Sapo Karo Rest House

There’s no aircon or fan, but that was fine with the temperature around 18 degrees. The room is decent, with a bed and toilet, and both the room and toilet were kept clean the whole time. They also have a nice view.

The guesthouse sits right by the main road, and loud motorcycles keep passing through the night. It was really hard to get a proper night’s sleep.

We travelled over four hours to Berastagi, then another three to Medan the next morning. The trip felt like a total waste of time, and I really wouldn’t recommend this hotel to tourists. We left first thing in the morning without climbing the volcano. Our taxi driver let us into the hotel, but no manager or staff greeted us. We felt shunned into our room and unwelcome. Nobody smiled or even said hello, which is no way to treat tourists. There was no water provided, and no shop close by. The bedroom was filthy, with a dirty headboard and black marks all over the toilet. We had planned to climb Mt Sibyak, but our guide didn’t meet us the night before, which seemed strange. Then we learned there had been landslides, a serious health and safety risk. A guide should meet you beforehand and explain what you’ll need and what to expect for the hike. I’ve never had service this poor.

There was a call to prayer at 4:45 in the morning that lasted at least 15 minutes, and kids living there could be loud early in the morning. The hygiene in the rooms was not okay. We’d come here after our other place, Villa Ta, was disgusting and full of cockroaches. At first the rooms looked fine, but on the second night we found several cockroaches in ours. There was also a lot of black mould throughout the building, which is a major sign of water damage. The whole place needs a thorough clean and inspection before it’s rented out again. The employees laughed about the cockroaches and didn’t take us seriously. They apparently don’t know that they’re a sign of very poor hygiene.