R King
Google
Such a strange visit, we felt we were a burden and very unwelcome, why was our booking accepted at all?
First the pluses - the staff were lovely with special mention to security/shuttle driver, the reception man and coffee shop lady - sorry we can’t remember names but they really tried to assist us.
We visited to rest and see the fireflies etc and staff were kind enough to organise a shuttle to the jetty. First the hotel ran a shuttle, then the shuttle was 30MR but then there was no shuttle on Tues or Weds. It took an age to clarify our plans and although it worked out it was all just confusing! So much so we gave up any thoughts of visiting the Sky Mirror.
To be fair there were significant language barriers but we were treated like children being sent to our room and told No a lot.
Breakfast, we were late so it was kindly bagged up for us, but we weren’t allowed to eat at a table although supposedly the coffee house come restaurant was open pretty much all day. Our room had no table and one tub chair so we ate sat on our bed with plastic cutlery and water to drink. The tables outside had no shade and were too hot. During the day there was just nowhere to relax, no lounge area, no bar and too hot for outdoors so we were confined to our room. In the evening we went to dinner at 7.30 after being told the restaurant was open until 10pm and we were promptly told it was shut and we had to have room service. After refusing a second meal in our bedroom, we were allowed to eat in the restaurant.
The menu is the same lunch and dinner and very limited. As we were the only guests day 1 we were asked to choose from a choice of three breakfast, not a problem but 3 more guests checked in so we were messaged to say it would be buffet. Also not a problem but nothing we were told stayed static. The breakfast day 2, everything on offer was cold. We had been left two omelettes - cold obviously, and open to any flies to land on - as was much of the food. It was grim. It would surely have been easier to cook something fresh to order, save food waste and make us feel like we were guests not a hindrance. Also not a huge thing but western guests should know this is a Muslim hotel with no alcohol served.
We did use the pool but had to ask for towels - by the time they came, we had given up waiting, swam, changed and gone out - they arrived about 3 hours after we requested them.
We asked for a shade at the pool but told ‘we don’t provide’ so the pool area was completely unusable until early evening.
Our room though large was extremely tired, the air con dripped all over the floor, spat ice cubes occasionally but as we were only allocated one towel each we couldn’t clear up the mess. Sink tap moves freely, rotten wood, dirty bath mat and more. We’d have over looked all this, knowing it’s a 3* hotel but it just added to the misery.
Our stay began as something quaint, even a bit funny, and we put things down to cultural differences, but the reluctance to allow us to eat in the coffee shop/restaurant (two out of three meals), the lack of anywhere we could relax, the absence of any other guests and subsequent changes to meal arrangements meant our stay was not enjoyable. I would not recommend this hotel at all, next time, I’d take a day trip from KL.
