Empire Hotels & Resorts

I paid RM 353 per room per night, RM 2,826.40 altogether for two rooms over four nights, and found the rooms dirty. There were cobwebs, and one of the beds hadn’t been made. Reception was unattended when we arrived, and we waited a long time for anyone to show up. I won’t stay here again. Agoda should remove this hotel from its listings.

We decided not to do our laundry here. The manager first quoted 20 MYR (€4) for one bucket, already quite a lot, then asked for 120 MYR (€24) when we brought two. The second bucket wasn’t even half full, and he wouldn’t discuss the price. The original quote seemed to have vanished. After reading the other laundry reviews, we were glad we left without washing anything. Avoid this place for laundry. Check the other reviews to see the pattern. Samudra Chalet charges 20 MYR.

The one thing going for this resort is its position at the far end of the beach, which gives you a bit more privacy. Filth and loud music spoiled even that. We spent four days here in July 2025 and would tell people to stay elsewhere. There are cleaner resorts nearby that cost less and have staff who can communicate. On arrival, the property looked neglected, with unfinished buildings, scaffolding and rubbish around. No one greeted us at the place called reception. A man in a small booth that also served as a bar was watching videos on his phone with the sound turned up. That noise kept disrupting the atmosphere throughout our stay. He was our only contact at first and spoke no English, so even checking in meant using Google Translate. We arrived about an hour early and politely asked to check in, but he made us wait until 2 PM without giving a proper reason. It felt like an excuse to sell us juice. Our sea view apartment was dirty, and the sheets were stained and torn. The bathroom was worse, with hair and body hair everywhere, especially in the shower, a strong sewage smell, a broken cabinet and a mirror that seemed dangerously unstable. We cleaned the worst of it ourselves. The shower had weak pressure and no hot water. When we complained, the man said he’d look at it the next day, then went back to his videos. The next day he said a part had to be ordered and would arrive the day after. We weren’t allowed to change rooms. Other couples also had to wait until 2 PM with no staff around. On day three, more staff had arrived, including someone who seemed to be the manager. We could finally explain the problems in English, but got no apology or useful help. He offered fried snacks and a cocktail instead. After we pushed, he said it was a holiday and repairs would have to wait another day, and promised a new room if the shower still couldn’t be fixed. That was little use on our last full day. We still hadn’t had a proper shower and had been making do with the bidet shower. It was only repaired on the day we left. Before arriving, we’d tried several times to contact the property and got no reply. The automated information also said only three boats left Kuala Besut each day, but boats actually leave every 40 minutes. Only the return boats have fixed times. We visited other places during our stay and seriously considered moving, even if it meant losing our money. We called this place “Empire Disgusting & Resort.” Save your holiday and book somewhere else.

The only thing I liked was the beachfront location. We booked late and this was the only place available, which now makes sense. The hotel is old, dirty and poorly kept, with rubbish around and no room cleaning during our stay. The rooms are badly equipped, too. A booking mistake meant we were charged double even though the room was still available, and management wouldn’t help. Food costs about twice as much as at other island restaurants. At checkout we asked for help with our luggage and were told there’d be an extra charge, even though other hotels provide that basic service for free. Management clearly doesn’t care. This was the worst hotel I’ve stayed in.