Misty Valley Hill Resorts — Hotel in Kerala

Very honest review : Kindly ready fully to get a fair idea.

I had been to this Misty valley with family on Oct 1'st 2022 Saturday and spent 3 night which is till Oct 3'rd and checked out on Oct 4'th morning.

Bottom line : THE PLACE IS OK FOR JUST ONE NIGHT STAY where you check in at say 3 PM in the evening, take a walk in the evening and at night the resort takes you for a 30 to 40 minutes jungle safari where you get to see only Bisons but the forest experience is good enough. After this 40 minute drive they take you for dinner which is a fixed menu - Chappathi with chicken or veg kuruma and Dosa with chutney - THATS IT. Post dinner you are taken back to your room that's the end of the day. There is nothing much to this place. THEY SAY ROOMS ARE POWERED BY SOLAR SUPPLY BUT A MINIMUM OF 20 HOURS IN 24 HOURS YOU WILL BE IN COMPLETE DARKNESS WITH NO CHOICE EVEN TO CHARGE YOUR MOBILE PHONES. Excuses given for this situation by the management are very childish. Also no bills given, you do a google pay or account transfer but no receipts whatsoever,

About the location :

The place (location) as such has a very nice environment and one would enjoy it for sure so is the case with the up and down journey which is Nelliyampathy to Misty valley and back. Very scenic four wheel drive road with amazing views. You are asked to park your vehicle at a government building from where you are taken to this resort uphill which can be done only by a four wheel drive vehicle run by private operators and they charge 1500 one way - so you spend 3000 rupees for the up and down journey and this is not part of your package cost. -this is extra.

About the actual rooms where we stay :

Rooms are neat - no major concerns there. But do not expect a cushy mattress kind of atmosphere. Very low end mattress and bedsheets. I was asked to bring in extra towels for bath purposes as I was told they have issues in getting it dried. They WILL NOT PROVIDE any toiletries (paste, brush, towels etc...). For 2500 PER HEAD PER NIGHT - assume you are a family of 3 which amounts to 7500 per night for a family this place is not cost effective. Cost vs amenities do not tally.

Some concerns which the management needs to address :

They somehow appear reckless (JUST DONT CARE ATTITUDE). Usually there is no afternoon menu and if you want to stay additional day get things clarified with the reception people before you plan the trip. I had a NOT SO good experience with the hospitality and the afternoon food in particular. They promised a little chicken in the afternoon menu which was discussed the previous day and when I sat at the lunch table all I had in the casserole was JUST sambar and beetroot with pappadam. You get a much better option at a roadside eatery. When asked about this with the so called management people they just seem to downplay it and the reason was even funny - the one who was supposed to cook chicken was drunk and hence kindly adjust. This explanation comes ONLY after you ask them. They are happy with people checking in the evening and checking out the next morning as they know they don't have much to offer for people staying even an extra day.

MANAGEMENT NEEDS TO ADD PEOPLE WHO HAVE HOTEL MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE ESPECIALLY IN HANDLING PEOPLE. The current set of people handling this property seem to be more interested in handling daily bills and playing boss with ZERO CUSTOMER...

If you have plans to book their dormitory for a stay at the top of a mountain cut off from the rest of the world by at least 2 hrs of back-breaking jeep trip on makeshift tracks through a forest with animals, here are a few pointers worth noting! Once you survive the backbone torture in a jeep, the dormitory will great you with a basic bed with a pillow and blanket. Consider yourself lucky if your pillow has no mold in it! I was lucky but my friends were not! Adjacent to the bedroom, they have a room piled with junk that includes old furniture, typewriters, books and files; just in case snakes, rodents, or other venomous beings finds it hard to survive outside in the nature! You will be given a casual verbal warning to stay indoors after 6 pm to avoid animal attacks, which is another way of telling you “We don’t believe in precautions like fencing our property to keep off wild animals and if a herd of wild bison or even a leopard comes to pay a visit, we are not responsible.” After you all goes to sleep, who needs electricity, so they will switch it off! At night if you get the nature’s call, you will have to dodge the slugs and the slug poop all around the washrooms. Keep your mobiles charged, (remember no source of light after midnight!) Plastic-free zones are a good excuse for not providing bottled drinking water and it is easier to pretend that glass bottles do not exist or even basic water jugs. They will provide you water which, if allowed to settle, will show you the ‘elements’ of nature at the bottom of these 60-liter bottles. Night safaris, where you are supposed to spot wild animals, will be arranged in a basic jeep where the driver will remind you to carry a very important equipment – a torch! If you are persistent with your complaints, they will give you a better jeep equipped with auxiliary headlights– but for that upgrade you first need to win the ‘qualifying round’ of persistently arguing with the driver. The next day morning, when you go back to their office to give your feedbacks and if you want to talk to the owner on call, be ready to process this line - “Why didn’t you all just vacate the room and leave yesterday itself?”

Yes sir, if you had helicopters, we would have left! Helicopters can wait. For the price we pay you, how about...

If you are looking forward to stay here, let me help with the pros and cons. How to reach? Our trip was purely unplanned. Once we reached Nelliyambathi town area, we called the resort office.we were looking for one day stay. It was 2000 per head which includes stay, food, night safari and a morning trek to a view point. They arranged a jeep for us which costs 3000(to and fro).

Pros 1.The visual treat you that would be awaiting you is worth experience. The 14Km off road jeep journey from Nelliyambathi town to resort is quite exceptional. We saw 3 view points and all of them were mesmerising. Since our luck was pretty high, we saw a cheetah and two elephants as well. The resort staff were really considerate and provides good service. The food is descent. Kind of home made. Rooms are neat and spacious. Night safari is the best of all. We spotted wild bull, hare, deers, snakes etc Morning trek was good though we were troubled with the wild leeches. I felt that the package price (2000 per head for normal cottage stay) is reasonable. The bungalow stay might have a different rate. They provide you camp fire for 1500. They have facilities for grilling ( but you will have to get the meat from town).

Cons. Though the off road jeep journey is a visual treat, you might get really tired. 1 hour in the bouncing jeep might cause you pretty bad headache and tiredness. If you are planning for a gadget free stay, this might be the best option. There is no Mobile network and no wifi. There is a land line in the resort office, but not so reliable. Though the rooms are spacious and neat, you may not find any other amenities. No soap, shampoo and water heater (if you want hot water, we will have to get it from the kitchen). They got us a bath towel and soaps when we asked. There is no much choices for food. It taste good but not many varieties.

Its a descent place. If you are looking for the wildness and wilderness of the woods, its the best option. Heads up---- don't get a false impression that its a luxury resort! You will be...