Hotel Intan Jugra

The heater didn’t work. When I asked the owner about it, she said she could have her maid collect hot water from the dispenser and put it in a container for me to bathe with. I’d paid full price for the most expensive room, so that was not acceptable. I could do that by the roadside and wouldn’t need to pay that much for the biggest room. One of the worst hotels I’ve stayed in.

The room had a flat-screen TV and proper hot water for the shower. It wasn’t one of those dangerous electric heaters inside the shower stall. The place was very clean, modern-looking, and reasonably priced, and the staff were nice and spoke good English. No breakfast, though.

For RM98 a night, Intan Jugra gave me a big room, and there was no deposit. The night before, I’d stayed at Redbrick, a budget hotel with bare red brick walls and no window. Its room was barely bigger than a queen bed, but it cost RM90 and required a RM200 deposit. That stay felt like a nightmare, more like being in a tiny store. Redbrick Hotel Banting’s owner shouldn’t think only about profit.

The room was clean and looked fairly modern, with the basics you need. For someone just wanting a comfortable place to sleep, it’s more than enough. Walk-in guests get a cheaper price.