CoralView Perhentian BlueStar

The turquoise sea is beautiful, and the view gets four out of five from me. The beach right outside has coarse sand and lots of dead coral, so walking barefoot hurts. A five-minute walk takes you to Perhentian Island Resort (PIR) beach, with soft sand and good snorkeling. You can spot turtles just offshore there. The room was in poor shape. I stayed in the Premium Beach View Suite, and the air conditioning barely worked in either room, making it very hot in the afternoon and at night. Water pressure kept changing, there was a cockroach under the sink, one side of the old bed sagged, and the pillows smelled. Food options were very ordinary, and there is no alcohol on site. Service was mixed: about half the staff seemed cold and disengaged, though a few attentive people really tried to help. It feels like the resort hasn't been updated in decades. With this level of neglect, I can see why tourists might choose neighboring countries like Thailand for a beach holiday.

A quiet place with nice people and good food. The nights were peaceful, just right for us. Aqua shoes help on the beach, though you can manage without them. There's no ATM on the island, so bring cash. You can pay by card too, but there are extra fees.

It's embarrassing to see locals treated like an afterthought in our own country. The double standard is obvious: foreigners get attentive service, while local customers don't. Even pineapple fried rice comes differently, served in half a pineapple for foreigners but just dumped on a plate for locals. The Bangladeshi and Pakistani workers were the only staff who consistently treated locals with respect. Some of the Malay staff seemed more focused on impressing foreigners than serving their own people. Management needs to fix this. The bias is unprofessional and reflects badly on the business. Every customer deserves equal treatment.

We only stayed one night, but it was the worst part of our trip. The room was filthy, with spider webs all over the ceiling and a dirty fridge. The air conditioner leaked onto the floor all night and stained a cushion. The main door wouldn't lock, so we had to leave it open. When we came back in the evening, there was no water, so we couldn't wash or flush the toilet. We spent an hour looking for the reception number and then tried calling, but nobody answered. The next day, we told the manager Farida what had happened. She laughed in our faces and offered no solution. Then she raised her voice and banged her fist on the reception desk because she didn't like us complaining about the service. Avoid this hotel.