Pelangi Balau Resort

“I don't care about the resort, but...”

I tell you what brought me to the place. Its the beach an the fish. All of the fish I caught in the pictures are just fished with bread as bait. It is really fun fishing experience. That's what attract me. If you catch fish there, don't forget to practice CnR.

“Thankful...”

Yet another last minute decision to drive to Desaru and naturally over the CNY break, there were no rooms left. Thankfully there's Pelangi Balau Resort with one room left (if u can wait for housekeeping). The reception was working hard to please their neighbouring visitors and we were given our roo… more

Yet another last minute decision to drive to Desaru and naturally over the CNY break, there were no rooms left. Thankfully there's Pelangi Balau Resort with one room left (if u can wait for housekeeping). The reception was working hard to please their neighbouring visitors and we were given our room keys ASAP. So we trodded to the last block and up the second floor to Room 213 and we saw the room still being cleaned (there were underwear, peanuts, plastic wrapper, sand piled by the door). U can imagine what a nightmare it was and my prissy partner of the Four Seasons kind would have died had I not diverted his attention to the light at the end of the corridor - the beach (with its haunting winds). Before the beach was a pool filled with people of every shape and size. I distracted my nausea from the sight before by focusing on the kids' laughter and how a simple slide at the pool brought so much joy, to so many people. Thankful we finally had a room to nurse my migraine? Yes. Thankful for my prissy partner of the Four Seasons kind...hmm not really. Of course the distraction lasted 10 minutes before he stomped to reception to demand a cleaner or cleaned room and all he got was a face staring back at him. When I spoke slowly and nicely to reception about how I needed a room urgently to ice my migrained head and impending nausea, she activated 2 more housekeeping staff to assist. Reception tried their very best with the chaos of checking in and out as well as managing queries from menacing neighbouring visitors (who obviously have no desire to bunk in a Malay-sian resort, as one earlier reviewer unfortunately experienced...boohoo). Thankful my parents taught me manners? Absolutely. Ok, the room is what you'd expect of a 'standard' malaysian resort i.e you get what you pay for. There was the overpowering scent of cheap air freshener in an attempt to freshen up the room but we cranked ALL the windows open and the balcony door and doused the sheets with Gucci. That's routine behaviour anyway...so a quick check around the room proved that it was clean but not clinically clean. The housekeeping auntie was nice enough to say "please check and if you unhappy, we clean and clean again." I wanted to rest asap so I told her thank you and did my own quick Dettol treatment of the bathroom to remove some lizard droppings. Of course, resorts like this have must-use-slippers-while-showering bathrooms but thankful I have a place for a cold shower to nurse my migraine? Most certainly. We woke up early when the kids (it's a family oriented resort, couples or families with no young children are best to stay away, if possible) were still asleep so we managed a quiet stroll to the beach where we saw people camping, right beside the pool. Thankful I had concrete roof over my migrained head....definitely. The pool was clean with no algae and it smelled right (I've been to pools that smell 'off' haha). We walked to the jetty to enjoy the strong winds and brown choppy waters before heading back for the buffet breakfast at the cafe. The cafe overlooked the pool and in the horizon the beach. Breakfast was simple - nasi lemak, mee goreng, baked beans, kaya toast, cordial and tea/coffee. It was simple fare but tasty except for the mee goreng. I couldn't help but chuckle at the state of my partner and I when the kids paraded down to the cafe armed with their swimming paraphernalia - all grins and goggles. I also couldn't help but laugh (and yes, I pointed) at my partner for his constant frown while poking at his mee goreng. He was gracious enough to try the nasi lemak and he did say it was tasty. We couldn't swim coz the pool was packed (you're given a pool ticket during check-in) so we snoozed a little before checking out. When I asked my prissy partner of the Four Seasons kind of his experience he said it was eye-opening and is humbled. As for me, I just felt like we had a crash course in a truly local experience. Thankful for that? Obviously.

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“Relaxed outing”

A nice place to relax with an outdoor swimming and wading pool. Be careful when in the wading pool area especially near the water slide area. You may accidentally kick or trip on the extended concrete railing that protrudes in the water area there. Otherwise, it's a nice place to relax and it faces… more

A nice place to relax with an outdoor swimming and wading pool. Be careful when in the wading pool area especially near the water slide area. You may accidentally kick or trip on the extended concrete railing that protrudes in the water area there. Otherwise, it's a nice place to relax and it faces the beach front. Try to avoid swimming in the sea as thhe whole area stretching from desaru to tanjong balau is noted for its swift underwater current. During the monsson season , from October to January, many swimmers have been drown.

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