Minimalist Poshtel & Suites — Hotel in Delhi

Booked through Agoda with free cancellation. Hotel charged me multiple times and they did not cancel the charges when I cancelled the reservation. Hotel claimed that they did not charge me despite their merchant name on the charges. Hotel was slow to respond to messages or emails and did not work to fix multiple charges and seemed to not want to help fix the problem until I got Agoda involved. After Agoda told me the hotel was responsible for issuing the refund, the hotel stopped acknowledging my messages on Agoda.

They only responded days later when I posted this negative review. Then as "proof" they had sent my refund, they sent me two "screenshots" that I could not open on any of my devices (no file extension). When I pushed further, they sent me a screenshot of an internal email asking someone to contact the bank as proof the refund has been 'initiated'. Not exactly proof. Anyways, made and cancelled the reservation on Oct 19, it's now Dec 1 and they have not refunded the money. Nitin, the manager, must be incompetent or checked out. He emails me updates but still no refund. It does not take a month and a half to issue a refund for an 'accidental' charge. Makes me think the multiple charges were not an accident at all.

In December, he emailed me once to ask if I got the refund, I said no, and the next day Agoda was telling me Poshtel said they issued the refund. Clearly they don't read emails or he has no problem being dishonest or he cannot understand what I wrote. In the end, I never got a refund from Poshtel or Agoda. Thank goodness the credit card company was able to dispute the transaction. Needless to say, the dispute went easily due to the magnitude of their incompetence. 50+ emails with Agoda and Poshtel went nowhere because this place has scammy poor behavior.

If this is how they manage a billing issue, I'm certain that staying at the hotel will be a bad experience. Nitin, you are a horrible manager and should get a different job not dealing with customers. Poshtel, figure out who goes around charging cards willy-nilly. Reader, that's you, avoid this hotel and...

The good The reception and lobby decor is good and well maintained. It gives the European or youth vibe when you enter the hotel. Compared to other buildings in the area, this building is well maintained exterior. Breakfast area has a good ambiance but it is located in the next building. Room was clean and organized while check in. Balcony has a nice peaceful vibe if you want to chill. They have good quality body wash, hand wash and lotion.

The bad They are very strict on their check in and check out timings. They aren’t even slightest flexible to accommodate customer’s requests. I wanted early check in but was refused and got the room only at 2pm. Next day when I was 15 mins past 11am, I get a call from reception saying if I don’t check out immediately, I’ll be charged late charges. I had to bring my things to the reception to finish up packing. Staff is not well aware about the rooms. When I asked one staff about the water heater, he came to my room and upon not able to find the button, he said it should be ON itself. When I took the shower, it was ice cold water. During check out, when I complained about this, the staff that time told me there’s a switch right behind the plug (photo attached). The plug is so big, it covers the entire button and cannot be switched on. There is a major network issue in the hotel. Depending on your network, you’ll have minimum or zero range (photo attached). Their WiFi is also weak. It takes time for your msgs to load or send. The table they have fashioned in the room is impractical. When you use your laptop on it, the table bends and you feel like the table it gonna fall along with your laptop. It has no support. Washroom interiors are worn off. Walls look dirty and pealed off cause of leaking. Location is not that convenient. Autos and cab drivers will refuse to come to drop you till the hotel cause the street is highly populated. They will drop you around 500m away from property near Deer Park Gate. Same goes for when you need to take an auto or cab.

My review is based on my stay...

First time staying at Minimalist Poshtel: they are understaffed, and the staff that is present is completely clueless about the basic principles of hospitality. I was assured that I’d be able to check in at 12 over phone and via text. When I arrived at the property, I was told that rooms are not available and I’ll have to wait for 2 hours but they’ll put in up in a different room for the time being. After a while, they moved me to “my” room – which was full of cigarette smoke. I protested and the management told me that the previous occupant is responsible for this and I can wait till it clears out, or he can move me again. I asked him to move me again and then the 3rd room I was taken to was still being cleaned – I stood at the door for half an hour waiting, then when I finally entered the room there were mud marks on the floor and flies. Deeply unsettled, I asked them to figure this out and their solution was to move me to their adjacent property in a room that costs less than what I paid for. The managers claim that they’re only interns and blame the higher management that’s off-premises and difficult to contact. Who is managing this place? You’re simply scamming people if you’re asking people to pay over 4K a night (at the time of my stay, Taj was charging 4.5k for standard queen room, Roseate was charging 3.5k, Hyatt was charging 4K), and providing sub-par service, facilities & hospitality that one would expect from shady Mahipalpur or Paharganj joints. It’s been a day and the actual manager hasn’t bothered to even contact me. I’m still here and they refuse to refund the advance I’ve paid so that I could move to a hotel that actually cares about its guests.

My advice to you: don’t even consider it. If you’re paying a grand a night and don’t mind the noise and bad service, sure. But if you’re paying upwards of 4K a night, you’ll find a lot of other options in Delhi that actually know how to make things work. Do yourself a big favor and get an actual hotel – this place is a sorry...