New Vasantashram boarding & lodging house, Mumbai

New Vasantashram boarding & lodging house is a small, old, basic hostel in the more southern part of Mumbai, quite close to the CSMT rail station. It has fan-cooled dorms for either all-male or all-female guests and a small common area with Wi-Fi (drinking water is available). You are provided a bed with a bottom sheet, but no top sheet/blanket/towel unless you hire them for a fee. Basic really is the word for this hostel!

The Location

To walk here from the CSMT station, it will take just fifteen minutes, and it is in a very lively area with many restaurants, shops, street markets, and food stalls mere seconds away. The Gateway Of India will take you about forty minutes to reach by foot, or just fifteen minutes in a tuk tuk. The main road outside the hostel is always bustling with traffic.

Finding the building isn't much of a challenge, as you can look up to see the sign on the third floor of the building, but finding the correct doorway is a little confusing, as there isn't a sign visible as you walk down the street. You go through a corridor with a "House of Greetings" book/magazine stall in it, and that's where you'll find the signs pointing to the stairs to the hostel. You walk up three flights to reach the reception, and your room will either be on this floor or up one more flight.

Rooms and Bathrooms

The dorms are simple with lines of single beds rather than bunks -- it has a military camp kind of vibe. The mattresses are thin and hard, as are the pillows. Each bed has a bedside table next to it, plus power socket. The rooms have high ceilings, so are quite airy, making them not too hot and stuffy when the fans are running.
You do not get a locker, though it is possible to leave valuables at the front desk, and the doors do not lock.

The rooms and bathrooms are cleaned regularly, but suffer from age and this makes them appear dirtier than they are. The floors are certainly clean, but not enough attention is given to the walls and ceilings -- you might find squashed flies on the bathroom tiles and rot in the grouting.

The bathrooms are either squat toilet cubicles, or cup-and-bucket showers. The water is not heated. There are several of each located on each floor, along with sinks and mirrors. There are bars of hand soap by the sinks. There are small shelves and some hooks in the shower cubicles.

Common Spaces

There is one common space in the room with the reception desk, though it is not terribly inviting. This is not a social hostel. The Wi-Fi works only inside this common room. The guests are mostly long-stay locals or Indian tourists.

Summary

Mumbai is an expensive city, and New Vasantashram is sometimes the cheapest option; the prices seem to go up and down online a lot, though. If it's cheap and you fancy a cultural experience, for a night it's certainly bearable, but still not worth the price. We would recommend spending more and choosing a better place with better facilities and atmosphere.