Bayu Melawi Chalet

The rooms have plenty of space and there’s a TV, and the place is close to the beach. But the shower water smells, the bed smells too, the air conditioning doesn’t work properly, the Wi-Fi connects without internet, and the kettle is rusty. I know it’s cheap and you get what you pay for, but I feel a lot could be improved. You also won’t get 4G here.

The location works well for families, and the staff and owner were quick to answer booking questions and other enquiries. Still, our family day ended badly. We booked 19 of the 20 rooms and came from places as far away as KL, Sabah, and Perak. Some of us had small children, and the heat became too much, so they checked out early. We were lucky to have relatives nearby to stay with; otherwise we would have had to look for hotels in KB. The room smelled and hadn’t been cleaned properly. That was somewhat understandable because we arrived before check-in, and they left a broom in every room for us to clean ourselves. The bigger problem was the electricity. Lights kept going on and off from the evening. The air conditioners wouldn’t cool the rooms and also cut in and out. Around 8:30 pm, several rooms lost power completely. The hall we booked was very hot and unsuitable for activities too. During our BBQ in front of it, all the lights suddenly went out, so we used phone flashlights. This continued for a few hours. Water was fine after check-in, then the pressure got weaker. Around 10:30 pm, it stopped altogether because of the electricity problem. By nearly midnight, we all had to leave the chalet. It was really frustrating. We spoke with management, who agreed to keep only the deposits and waive the rest of the room charges because of the experience. I hope they fix the electricity. I read a review from seven months earlier describing the same issue, so it seems to have been happening for quite a while.

I love this place, especially in the off season, when it feels like you have the whole place to yourself. There’s an adult pool, a kids’ pool, and a shallow stretch of white sandy beach. The BBQ pit is available, and I’d recommend using it instead of trying to find dinner in the dark.

The staff were friendly, the place was spacious, and the property is right by the sea. We rented rooms next to each other for our big family at a reasonable price. I think they were in the process of building an adult swimming pool. We checked out early and left some belongings behind, but the chalet staff kept them for us until we could collect them. They were honest, and we had a wonderful experience.