Keranji Beach Resort — Hotel in Lesser Perhentian Island

The beach is a 5 stars, service is 0 so average is 2 stars. You literally pay for the clear water, beach and the natural environment and we came back for that. Their WiFi is very good(watched the champions league final) works from noon to 15:00 and 19:00 till 07:00. For the rest, well...don’t expect much unfortunately. It was our 2nd time, booked 10 nights(2000rm room only with boats tickets and pick up/drop off airport) and no kind gesture, no special attention, nothing. With covid19 who can have the luxury of having guests for 10 nights?!? Big lack of humanity and empathy. I don’t blame the staff, it’s not their fault entirely because they probably never studied hospitality and it all come from the management. Apparently for them, when we arrived, moving us to another same category room was an upgrade. When we arrived we didn’t have any explanation, check-in didn’t happen at all, no welcome drinks, if you don’t ask for changing the towels/sheets they don’t do it. Cleaning very basic. When the guy told us to move there, I kindly refused simply because it didn’t look better than the other one we booked so I prefer stick to what I paid initially. It was a mistake because since that episode, they got sort of upset and offended. Well, if someone from the management would have explain to me through WhatsApp or simply at the check-in(it’s the purpose of a check-in) maybe we would probably have taken it. After a week, 1night a mouse got into the room. I tried for 30mn to get the mouse out 🙂 it was 22:40 we decided to move to the other room(same category, the one they offered us initially). We were the ONLY guest on that night. The morning after the senior staff(I won’t call it a manager) got upset saying we should have told him yesterday night and that it was disrespectful. Told him it was late and we didn’t want to bother him. Since they manage this place like a backpacking dorm with no rules at all, we were also confident and at ease to tell them the day after... During our stay, after 3 nights, We were also considering to move to a higher room with private bathroom and willing to pay the difference, but we asked for a discount and hoping for a kind gesture...Manager offered 10rm a night! Wow, I counted and it was 3,5% discount! What an insult! We refused and in the end it was empty... too bad for them. Either you say no and it’s fine or you offer at least 10%. I work in tourism so I know very well. All resort here are selling discounted package stay 3 get 1 night free as example. Here they decrease their prices a bit and that’s it. They’re not good businessman and no sense of customer service and relation. If you compare with crocodile villas for example, their direct competitor which are 80-100 rm more for private toilet and basin, better layout and better services. Even their tent is better than their best hut...next time we will come, we’ll certainly go there. This place has so much potential, and could be the best rustic chalet on the whole island. They could also make so much more money with their restaurant too. The menu is wrongly priced compare to restaurants at coral or long beach. They have attempted to create an oven pizza but they never used it. It seems they do it on purpose to not make more money...It doesn’t need so much work. Just some motivation, good sense and smart decision. you’d better to eat at chomel(5mn), crocodile rock(8mn) or alunan(15mn) by walk. The chalet are running down...the wood hasn’t been treated with oil and anti-termites products. Many wooden planks are unstable. The locks and nails are all rusty, the shared bathroom/toilet...no comment. My wife felt on the floor from the hammock and hurt her lower back and bones. Again no empathy except the senior staff guy...don’t hurt yourself there because they don’t know what to do and they DO NOT HAVE AN ACCIDENT INSURANCE. We were about to sue them but since our contracts end in 3 months, we decided not to. I hope some professional investors would one day take over and make this...

I wrote this article about them on my blog Plantbased Dennis.||||Looking for the perfect back-to-basic, tropical getaway with the best vegan food on the Perhentian Islands in Malaysia? And do you want to avoid the crowds of tourists and snorkel between beautiful coral reefs right from your private beach? Then definitely go to Keranji Beach. We went for 3 days, but stayed more than a week.||||There is a good chance that the Perhentian Islands are on your list during your trip through Malaysia. However, you are not the only one who wants to visit this tropical paradise. Makes sense, because (some of) the beaches are stunning, the coral reef is still in reasonable condition, the vibe is relaxed and diving is ridiculously cheap.||||We were looking for the nicest spot, away from the crowds and the touristy circus, with the best beach and very important to us: tasty vegan food. And we found it. Keranji Beach was bulls-eye.||||Hidden paradise||||Keranji Beach is located in an idyllic, quiet, hidden bay. After having seen the rest of the crowded Perhentians, I can say with conviction that Keranji Beach is by far the most beautiful beach of the Perhentian Islands.||||Although you can easily reach the much busier, more touristy Coral Beach via a jungle path in about 10-15 minutes, in Keranji beach it really feels like you are on your own private little island. Because it is tucked away in a corner of the island, hardly anyone comes here who doesn’t stay here. ||||And do you want to go diving on the Perhentians? The brand new Chomel Dive Center is located in the bay next to Keranji Beach, just a 5-minute walk away. You can also get your PADI diving certification for around €210, taught by a knowledgeable, professional team. You can also book follow-up courses and recreational diving for shockingly low prices.||||Prefer snorkelling? Then Keranji is perfect for you as well. The coral reef just in front of your bungalow is livelier and richer than at other beaches on the Perhentians and the bay is full of cute, (harmless) young sharks! Snorkel a few meters further and you will also encounter the (also harmless) adults, as well as many other species.||||The accommodation - back to basic||||Keranji Beach has 10 cute eco-bungalows of different sizes, overlooking the bay and palm trees. They are all basic, but very cozy and beautifully built. The beds are comfortable, the bathroom (with cold water) is clean, the mosquito net comes in handy, the fan provides more than enough cooling and there is a hammock on your porch. Electricity is available in the evening, at night and in the morning.||||The food - vegan paradise!||||Another important reason for us to book at Keranji Beach were the many vegan options on the menu. Plant-based food on the Perhentian Islands is not easy to find… And since you are very remote, it was highly convenient that we could eat decent vegan food at or near our accommodation.||||But we never expected it to be THIS good. The chef is truly a master and together with the hardworking team makes the most rich, tasty vegan curries, noodle bowls, rice dishes and more. Everything with non-vegan and vegan options.||||And in huge portions too! We are big eaters, but these bowls were a task. However, it was so delicious that we were already looking forward to the next meal as we were taking our last bites. We didn't want to eat anywhere else.||||Would you rather not have a heavy, Asian dish every time? They also make delicious (breakfast) pancakes, and on request also vegan. The large plates full of fresh fruit and delicious juices are also delicious.||||The team - exemplary hospitality||||But what really made the stay at Keranji Beach unforgettable was the incredibly warm hospitality of the staff. They work extremely hard all day long, are incredibly helpful, give you personal attention and make you feel right at home.||||I definitely hope to return...

We booked at Keranji Resort for 4 nights at 80 € a night (very expensive for a room like this) at the end of October 2023. In my vocabulary Resort is something completely different anyway this is a tree house accommodation which I already experimented in the past but was not called Resort . Air-conditioning was not provided in the description so we knew about it, but there were 2 fans from the II. World War period were did not even worked at our arrival . We were their last and only guests. We arrived at the resort and just from the sea it looked abbandobded. One person waited us and showed us our Hut 1 which supposed to be the most expensive and most pretty. Well honestly it was a tree house very old construction inside was easy furniting a double bed with a net and a small closet. As the jungle is all around the resort it should have a very good condition for the safety of the guests, instead the roof is full of holes so any bugs, dangerous jungle animals could visit you 😬😬. The bathroom is attached but only built with 2 m concrete from the pavement and opened all around so bigger animals could enter easily. Zero safety!! They built a net around the bed saying that it can protect us, it's not really comforting. We travel a lot and never book luxurious rooms or accomodations, and we don't pretend too much but this place offers you worst condition rooms then a backpacker accommodation and doest not guarantee your safety. The owner was not present because end of the season and at our disposal were 5 men as the staff for everything. We saw the kitchen also was totally opened so can imagine that all kind of bugs can access in it. We informed the owner about our worries and told her that all this can't be seen in the pictures of the website and of the pictures she sent me before booking. Certainly if I have seen an open roofed toilet and all of this wild conditions of the room (holes everywhere) we did not book it. I told her that we refuse to stay and decided to leave immediately, she tried to convince us that nothing can happen there is a net around the bed and so on but the room did not meet the requirements of cleaning either. She told us that can't refund at all which certainly was written in the policy but as we were it's last and only guests it would have been kind to refund at least the 50%, but for sure we don't need any compensation for sorry, but preferred our safety the most. She texted me that she had no time to arguing with me and blocked me at WhatsApp, it's completely rude and unprofessional. I absolutely don't reccomend this place AVOID KERANJI RESORT . We returned to...