Gentari Homestay

The service was practically nonexistent. Our room never got cleaned despite us asking several times, and we ended up missing our ferry because the cab driver the hotel arranged stopped answering our calls on the day he was supposed to take us to the port. We’d booked that cab for east and west tours as well as the port drop-off. The rooms and bathrooms are tiny. There was mold on the curtains, a broken toilet seat, and the AC ran but didn’t cool the room. Their breakfast menu didn’t amount to much beyond toast and egg. We asked if they could arrange fruit for a fruit platter, but got nowhere. They also kept burning something behind the cottages, and we breathed in the smoke for a whole day.

The workers were friendly and helped arrange scooters at a fair price, and the pool was clean and well looked after. The bamboo bungalows, though, really should go, along with the dead restaurant out front. We stayed one night in a cheaper bamboo bungalow and I wouldn’t recommend it. The walls are woven bamboo, so smoke from a neighbor’s cigarette on the terrace came right through and made the room smell like a 90s bar. Bugs got in just as easily: we had two cockroaches, three millipedes, a giant gecko, several kinds of spiders, and loads of mosquitoes during that one night. The guesthouse feels like a shadow of its former golden days. On arrival, the first thing you see is a huge bankrupt restaurant with broken windows, a boarded-up front door, and an overgrown lawn. The guesthouse is directly behind it, reached by a small path on the left.

The staff were very nice and helpful, and breakfast was simple but good. Our bungalow by the pool was okay, but the shower was blocked and the AC was broken. They fixed both after we reported the problems. The homestay seems past its best and the rooms could use renovation. Getting there is a little awkward, since it’s right behind an Indian restaurant.

The room was tidy, comfortable, and nice. I stayed on April 25, and the hotel staff were kind and helpful. The women at the restaurant helped sort out my booking, and one of them quickly resolved the issue. If booking through Booking.com, call ahead to let them know you’ve reserved a room. It’s also worth having cash ready in case the card reader doesn’t work, since the ATM is kind of far away.