Rumah Teman Backpacker

The courtyard and terrace are nice places to unwind, and the friendly staff give the place a homestay feel. Rumah Teman has clean dorms and private rooms at budget prices, plus free Wi-Fi. It’s close to city sights like Lawang Sewu and Tugu Muda. A good pick for backpackers, and solo travelers or couples could enjoy it too. Worth trying if you’re visiting Semarang.

We found newer budget hotels for much less, so this felt like a rip-off. The place has been tarted up, but underneath it’s dirty and run down, with crumbling plaster in the so-called backpacker rooms. I’d like to see the owner’s doctor wife stay in one of those rooms. I doubt that would ever happen. Even for backpackers, it’s a pretty dire place. The owner has a sweet, welcoming face, but when guests complain his replies show a huge ego and come off as arrogant, like he thinks he’s doing everyone a favor. There’s no reception after 9pm. At midnight, we rang the bell for five minutes because we had no blankets and the owner had his headphones on. The staff were slow, too. At checkout they seemed to think they could take our photos for who knows what purpose, even though we had to ask about three times for help with our bags and were unhappy with the stay. The free breakfast was a joke: cheap white bread with a sugary yellow or red sauce, presumably meant to be squeezed on or toasted. I think you need a reality check, my friend. Maybe take a cue from your wife on how to deal with customers and run a backpackers hostel, if that’s what this is, or a homestay. I expect you’ll reply with something to win the argument. We don’t care. As the old saying goes, the customer is always right. Good luck with your endeavours.

Comfortable, great service, and awesome. I’ll come back soon when I’m in Semarang.

The service was nice and they responded quickly, plus it was cheap. I just wasn’t comfortable with the motorcycle parking.