Malihom — Hotel in George Town

I’d been aware of Malihom for a few years and on paper, it’s just the sort of place I’d choose to stay at in a heartbeat … slightly off-the-beaten-track with interesting features like its salvaged Lanna teak rice barns. It’s a privately-run estate - a retreat from the hustle and bustle of urban living.||||I was prepared for a slower pace at the retreat, the outdoor bathrooms (the bedrooms have a toilet and a sink, but bathroom/showers are mostly out the house and down a flight of stairs), the bugs and chance of wildlife encounters from the surrounding plantation.||||So far so good. ||||It is however, not suitable for anyone with mobility issues as most of the barns require a fair amount of climbing up and down stairs, often in semi-darkness with few handholds. We visited with my parents, both in their 70s and all the climbing up and down just to have a wash became a bit much for them.||||The dark teakwood makes it very difficult for anyone to spot obstacles. Guests are requested to remove shoes on entry into the barns and with the low light, creepy crawlies (and there will be some) are hard to see. That’s where my husband got stung on the foot by a dying wasp which was very painful.||||Another disappointment was the food, which was boring and repetitious. We stayed 3 nights, and had breakfasts and dinners there. The cook’s repertoire was poor - we had the same breakfast twice in 3 days, and a repeat of dishes between the first and the final night’s. ||||We had contemplated staying all day in the retreat and having our lunch catered too, but were informed by Zaki the front desk reservations manager on our first day that the kitchen didn’t have enough food to supply us with that meal. ||||While many reviewers keep going on about how remote Malihom is, if you have your own vehicle, you’re not really very cut off from any part of Balik Pulau or even Penang for that matter. It was just as well we didn’t have any lunches at Malihom because we probably will have been served dishes not dissimilar to what we got at breakfast and dinner.||||We’ve stayed in other luxury home stays (and at Malihom’s cost, it has to be held at that level) in Malaysia, and had previously had simple, yet delicious home-cooked meals - the Balik Pulau area is agricultural, with seafood, fruits and vegetables in abundance, but what we got were processed, deep fried frozen gyozas (twice!) for dinner, a lot of chickpeas and a lot of eggs in various forms (they have a chicken coop on the estate, so the eggs are fresh).||||Some other issues are out of the control of the estate but need to be highlighted - we seemed to be staying during a period of heavy maintenance in the nearby farms and plantations below the hill. There was the incessant sound of strimmers and leaf blowers during our time there, so it was not very peaceful. ||||And the estate seemed to be having an issue with the electric grid in the area. The barns we stayed at kept tripping even on dry nights, so I was woken up in the middle of one night as electricity had been cut off in both my parents’ and my barn - which I had to go sort out. SF, the estate’s manager had anticipated this and showed me where the breaker was earlier in the day. ||||There are no staff on duty after dinner has been cleared - the estate’s staff live down the hill near the “Foothills” section of the estate, so if you’re on your own in one of the barns on top of the hill, you really are on your own.||||Kitchen and dining room staff kind of pressure you to have as late a breakfast and as early a dinner as you can, so they don’t have to start too early or end too late. And despite the estate being “non-smoking” for the guests, the cook was pretty much a chain smoker and the smell of cigarette smoke creeping into our barn was quite annoying.||||The 2 pools in the estate are superb - the lap pool at the top of the hill and the more “natural” pond-like pool near the Foothills co-living spaces at the bottom of the hill. I’m not opposed to a return to Malihom as it does have its plus points, but at the kind of price it charges, I know a more satisfying “rustic” experience can be...

The staff were alert and friendly, very helpful. I've made 2 trips here, once in 2019 and the second time was this weekend. The first visit I stayed at the Khanun barn and this time at Aloun. Both were similar in amenities and structure. Khanun was slightly larger and the deck was more spacious. I preferred it to Aloun, but not by too much. Aloun is still a pretty good choice if Khanun is unavailable. They both have a bathtub and king sized beds with hammocks on the decks. Khanun's deck has a more unobstructed view and the room is larger. Water heater has to be turned on like a half hour in advance for you to get enough hot water to fill the bathtub, but I don't mind. Just turn it on before dinner and when you're back, it's all good. The tub in Khanun back then had a leaky plug so water was still slowly draining away even with the plug pushed down. Aloun's tub during my latest trip had no such issues. But the wooden blinds were kinda broken and we couldn't roll it up to enjoy the view. Hope these little things can be given a little extra attention by the maintenance crew.

While other guests seem to have struggled with mosquitoes, I was attacked by a cicada haha. No mosquito woes for me though. Ants, aplenty. Yes, I would love it if there weren't any insect troubles to begin with, but if you want to be away from the city and bask in nature, insects come with the package. That's how the ecosystem works. You want forestry, you must have birds, and birds need insects. Circle of life.

I would actually rate this place 4.5 instead of a full 5 if I could. Mainly because of the food situation. I booked the romantic escape package which comes with dinner, and all bookings have a complimentary breakfast. On top of that, I ordered a birthday cake. Everything except the birthday cake tasted great but I wished there were more meat dishes and ingredients. Also if we could have chosen the menu or cuisine, that would have been better. For foreigners, namely Westerners, they might want the Malaysian homecooking experience, which is what MaliHom provides. But for Malaysians, it was a little disappointing to come for a "romantic escape" and be fed curry chicken and vegetable stir fry. Breakfast was also meatless. Delicious scrambled eggs and chickpea/spinach thing, but I would appreciate some ham or bacon on my plate to start my day. And why this is such a big issue is because of how difficult it is to drive down the hill and back up just to go looking for food elsewhere. I also don't want my relaxation interrupted by a trip into balik pulau heat/noise/traffic/dust.

All that said, come here for a break from the city and to just be able to sit around aimlessly without guilt. There isn't anything to do except walk about taking in the view or chill in the hammocks/tub reading etc. So if you are looking for anything to do except relaxing, this ain't it. This place is a reset button for the pains of adulthood. Which is why people should probably not bring young children along. My recent visit was wrecked by noisy kids running about and exploring too near our barn at 9am. Too near our open air bathroom. Came all the way uphill for some peace and...

This resort sits atop a hill. Access to the resort is only by car. Recommend getting a skilled driver to drive up the narrow and steep road that has a number hair pin bends. |If you don’t drive, hire a regular taxi or contact the resort for other options. || I made a list of the pros and cons of the resort and how you can make the best of your stay.||Pros|- Quiet, peaceful environment with lots of greenery and good breeze |- View of Penang Hill and the South China Sea from afar |- Rooms are on wooden stilted huts with attached toilet . |- Wifi signals are very strong in the room and the compound |- Every room has a view of either the rising or setting sun |- Manager (Sheau Fung) was very helpful . She created a group chat for guests and staff to ensure requests are attended to promptly. Our experience had been good ( responses were in seconds).|- There are no staff on the premises from 9pm to 7am but there is no real need for them unless you are locked out of your room |- Bottled water are provided in rooms,and empty bottles are topped up when returned |- Amenities : electric kettle, coffee/ tea sachets, safe |- There is a common room with TV and baked/ card games. |- Infinity swimming pool |- Dinner / breakfast are simple and the menu is pre determined by chef |- My travelling group was attended to by a very cheerful staff Toffazel ||Cons |- This is not a resort for people with mobility issues as you will need to walk on stoned paths and steps |- The bathroom with WC is located one level down from the room. |- While the area is lit at night but not |- Rooms are a bit dim |- Bed in the Queen size room fills up almost the whole room with limited space to walk.|- En-suite toilet is tiny (0.8m in length ! ). There is hardly space to move once inside. |- There are no hand towels ( only bath towels) , no hand soup ( only shower gel and shampoo) provided |- Mosquitoes are visibly flying around from 4pm till evening. |- If you are looking for massage - sorry no such services||Recommendations |- Make sure you have a skilled driver driving you to the resort . There aren’t signages along the narrow path to the resort . |- Bring your own toiletries |- Bring mosquito repellents if you attract mosquitoes |- Use a torchlight when you are out in the evening ( for dinner ) . |- Recommend to take the dinner at the resort, otherwise you will need to get down the narrow and steep road and back |- Ask for King room which has more space to move around and comes with a king sized bed. Attached toilet is still tiny though! |- For families, you can ask for a family into which has King sized bed and 2...