Lucy U.
Google
TLDR: the old YHA traveller and diver vibe is gone. If you enjoy zero communication, binge drinking, chain smoking with French backpackers, and gross facilities, this place is for you, though.
Let me start by saying I had stayed at this property when it still was a YHA, back in December 2024. The hostel was a bit run-down, but it had a beach shack vibe, and it was clean. All the guests were really lovely and respectful.
December 2025 was a completely different story. We arrived at Manta Lodge on the 25th, at the same time as two other travellers who also had a reservation starting the same day, only to find a sign indicating reception was closed for Christmas. The number left for “late check-ins” was disconnected. After waiting in the heat for a while, someone walked past and asked what we were doing there, and whether we’d called the number on the sign. When we said yes, but that the phone was turned off, the person sighed and checked us in.
Inside the hostel, we found the women’s bathrooms on the first floor were utterly unsanitary. I’m talking dirty underwear, toilet paper on the floor and in the sinks, as well as wet wipes around the showers. We decided to make do, since it was the 25th, and thought the staff would take care of this when rostered back the day after. We couldn’t change our reservation anyway: we had booked directly with Manta Lodge, and amendments require you to contact the accommodation directly (so beware to call within opening hours if you still decide to book with them after reading this review).
On the 26th, we saw some backpackers clean around, but the women’s bathroom on our floor stayed the same. I went to take a look at the bathroom on the second floor. That specific bathroom was pristine, as it had been during my first stay in 2024. I suspect that’s because the lodge’s staff are staying on that floor. After an email, management took over the matter on the morning of the 27th and had the staff clean up the first-floor bathroom.
We thought that would be it, but why would our stay go smoothly for even just one out of three nights after having paid $740 in total?
Some backpackers decided to ignore the “quiet hours” signs and started shouting in the hallway, completely smashed. They weren’t outside, or even in the chill-out/common areas, but well and truly in the hallway of the first floor and/or in their room, with very thin walls. When I came out to tell them to quiet down, two men were wrestling just outside our room (which, in their state of inebriety, was unsafe). This was around 11pm; the staff can check the cameras. The following morning, a fellow guest thanked me for intervening — although, again, I believe this should have been the hostel staff’s job.
To add insult to injury, I was blessed to make my morning coffee in a, yet again, disgusting kitchen, including a prawn salad from the night before, as well as a dips platter that had been left out for at least 24 hours. The dishes were uncovered, and as I took a photo, someone (unsure whether it was another bothered guest or a very oblivious employee) informed me the dips belonged to Manta Lodge staff. By that point, I was bewildered and didn’t even bother talking to management again.
Again, all I’ll say is: don’t come here if you’re after a clean bathroom or a good night’s rest before a dive or nature expedition. That’s not the vibe of the place anymore.
