Draii Chalet

Staff were friendly, but the boss was arrogant and unfriendly, speaking as though we were desperate to stay. We had no choice, and had to pay extra for an extra bed and shower. One of their generators broke down, leaving us without electricity during the day, from morning until evening, so we had to keep the door and windows open. I remember the owner saying they wouldn't sell to locals because locals have bad habits and cause trouble. The service here was poor, and I won't book again. Think carefully before booking.

The whole room smelled, the towels stank and were only fit for the floor, and there was mold on the walls. The room had no wardrobe or washbasin, and electricity only came on at 16 o'clock. They apparently don't know what toilet paper is, either. If this were the only hotel on the island, I'd rather give up the holiday. Staying in these conditions isn't fun.

I had few options, so I booked this for 130 ringgit in high season, directly by phone. The beach is nice enough, but there's not much else I'd recommend. My small ground-floor room was a moment's walk from the beach down a mouldy corridor. It had a double bed, side table, air con, one bedroom window that stayed slightly open behind a curtain, and power for two devices. The attached bathroom had a shower and toilet together, no basin, but a low faucet and toilet paper. There were two towels, and the bedsheet looked okay. Things I missed: WiFi, power by the bed, and someone in charge who cared or could speak English. The room was dirty and smelled a bit mouldy, with ants ready to find any food, and no shortage of bugs and lizards. Generator noise was a problem. It got very dark when the electricity went off, usually from 1 - 4pm and 6pm - 8am. The beach gets busy and has a fair amount of dead coral, but the loungers set out by other chalets are nice if nobody has claimed them. They're taken in before 8pm. Keep walking and you can reach two more mostly empty beaches, one with a dive centre. Tuna Bay next door is quite pricey; Nia's farther down the beach is cheaper, with maybe one other option beyond it. Lots of people offer diving and scuba packages, though I didn't see many people by the signs, so I guess you have to ask around. You can rent scuba gear on the beach at the D'Raii "reception", apparently 10 ringgit per item, but some fish seem to nip you.

This is a very basic place, probably suited to backpackers on a budget who don't mind a bit of adventure. The bathroom was clean, the hot water worked, the air conditioning was fine, and there was somewhere outside the room to hang wet clothes. The people at reception were friendly. I came in February during the off season, so a lot of the drawbacks may apply mainly at that time. There was no WiFi or mobile network here, though we got good network and 4G on Hotlink maxis when we went closer to Barat/Perhentian Island resort. Power was available at night but not during the day. If your room is at the far end of the chalet, generator smoke might bother you. The room had a spring mattress, which could make sleep difficult if you're a light sleeper. There was a gap under the door for insects to crawl in, and the rooms could be cleaner. No lobby meant nowhere to leave luggage, no water was provided, and there were no restaurants nearby, so we took a boat taxi for all three meals. There weren't activities nearby either, so we had to travel to another resort for kayaking, scuba diving and snorkeling. Boat taxis to this place could be hard to find. One evening after dinner, we struggled to get a water taxi back. If you visit Pehrentian Island in the off season, it may be better to choose somewhere with activities close by.