ZEN By Stellar Cameron — Hotel in Pahang

We booked a 3D2N full board package at Yama Villa, on 24-26 August 2025, and unfortunately, our experience fell far below expectations. Given the premium price point, we anticipated a much higher standard of comfort, service, and hospitality, but instead, we left deeply disappointed.

The most concerning issues we faced were:

Non-functional bathroom – The bathroom facilities were practically unusable throughout our stay. Despite multiple attempts by the maintenance staff, the shower drainage remained severely clogged, and the basin continued leaking, causing inconvenience and discomfort the entire time.

Safety and security lapse – Shockingly, a foreign worker walked straight into our room one afternoon while I was taking a nap, claiming to check the bathroom issue. This was done without prior notice or consent, leaving us feeling unsafe and disturbed. For a resort of this standard, such a lack of communication and respect for guest privacy is unacceptable.

Room space misrepresentation – The villa we booked was marketed to accommodate 4 adults, yet the space was extremely cramped. There was barely enough room to move around, let alone store our luggage and personal belongings comfortably.

Terrible soundproofing – Privacy was almost non-existent, as we could hear every word and conversation from the neighboring villa. This was worsened by how closely the villas were built next to each other, making it impossible to rest or enjoy a sense of seclusion.

Poor dining experience – The included breakfast and dinner were both highly disappointing, with limited variety, low quality, and uninspired preparation. To make matters worse, every meal was plagued by swarms of flies around the dining area, making it an unpleasant and unsanitary experience that completely ruined our appetite.

Substandard service quality – The service levels were shockingly poor, especially compared to budget hotels in Malaysia charging less than RM300 per night. At this price tier, one would reasonably expect attentive, professional, and guest-oriented service — but this was sorely lacking.

Overall, this stay was a regrettable experience that did not justify the cost, nor did it live up to even the most basic standards of comfort,...

Not sure about other's but you would expect to receive good services for the amount paid. I stayed with family and had the opportunity to stay 2 different kind of accommodation. One was proper hotel cheaper with great services, food and experience. Very comfortable. The other one which is Zen by Stellar, which we opt to stay 3 nights somemore due to good reviews but truly a disappointment. I just can't justify for the amount paid and for the kind of stay we had.

I'm glad one of the reviews I saw were about the flies. How comfortable do you think to see flies everywhere and we had to shoo away the flies every time we had our meal there. Also, think about how safe will the food and utensils be? We had to request hot water to disinfect all bowls, plates and utensils. We had a night of steamboat. To be fair it was so so and expensive. Prior to this, we saw tons of flies around our food that the staff prepare and put on our dining table. Even though it's cling wrap, but it was not tightly close, we quickly close it to prevent flies going in. Lastly, there was a paper fly trap on our table and how comfortable it is to see so much flies got trap. We felt disgusted before we even start our meal. the boss of Zen by Stellar, even though you have the portable flying fan but it doesn't work at all especially batteries dies quickly. Just this dining experience alone spoils all our family mood. A total disappointment.

Secondly the room make up services. Though I had whatsapp them and say I need 3 towels all the time when they make up room I was only given 2 all the time. And they dont thoroughly clean the bath tub at the balcony. We had to wash it one time before letting my son play. Some kind of fungus is growing in the tub. See photo.

In summary, what i would say is, you should feel great even though you paid premium price. But this...

Zen by name only.

Let me start by going through all the good things:

venue is beautiful, tent was super clean and well presented staff were friendly and helpful. food was good but not vary varied so maybe good for a 1/2 night stay. location is good but you still require a car to get around as it's a little way out of town.

Now the not so good:

Instagram crowd spent the whole time taking pictures and we had one particular couple that walked up and down past our tent filming ALL day. This is incredibly annoying to have to put up with. the "quiet time" started at 11pm which is WAY too late. This means people can make as much noise as they like up until then and they do just that. We were kept awake until maybe 1am every night by rude Chinese families drinking and laughing late, We had to listen to people partying and drinking and complained multiple times. tents WAY TO CLOSE to each other. We could hear every little sound and people were sitting playing annoying tiktoks all night, it really ruined the vibe for us. loud TVs on every tent. Why?? The venue is meant to be a zen haven and you give everyone a TV? Please consider removing the TVs, it just meant people watched TV late keeping everyone up. no soap at toilets. We found this strange, you had to bring your own after using the toilet.

Things for the venue to consider:

remove TVs from tents. space tents out more, they are way too close to each other, I don't want to hear someone on tiktok when I'm trying to relax. change the quiet time from 11pm to earlier so we can all relax. consider inviting guests to detach from their phones and technology, it was really sad to see EVERYONE on their phones including through breakfast and dinner... Not a single one having conversations. do more to make it a zen space and not just an...