Cinnamon Gardens Spices Plantation — Attraction in Kerala

We were on our holiday trip in Munnar, on third day i.e. 14th September 2019 of trip we decided to visit spice garden and shop some spices as well. Our driver took us to cinnamon garden were we paid Rs100 entry fee per person, We are ask to put the phone on silent and in pocket to concentrate on tour. We met the gentleman Mr. Matthew (I am not sure of name) he was extremely knowledgeable and well spoken person to take us around for the spice garden tour. He was connecting with us on personal grounds to build rapport. He showed the coffee plants, cardamom plant, Coco plant and various others spices and we were amazed with the tour.

But all this while he was repeating and insisting on that this plantation is governed by the government, all sales goes the government, choose what you want to buy now because there is lot of medicines and can't explain everything and so on.

We didn't get the reason of him repeatedly saying all these things. Post completion of tour we went to his shop for purchase of spices and he was accompined by a lady, were things started happening at fast pace, we selected few spices and then before making the bill he mentioned once bill is created which is the Manual bill, we have to buy it. Well then we went to another shop which had aurvedic medicine, were he showed us the concentrated liquid for solving issues for hair growth, skin and muscle pain etc. We got some, he was bit pushy but then we needed it too. Hence we took everything for billing. Now we started the billing we asked him how do we pay, he said Cash is the option or online.

Well this is were things went wrong, we asked him if we can pay online which account should it go to, he said it has to transfer to his personal account, and then he said whatever Cash you have you can give and rest transfer to my account. Which did not make sense.

First throughout the tour he mentioned that it is government owned and regulated and second he mentioned that money goes the government.

If it is so then why is cash transaction and personal account transfer is being used. It is has to be digital transfer to governed authority.

On being questioned on showing the proof of being governed by government or any certificate, he became apprehensive and said do you want to take it or no?. And we said we don't want to take it. You should have told that it is privately held and same spices and liquids were available elsewhere in Munnar for lesser price.

We left the place and it didn't end well. I wish if he or anyone giving the tour to tourist should be honest about the tour, it will lead better...

I would give 5 stars to the place , it is so scenic.. with huge mountain guarding the garden.. 4 stars to the guide Mr Paresh who helped us in understanding the spices and othe varieties of plants and herbs.. ( he didn't give us full tour of the garden saying our parents are old so might not be able to walk that far but we all were comfortable visiting) no hard feelings..

0 star to the products they sell..the prices are very expensive and not like what they claim..I am giving this review only after using those...bought items worth 6k plus, but none of the products reached to our expectations... I suggest everyone to please visit the garden but don't fall in the trap.. they will lure you by saying you won't get these high quality items elsewhere but trust me you will get those better than this place..I am truly so very disappointed by tasting the cardamom..he ( Mr. Paresh) said that they won't extract oil and you will get black seed with sweet and strong flavor, but it is not at all the same as quoted or claimed..wish to write more but..... ...

I had a disappointing experience at Cinnamon Gardens Spices Plantation. It seems they primarily focus on foreign and North Indian tourists while neglecting local visitors. The staff initially welcomed us, but their attitude changed once we reached the shop. They were more interested in making a sale rather than providing a genuine experience.

The prices here are heavily inflated—almost 4-5 times higher than what you’d find elsewhere. They justify the cost by claiming everything is natural and manufactured by them, but the pricing is handwritten and seems arbitrary. If you are a local customer, they might not give you the same level of attention as they do to tourists. In fact, if a foreign visitor arrives, they will leave you midway to cater to them instead.

Overall, this place feels more like a business targeting tourists rather than a true spice plantation experience. You can find the same products at much lower...