Samudra Beach Chalet

Location was great, 2 minute walk from the jetty. We arrived at 7:30am and were able to check in straight away! (We did visit during monsoon season (October) so maybe not as busy). Wifi is only available at the restaurant. Room with no aircon, just fan was good (many fan speed options) cold showers only though. Screens on the windows would be a big plus so you can enjoy fresh air without the risk of mosquitos. They have 2 options for snorkelling trips at good prices (40RM & 50RM) that include snorkel gear. Coffee and breakfast at the restaurant was great! Longer wait for dinner but reasonable. Restaurant is open 8-2 and then 7-9, would be nice if they were open all day (especially if you’re on the snorkelling trip they offer that ends at 1:30, no time for lunch after) as there is only one other place to eat along the beach and I wouldn’t recommend + if you’re catching the early ferry (8am) there is no option for breakfast before you leave.

Why 3 stars ? Because of the super very loud pump noise starting every 30 seconds and I couldn’t sleep (room floor 2 in the building). That’s an issue they could easily solve, I’ll remove this part of my comment if they answer to my comment saying they removed it. You can listen to that sound in the video I post. About the other reviews, let le explain my POV : 1. The cold shower : you’re in a protected area and all hotels run on imported water and the electricity is from gasoline generators, so it’s not in anyone’s benefit to heat the water and waste it with people staying 20 minutes under the shower. It’s on purpose that it’s cold. 2. Insects in the room : The hotel is between the beach and a rainforest. Expect insects or even bigger than insects. 3. Isolated beach : yes it’s isolated from the main “city” of the small island. The fee for using the taxi boat is clear, price double normal rate after 19:00 and triple after a certain time. 4. Cloudy afternoons : it’s a sunrise beach, so be an early bird to watch a magnificent sunrise ! Not much of a place for sunset lovers. 5. Small room and basic amenities : Yes, but it’s a normal price and it’s worth what you get. 6. Not nice staff : it’s the Malaysian culture other people might be struggling with, not this specific hotel staff. 7. The sea is very beautiful and sea life also. But because of global warming of seas and oceans, the corals are sadly not surviving in the shallow waters (they are extremely sensitive to any temperature change). However you can observe black tip sharks (up to 1m50 in length) and many fishes near the rocks at both tips of the bay. 8. There are many disrespectful tourists especially French younglings etc speaking rudely and loudly.

We stayed back in March (forgot to leave a review) and didn’t understand the lower ratings of this place so wanted any other potential visitors to be aware we had a lovely experience! Most places on the beach we have been to throughout south east Asia do not have warm showers - you don’t really need this in summer after spending the day in the sun anyway we found. The staff were all lovely to us including the manager, they just didn’t speak amazing English which may be what past reviewers found ‘rude’? But not an issue at all. Only problem was a very long wait on food in restaurant on one of two nights we ate there, it was very busy though as most tables were full. You get exactly what you pay for and can’t expect much luxury from a chalet on the beach, if you do want a lot more than it’s worth staying in one of the larger more expensive resorts. Thanks for our stay!!

Samudra beach chalet is cheap but this is reflected in the quality of the accommodation which is poor. We had a beachfront chalet which is in dire need of updating. The bed was firm and comfortable but the nylon sheet and one blanket to cover you was not great. The bathroom is a wet room that didn’t drain away & the sink leaks. We had a beautiful beachfront view with two plastic chairs but no where to dry towels etc. It has its own restaurant which was fine, it does not serve alcohol but we knew that in advance. |A big negative for us was the lack of Wifi, we didn’t have any for the whole time we were there and there was no time scale for it to be repaired. Unfortunately there was little to no phone signal either. Although we appreciate there are times it is good to be away from everything, we needed WiFi to book ongoing travel. We ended up going on one of the jungle trails to another part of the island to get connected; the jungle trail we took involved a lot of climbing but it was fun and most people would manage it. |The second main negative was the awful state of properties nearby which looked very run down and were full of rubbish; although we noted there was some work being done on a larger resort so it may well be due to it being the start of the season. So, if you want cheap basic accommodation away from it all then this is for you!

Very basic rooms. Stiff bed mattress, very basic blanket. Leaking taps in bathroom. However very good air conditioning Kitchen is very slow and opens late in the morning for breakfast. We waited 1 hour for fried rice and Malaysian style beef for lunch. Good location, can swim at the beach in front of hotel. Taxi dropped us off at the arwana jetty. From here it is a truck walk, you need to walk through the resort to a dodgy foot path into the back of the hotel. There is a smelly river between arwana and samudra which can be a challenge to cross with luggage.

I recently booked a chalet with a sea view and had a mixed experience. The room itself was good enough and clean, which was a positive aspect. However, the service was just standard and didn't go above and beyond my expectations. One thing to note is that I stayed in three different sea view chalets during my stay, and they were all different. So, if you're considering booking a sea view chalet, be aware that each one may have its own unique characteristics, especially the air-con, room 99 the aircon is directly facing to the bed, and it seems the controller didn't work in all function. I had to wake up every hours to adjust the coolness or turned it off. Overall, it was an okay experience, but I believe there is room for improvement in terms of service consistency and ensuring a more enjoyable stay for guests.

The room looked very clean, but there were cockroaches almost every day during my stay. No hot shower in the room. Easy access to the beach. They also had a restaurant so getting food was easy.

I’ve booked with boat trip, meals and snorkeling and i found they have the cheapest among all. They served the food and the qty given is a lot too! I had a good time with fam here. The water consider shallow and i am not worry when my children snorkeling here. They had clean beach and quite peacefull too. Twice visit and still satisfy for budget staying. Will definitely come back here for longer trip and i like quite and calming beach.