If you have been to India, you’d truly appreciate having Zostel here. It is just a clean and fun place that resembles a little bit of home. And probably there’s no place like this, where you’d connect to cool travelers so easily, naturally and comfortably.
Why a Hostel?
I listed some pros and cons of staying at a hostel here:”Why you should or shouldn’t stay in a hostel in New Delhi“, I guess now my experience expanded to another city, the pink city called Jaipur. Anyways, it’s not my first time here, but I actually enjoyed staying here as there was clearly more opportunity to interact with other travelers.
But, not ideal for family.
Why Zostel?
My friend saw their review online, and it was pretty cheap (Rs.500 for a bed in a mixed dorm including breakfast!)
My Exprience
The place is really clean. It’s like European standard clean. When I stayed there in January, they only just moved into the new facility for 1 month. You’d notice the big lounge that looked so inviting. I’d love to sit here and relax for a whole day 🙂 If you leave very early, you’d find the staff sleeping in this lounge. I guess that’s normal in India, having your manager sleeping in a visible spot.
There’s a open terrace a floor up that looked inviting at night but sort of weird in the morning with all the laundry. I believed at night it was a popular place to hangout, cuz I could hear music even pretty late at night.
The room we stayed was clean and comfortable. I took this picture from Tripadvisor cuz I didn’t take any. Everything inside this room was okay. But there’s no lock to the room, though you could buy a padlock for Rs.30. I don’t understand why the manager seemed to be so confident that all our stuff would be secure with no lock only because they have a good surveillance system. Well, sometimes you have to make your own judgment. Just get a lock.
What I Like
My friend booked the whole 4-bed dorm when we were 3 girls, we intended to pay for 4 people, but in the end we were charged with 3 beds. I liked their breakfast, though it was served from 8-11, we found food available even at 7am! The first day when we had breakfast, it was everything that I wanted! Coffee, boiled egg, toast and jam, some cereals and fruits!
The kitchen is pretty spacious if you want to make your own food!
What I didn’t Like
No hair dryer. Hot water problem. I don’t like how I had to prove to them that they had problem with hot water. It didn’t seem honest. But the manager helped. And somehow hot water seemed to work on the second night. Oh, and the manager made a mistake and kept banging our doors at 3am for 10 minutes until he found out he knocked the wrong room…. and no apology in the morning like he forgot!
Map to Get There
I took a bus and was dropped at Hawa Mahal. It’s such an iconic place that you can’t miss. Then walk pass Hawa Mahal on your left, then keep walking pass all the grocery shops and souvenir shops. After all the chaos, you’d see Zostel on your left in a rather stinky lane (cuz there’s a public toilet at the entrance of the lane)
It’s the same map, though I took this picture from the wall in Zostel. You can click for detail! You’ll see Zostel on the 1st floor!
Would I come back?
Yes! I think it’s a really cool place, and I’d like to check out their properties in other cities. Apparently it’s a cool brand in India! http://indianexpress.com/article/good-news/zostel-make-your-trip-affordable-with-indias-first-backpackers-hostel/ And the ambiance was really great! You don’t expect this in India 🙂
You can check their price here: http://www.zostel.com/zostel/Jaipur/
Traveling Mega
