Manas Resort with Petting Zoo

We recently stayed for two nights at Manas Resorts, and while there are a few positives, the overall experience was underwhelming—especially considering the premium pricing and brand expectations. The Positives * **Delicious food** with a wide buffet spread—your taste buds and appetite will be happy. * **Courteous and polite staff** who were consistently helpful. * The **resort ambiance** offers a refreshing change from standard hotel setups—more relaxed and nature-oriented. Now, the Negatives 1. **Misleading “Royal Villa” (Room 102):** Marketed as a premium category, this room had **no view at all**. Ironically, rooms from lower categories had **beautiful valley views**. To make matters worse, our room was **right next to a goat barn**—the **stench in the balcony was overpowering** and made it completely unusable during our stay. The room assignment defies logic and raises serious questions about how "premium" is defined here. 2. Lack of Hygiene in Petting Areas The petting zones are charming, especially for kids and animal lovers. But the overall hygiene was below par —maybe worsened by the rains, but still unacceptable for a resort charging premium rates. Better maintenance is urgently needed. Alternatively they can consider having lesser animals to manage this better. In all fairness the handlers are trying their best to make the experience memorable, but they have different standards of hygiene and can't blame them entirely. 3. Unprofessional Dining Experience: While we were having lunch one afternoon, the **table next to ours—completely empty—was taken over by the resort’s management team** who decided to hold their **weekly staff meeting** right next to us. This showed **complete disregard for guest comfort and privacy**. It was intrusive and unprofessional, especially in a hospitality setting. 4. Disappointing Booking Experience – Breach of Trust: I booked directly with the hotel expecting a better deal and service. But just days later, I started getting messages from Cleartrip offering the exact same room, same dates, at 20% lower price Despite my early booking, the hotel refused to either match the lower rate or offer any flexibility even after sharing screen shots. It wasn’t just about the money—it was about broken trust. 5. Important Advisory for Guests with Allergies This resort is heavily pet-friendly, and animals are part of the experience. If you or your family have allergies to cats, dogs, or farm animals this is definitely not the place for you. Final Verdict Manas Resorts delivers on food and friendliness, but falls far short on room value, hygiene, and professionalism. Not worth the premium price and certainly not “royal” in experience.

We were excited to visit Manas Resort with petting zoo as that’s probably the only petting zoo we’ve ever heard of (especially around Mumbai) and our 1.5 year old daughter loves animals. The animals at the petting zoo are very well taken care of, their caretakers are excellent. The room (we started at the new wing) was also decent - the bathroom had brand new fittings and very clean overall. But the common areas and the service were terrible. The house keeping team needs multiple reminders on simple tasks! Our room wasn’t swept well before check in which was disgusting. Neither the water, nor the toiletries or even the bellboy arrive without multiple calls. The check out time is 10 am but not mentioned anywhere and no one even calls or meets you to inform you. The common areas are so poorly maintained. For a place that attracts kids more than adults, the high chairs were dirty! The crockery, cutlery were all dirty! No one even pays attention to what the guests want even at the restaurant. The breakfast buffet was a joke. If the place has to survive, they really need to up their maintenance game.

We stopped for a snack break from Mumbai to Nashik. Mr Shantaram and Ms Gospel were very courteous during restaurant service. The ambience is good. The food was also good. The place is a good pitstop. We have also stayed here a few times. It could do with some more greenery and shade.