Hostel Stay: Orchid Haven in Cameron Highlands
Finding a place to stay is always tricky for me. I try to find a balance between cost, comfort, and accessibility. And when I narrow it down to a few places places, I then rely on other travelers reviews. Malaysia in general in a fairly cheap country, especially when it comes to accommodations. There are a few exceptions including Cameron Highlands.
I ended up booking my stay at Orchid Haven, a 5 minute walk from the main bus station. It’s high reviews and cheap price sealed the deal for me. The hostel had been around for some time, you could tell by the pictures on the wall, and the amount of reviews on almost every booking site.
I ended up booking a bed in a 6 room dorm. I usually will pay a little more to not be in an overcrowded room. The best part about the room is that it had little balcony overlooking the street below and the green luscious mountainside in the distance. And that was the only plus to this hostel (other than my amazing dorm-mates), if I’m being honest .
There were 2 things that kind of killed it for me.
THE BED: Like I mentioned, the hostel is a little bit older, so I knew it wasn’t going to be the nicest place. But I always remind myself, I just need a place to sleep. But this by far was the worst mattress I have ever slept on in my life. I honestly feel like I would have been much more comfortable if I slept on the ceramic tile floor. My dorm mates agreed. One of them even took out several pieces of clothes to sleep on to soften the bed.
2. "THE WEIRD MAN:" The staff were nice, but an older man, who I presume is the manager is a little off. And the longer I stayed, I got more creeped and weirded out by him. My dorm-mates and I referred to him as "the weird man" I can't pinpoint, but he would just aimlessly wander around. He even came into our room just looking around and left. It was really weird and uncomfortable. He also wasn't 100% honest. I learned from a girl staying in my dorm room that he tried to rip her off by having her pay the price for the 6 bed dorm and then put her in a room with a lot more beds. After learning someone else in that room had paid less, she demanded to be moved to where she paid for. He obviously allowed her to move. But something was off with him.
“Breakfast” was also included. So why the quote? Because it’s a slice of bread with jam or butter. Mind you, I’ve started to learn that’s what breakfast is at many hostels. So just be prepared to find something a little bit more than a slice of bread if you stay here.
Would I stay here again? Unless I knew all the mattresses were new and semi-comfortable, probably not. There are so many options in Cameron Highlands, I'd say find someplace else.
2 out of 5 stars.
