Belum Rainforest Resort

“A Mixed Experience”

We stayed here in a ground floor ‘Chengal’ room for two nights as part of a short group visit. Our overall experience was mixed, but we left feeling we would like to return, but in a different category room. First the positive comments. The resort location and scenery are without doubt stunning, w… more

We stayed here in a ground floor ‘Chengal’ room for two nights as part of a short group visit. Our overall experience was mixed, but we left feeling we would like to return, but in a different category room. First the positive comments. The resort location and scenery are without doubt stunning, with views over the water to jungle covered mountains. The resort is also quiet (we did not hear any traffic noise, which other reviews have mentioned) and the combination of the views, and the silence make it a good place to simply relax. We took, and would highly recommend, the resort-organised tour by boat which includes some short jungle walks to see the Rafflesia plant, a Salt Lick, and a Waterfall. The walks in the forest are not difficult, but a couple of short sections required use of a rope handrail to negotiate steeper parts of the trails. Our boatman/guide Hafeez was excellent, knowledgeable and very friendly. The entire tour was conducted by speed boat between the locations, and the scenery around the lake en route was just stunning. Sadly we did not see any of the wildlife which inhabits the forest, but Hafeez reported having seen an elephant on the previous day. We also hired resort kayaks, and that too was an excellent and tranquil experience. Now the negatives. We were disappointed with our Chengal room for a couple of reasons. They are constructed of grey concrete, and the interior floors and walls are of polished concrete, which gives a boxy, industrial, unfinished feel. Our major gripe however was the toilet, which opens directly into the bathroom area at the rear of the room, and is not equipped with a solid door - just a shower curtain! If you enjoy privacy when using the toilet, this is not the room for you, unless you are alone. I do not understand why this has been done, but all Chengal rooms are apparently the same. Our second complaint was that when we arrived, the in-room safe was not working, and it took three requests before it was finally fixed 20 hours later. Another major issue with our specific room was the frequent noise from a steel staircase which ran up up the side of the building (our room was ‘end of terrace’) which created loud clanging and clunking noise every time someone used it. We could also clearly hear people moving around in the room above us. Having said all that, the bed was very comfortable, the shower worked well, and the in room amenities - including tea and coffee making facilities - are good. Some instructions for the state-of-the-art TV would have been very helpful. Dining is a mixed experience - breakfast and dinner are served buffet style, and while there is a good variety and selection of local and western food, a way needs to be found to keep the ‘hot’ food warmer - food in the chafing dishes was often cool. Alcoholic drinks are not available or served anywhere in the resort. Cans of beer only can be bought from an on-site vending machine, but have to be consumed in your room, or in a couple of designated outdoor locations (the smoking area being one). They cannot be taken into the restaurant. Having said all the above, overall the pluses outweighed the minuses and we would be happy to return, but not to a Chengal Room. On future visits, we would most definitely book one of the wooden chalets (‘Tualang Chalet’) which directly overlook the lake, have a small balcony equipped with table and chairs, and which have a conventional properly separated bathroom and - more importantly - a toilet with a proper door.

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