Desa Balqis Beach Resort @ Kuala Linggi — Hotel in Malacca

We came because of glowing reviews on its website. We were very disppointed. While the idea of a resort based on traditional Malay architecture, lifestyle and ambience is great, Desa Balqis’ claim to be a "resort" is fake, almost a scam. No cutlery except for plastic ones. You are not allowed to cook. (We are OK with this).There was a kettle and a grotty rusted fridge with missing shelves. No toilet paper. Granted in the old days the kampung Malays do not use toilet paper. The newer generations grew up with it: cleaning up with toilet paper is simply hygienic, practical and healthier for sewage systems. It is by the sea. Somehow the rough granite steps down to the beach was constructed with no regard to normal tread depth and riser height for human safety. And there were no warnings anywhere of its sub-par construction. Nor were there handrails.You discover this halfway down. Certainly challenging and hazardous for anyone under 6 or above 60. Breakfast is delivered to your chalet. Today we got nasi lemak and some Malay cakes. The rice was not lemak at all and the hot drink was ultra sweet. Difficult to determine whether it was coffee or tea. The "resort' took pains to preserve architectural details, aging, staining and using used timber to maintain the kampung rustic look and texture. But wooden structures are high maintenance and parts are beginning to warp, rot, or show signs of insect infestation. Doors and windows do not close or lock properly and require substantial force. They forgot to add racks, clothes hangers, hooks or pegs in rooms and bathrooms; much less cabinets or shelves. So you literally live out of a suitcase. 6.To the resort’s credit, the grounds are well maintained with ample space for kids to run around. But early mornings and late afternoons outdoors are feeding time for mosquitoes. We were not briefed on this. My tip to future guests: Bring your own anti-mosquito sprays or roll ons. Plenty of hungry aedes albopictus (the dengue bearer) around. Close your windows when you go out lest monkeys raid your supplies and underwear.) There are no in-house restaurant or coffeehouse. At night, the warm, cosy, homely feel of the rooms are destroyed by harsh brutal glare of daylight fluorescent bulbs on the ceiling. One wishes for a more diffused, restful illumination to gather around, to chat or to read. Afterall we are here to relax and unwind. 9.On the second day of our stay no housekeeping was done. Towels were not changed and the floor mat in front of the bathroom has taken the colour of the wood floor. Bottled water was not replenished. These seem petty and trivial if there is a bigger redeeming take-out the "resort" offers. We wanted badly to like the place and excuse the little imperfections. We found none and after a couple of days, we just need to go home and recuperate. Who will be drawn to this " resort"? Urban Malays naturally. Nostalgia, rediscovering -your-roots /your grandfather's house/ Tok Penghulu's house/ Pak Andak's house etc etc. Like a Malay telemovie set : the outer forms are there, nice to photograph. But sadly, the contents are woefully inadequate for what they are meant for. The beach is nothing to shout about: on low tide its a long mud plain and there are better, cleaner stretches not far from the resort. Access to it, as mentioned earlier, is problematic.The above "little" missing things will be a turn off for a lot of Malaysians or foreigners. Does it plan to expand its appeal to all Malaysians and foreign visitors? (Its opening was officiated by the then Tourism Minister in 1995). Is it the "hidden gem" as touted in its advertising? Or a pitiful sinkhole that others have to be warned about. There have been a few negative reviews with the cut-and-paste apathetic replies from the owner. Does he really care? Is there a minimum standard for a property to qualify as a "resort"...

Very bad and lousy experience I ever had for my holiday. We stayed at Rumah Hj Mat Zin that cost us RM 800++ per night but the facilities just like 2 stars chalet or even worst no star at all! Its not a RESORT!

Its understood that you not allowing your visitor to cook but with RM 800 we expecting that u could provide basic amenities at least, eg kitchen utensils, shower soap, iron board/ iron and to the best if u could provide washing machine as well.

House is not well maintained, its okay to use the old kayu/ refurbished material , but management need to take this matter seriously. The house very dusty, all fan full with dust, lots of cockroaches and insects, lantai kayu berlubang-lubang..The light broken..sighhhh.. They only provide you 2 pillow in each room, which is very thin / old pillow. Dust at the window very thick.obviously, no housekeeping was done prior our check in?????? The grass from entrance to the houses area not trimmed, macam kawasan tinggal.

Our bathroom water pipe is not functioning well , need to manually open main pipe if we need to use the toilet, and somehow produce ammonia smell ( bau taik/urine) from the septic tank.

Suprisingly, they also put monkey trap cage at the back of our house, just few feet from our window's room, we cant sleep throughout the night, monkeys make noise from the cage, they want to escape. And plus, other visiitors karoke until midnight, very loud!! No action form your customer service staff!

TV in our house also cant be use, when my mom spoke to one of the staff,he just replied with smile (?) with no further action or sorry. Breakfast and BBQ so expensive and not proportionate with the menus. RM 7 for 1 small pack bihun goreng, roti canai and tea O. The HQ doesnt allow visitors to order from outside.Need to take Desa Balqis own caterer.

Swimming pool water very dirty, greenish.Not suitable for kids. Your customer service only entertain us at office hour which is 8-5 pm. and lastly, one of our booking was denied on the day of check in. We already paid RM 670 ( 3months advanced)for that house, your staff easily take it for granted and says booking not done and refuse to refund our money on the day itself!. What a poor management !

i just "love" the ambience at night...because all the dirty, dusty are not visible..My first and last visit to Desa Balqis. Please Improve...

I just came back and spent a night there. Booked Rumah Pak Ndak. 2nd trip after many years. I tried rumah Pak Long before.More houses now.Nice for those who loves staying in old kampung houses. The ambience is meant to serve such purpose. They will light up the areas with spotlights and colourful decorative lights at night. So that you can let the kids play at the field at night as well. The tv is small, boxy, reminds you of your nenek’s tv at kampung in the 80s. Even the closet, the dining chairs, are meant to exude the feelings when you were kids, stomping and running on the wooden floors. The light switches were painted black probably they original black switches were expensive or hard to get. Just imagine like you are staying in those Mini Malaysia houses. The breakfast is minimal, enough though. They used to serve breakfast to your houses with plates and trays that reminds you of the kenduris back in the 80s. Now you can get it at their dining hall prepacked, probably due to PKPP. Good for those staying with large families, with family day and gatherings in mind. The reception is good, complained about the light in our bathroom and it was fixed quickly. There were enough soaps, blankets, praying mats, towels. Off course you can’t compare a 5 star standard hotel to this as it’s a totally different audience, target and...