enjoyable stay.