Perfect Hub

The day shift guy was friendly and helpful, and everything else about the accommodation was good. The lady staff, maybe housekeeping, weren't very friendly. They looked at you as if you were criminals.

The accommodation itself was okay. The snorkeling trip we booked through this hostel was a disaster, and I regret supporting this kind of tourism. I'd read about the tours online and expected world class reefs. We chose the Timba-Timba, Mataking, and Pom Pom Island trip because it was said to have the best coral and snorkeling. I've snorkeled in the Philippines, Bali, and Australia, and this was by far my worst experience. Two guides picked my friends and me up at 8am and took us to the harbor. We then waited about an hour for more tourists, with nobody explaining what was going on. While we waited, the guides catcalled and picked on a trans girl walking by. We found that extremely tasteless. Later we boarded with 20 Chinese tourists and a few Western tourists, then spent another 1-1.5 hours driving around the harbor to collect things from different places. Again, nobody explained anything. These delays took about three hours in total. At Timba-Timba, the boat stopped for 30 minutes so people could go onto the island for photos, for a 10 RM fee. We stayed aboard rather than go stand on an ordinary sandy beach for pictures. The first snorkeling spot was heartbreaking: over 90% of the coral was dead, more like a mud puddle than the world class snorkeling we'd been promised. The guides didn't seem to care that people were walking on and touching coral. Nobody explained how to treat marine life. Some tourists went scuba diving, and they and their instructors got so close that their fins kicked the coral. The boat anchor was also dropped straight onto the reef. At Mataking, we only stopped for lunch, after paying 15 RM to visit an island full of tourists posing for Instagram, with a filthy toilet and basic chicken and rice in plastic boxes. Watching locals throw their rubbish into the ocean was difficult. Pom Pom Island wasn't any better. The company releasing this tour should take responsibility, but I don't know its name because we booked through the hostel. I wish we'd known more before taking part. I'm pretty sure most companies offer this kind of tour, so skip it if you want to spare the environment.

The room and facilities were fine. There was a water dispenser and a small breakfast of bread, peanut butter, jam, and instant coffee. Staff were polite and ready to help. But the water stopped working during my three-day stay. I only had one proper shower, on the first night. After that the flow got weak, then stopped altogether. Staff told me to wait about 10 minutes, but it never came back. I had to wash with very little water and go elsewhere to shower on my last day. In the morning, guests were also using the toilet with no water to flush. It was that bad.

I felt safe and comfortable the whole time. Nearby there are restaurants, fruit shops, and a massage place, and it's an easy 10-13 minute walk to the wharf. They offer free water refills and have a large bathroom area for washing and drying clothes, plus a balcony. I really liked this place, even though I stayed just three nights.