Lim C.
The owner’s handling of the checkout and a later damage claim made an already disappointing stay worse. We asked to leave at 11.30 instead of the stated 11am checkout, since we had an elderly person and a toddler with us. The owner refused, saying it would delay cleaning for the next guest. We were also told to empty all five room bins before leaving, even though we paid a cleaning fee and had a lot to pack. Given the poor hygiene and maintenance, I suspect the rooms aren’t cleaned properly. After checkout, the owner called and accused us of damaging a comforter, showing a photo with two holes. We’d checked the whole place before leaving and found no damage, and explained there were no holes while we used it. The owner demanded RM200. We hadn’t paid a deposit, so we argued the accusation could be false. The owner threatened to report us to booking.com and blacklist us. I’m writing this Google review to warn people and am reporting the owner’s behaviour to booking.com. The stay was expensive for this service. Next time we’d rather stay in a 5 star hotel. We were there for three days and two nights last week with family, including a toddler and elderly relative. The homestay looked different from the booking.com photos and Google reviews. The rooms were old and poorly maintained. Dust covered the sheets, and the mattress was worn out and sagged; I could feel the springs and hear them, so nobody slept well, including my toddler and grandma. The room doors in this five-room penthouse were loud when opening and closing, waking my toddler and making him cry. The three-storey penthouse also had damaged stairs with holes between the steps, patched over with tape, which seemed dangerous for elderly people and toddlers. There was no body wash or hair shampoo, only hand shampoo, despite the place having five bathrooms. The kitchen wasn’t hygienic either: I saw cockroaches next to the sink and had to sterilize the milk bottles again because I was worried the roaches had touched them. I believe frequent cleaning would have prevented this. There was cigarette smoke on the balcony too, and I suspect the owner hadn’t arranged a cleanup before we checked in. There were no ceiling fan remotes anywhere in the penthouse, only wall switches for on and off. The owner said previous visitors had stolen the remotes and didn’t want to replace them to avoid more going missing. At night it was cold, and we couldn’t control the fan speed. The mattresses should have been replaced too.
