Bujang Lapuk Hostel

‼️DON'T BOOK‼️ We paid for two private rooms, but on arrival the host said only one was available, or we could use dorm beds. He said that if someone else showed up, we’d have to share our room with strangers. Yet we could see other rooms sitting empty. It felt like he just wanted us gone. We looked at the reviews later and got the impression this happens regularly.

The beach setting is lovely, but the stay itself was awful. We arrived at 11pm and nobody was there to check us in. The supposed 24/7 desk clearly wasn’t staffed. There were no guests or staff around, and in the dark the hostel was hard to find because there were no lit signs by the main road. After waiting more than an hour, we tried the room doors and luckily found one that was open and made up. It had no towels, toilet paper, or soap. We got no reply on WhatsApp or booking.com. I told the manager in the morning how frustrated I was. I was wearing a bikini top after being at the beach, and even after I asked him several times to show respect, he wouldn’t look at my face while I spoke. He kept letting his eyes wander. I felt extremely uncomfortable and wouldn’t recommend this to women traveling alone. Management was rude and very poor, the bed was hard, and breakfast was small.

A simple hostel right on the beach, with clean, comfortable rooms and an indoor toilet that was fine. The other toilets and showers outside looked abandoned. The beach was great, with coral close by and no current while I was there, a nice spot to relax. There’s a marine life research Center in the next town that’s interesting and free to enter. I had no reservation and paid almost half the online price in mid September.

The owner seemed nice, but was disappointed when I decided not to stay. The place looked a bit run down, and the water wasn’t on at check-in. I wouldn’t book through Hostelworld because the owner can’t see those reservations and prepare for you. There isn’t much happening nearby, though there’s a nice beach not far away. The Google Maps pin is slightly off; the hostel is just behind the mechanic shop by the bridge. It’s very quiet, and I was the only guest. Could work for one night if you’re passing through and only need the basics.