Belum Rainforest Resort — Hotel in Perak

It was our first time staying here and it will not be the last. There are not many recent detailed reviews so I would like to share our experience.

They do offer a shuttle service from a range of locations contrary to what the website says (please update!), and you pay per car. We used it to/from Gerik, and both times we had good drivers with safe cars. you can easily get the coach from Penang to Gerik.

The hotel is very well constructed, design of the buildings integrate with the forest - the hotel is set around a number of walkways at different levels so you can explore the forest just by walking around. At ground level there are water systems running throughout and small pools where you can see frogs and kelah fish. The sheer number of animals, butterflies and other insects you see about is testament to the effective and sustainable construction of this hotel. It is very well maintained, and there are information posters everywhere explaining the different species of animals and plants you may see, such as frogs, butterflies, orchids, the bees, as well as QR codes on the trees and plants with more info. These are very well explained and informative, and allow you to appreciate your surroundings much more.

Around the hotel there are really cool photos from the 60s onwards and information explaining the history of the dam construction to make the lake, and the bridge construction. Do arrange to visit the Banding Gallery, which was a concrete fortification/old sniper post during the construction of the bridge to protect the contractors which they have turned into a mini museum to outline the historical significance of the area. Rooms are big, clean and well designed. At night you get to fall asleep to the sounds of the rainforest. High quality amenities are provided. No problem with bugs in the room as other reviews have sometimes mentioned

The service is great, especially the front desk staff, who make the experience very personal.

Both restaurants are nice. The buffet at the Hornbill is better than the one at the Senai restaurant (sometimes they have the buffet there depending on capacity), so on those days I would recommend ordering off the à la carte menu. Dinner at the Hornbill is mainly Malay food, cooked well. There are 4-5 meat/fish options, rice, a pasta dish, 2-3 dessert options, fruit and salad etc, 80RM pp. Breakfast is also nice, a good range of Malay and western options (the European pastries are particularly good for a non-European hotel).

Restaurants are halal so no drinking in either, but attached to the Senai restaurant there is a big balcony with fusball, billards etc, overlooking the lake which is beautiful at sunset. The 'bar' is a vending machine with a good range of cold beers at decent prices and some snacks. You cannot bring the beer from here into the restaurant but they have loads of nice seating for a sundowner.

Pool - I have seen some reviews complaining about its size - I do not know what they are on about as it is fairly large. People do not come here to sit in the pool all day as there is so much to do with excursions. Often it’s only got people there in the late afternoon/evening when they are back. The pool area has lovely deckchairs and big umbrellas.

Activities - you can spend a good hour/hour and a half just walking around the resort seeing the herbal garden, Rumah Temenggor, orchid garden and bee farm etc. Rafting is great run. I took a day trip out to Royal Belum : well worth it, Mohammed (‘il’) was a fantastic guide and I learnt so much. The rafflesia are not in bloom at the moment so the itinerary was changed and we went to see the indigenous village instead - which was brilliant. He is very knowledgable about all the plants and animals, and hearing his personal stories of the forest was very interesting.

Only suggestion - please update the content of your website with the current offerings, and also about the shuttle service you provide as potential guests would appreciate that and it would definitely influence them to...

We stayed here in a ground floor ‘Chengal’ room for two nights as part of a short group visit. Our overall experience was mixed, but we left feeling we would like to return, but in a different category room. |First the positive comments. The resort location and scenery are without doubt stunning, with views over the water to jungle covered mountains. The resort is also quiet (we did not hear any traffic noise, which other reviews have mentioned) and the combination of the views, and the silence make it a good place to simply relax. We took, and would highly recommend, the resort-organised tour by boat which includes some short jungle walks to see the Rafflesia plant, a Salt Lick, and a Waterfall. The walks in the forest are not difficult, but a couple of short sections required use of a rope handrail to negotiate steeper parts of the trails. Our boatman/guide Hafeez was excellent, knowledgeable and very friendly. The entire tour was conducted by speed boat between the locations, and the scenery around the lake en route was just stunning. Sadly we did not see any of the wildlife which inhabits the forest, but Hafeez reported having seen an elephant on the previous day. We also hired resort kayaks, and that too was an excellent and tranquil experience. |Now the negatives. We were disappointed with our Chengal room for a couple of reasons. They are constructed of grey concrete, and the interior floors and walls are of polished concrete, which gives a boxy, industrial, unfinished feel. Our major gripe however was the toilet, which opens directly into the bathroom area at the rear of the room, and is not equipped with a solid door - just a shower curtain! If you enjoy privacy when using the toilet, this is not the room for you, unless you are alone. I do not understand why this has been done, but all Chengal rooms are apparently the same. Our second complaint was that when we arrived, the in-room safe was not working, and it took three requests before it was finally fixed 20 hours later. Another major issue with our specific room was the frequent noise from a steel staircase which ran up up the side of the building (our room was ‘end of terrace’) which created loud clanging and clunking noise every time someone used it. We could also clearly hear people moving around in the room above us. Having said all that, the bed was very comfortable, the shower worked well, and the in room amenities - including tea and coffee making facilities - are good. Some instructions for the state-of-the-art TV would have been very helpful. |Dining is a mixed experience - breakfast and dinner are served buffet style, and while there is a good variety and selection of local and western food, a way needs to be found to keep the ‘hot’ food warmer - food in the chafing dishes was often cool. Alcoholic drinks are not available or served anywhere in the resort. Cans of beer only can be bought from an on-site vending machine, but have to be consumed in your room, or in a couple of designated outdoor locations (the smoking area being one). They cannot be taken into the restaurant. |Having said all the above, overall the pluses outweighed the minuses and we would be happy to return, but not to a Chengal Room. On future visits, we would most definitely book one of the wooden chalets (‘Tualang Chalet’) which directly overlook the lake, have a small balcony equipped with table and chairs, and which have a conventional properly separated bathroom and - more importantly - a toilet with a...

5-star for the location, 3.5-star for customer-focus

The star of Belum Rainforest Resort is definitely the forest itself, and of course the lake. After traveling through East Coast where it was hot and humid, it was so wonderful to have such a cool weather in Belum Resort, which surprised us as we thought it will be very warm there. I guess the forest helped bring down the temperature. The lake is beautiful and breathtaking - we just sat at the SiDai restaurant and watch the lake the whole afternoon till evening, while enjoying tea and dinner. Our group stayed at Chengal room which faces the lake, but we can't really see it as it was bloked by trees and the Kampung villas/ houses (this accomodaton will have the best view of the lake). The room was big and quite comfy, and we appreciate that we can watch Youtube on TV (lol). Wish they had wooden floors instead of cement but l guess it's more hardy in the long run. The sliding door leading to the outdoor bath tub was not working as well so that can be improved

We dined at the resort for all our meals as it was too much hassle to drive out. Breakfast at Hornbill was quite good and we appreciate that the chef made fresh roti canai for us upon request :D The food at SiDai for dinner could be improved, it's OK but not as yummy. One area of improvement is the staff training. Don't get me wrong, they were all very polite and friendly. But due to some of the resort's regulation (eg Rm10 per buggy ride after 1 free ride), the staff were rather strict in offering services to us - 2 of our friends are not so mobile and when we requested to have the buggy to bring us to the restaurants, the staff said every ride will cost Rm10. Thank goodness the manager or more senior staff later said they won't charge since our friends has difficulty walking. Another incident was how I called the resort 1-2 weeks earlier to request that the 2 rooms be in the same building (ie upper and ground floor together), but when we arrived they were not able to accommodate that. There should have been clear communication or arrangement since the request was made and the staff promised me over the phone - I see that more as a organisation weakness. Good thing the manager manage to arrange that later but that took time during checking-in. Lastly, I requested for another hand/ body gel so that can have one at the sink and one at the shower, but was told I will need to pay extra. Good thing I had a bar of soap from another hotel earlier so l used that instead.

Belum Rainforest Resort is really an amazing and unique place and those who love nature, hiking should pay a visit for sure. Not as suitable for those with mobility challenge as there are a lot of staircases to manoeuvre (to restaurants, swimming pool, viewing platforms etc). I hope the management will give better training to the staff so that they are more knowledgeable and confident to share the resort's attraction to guests (they are mostly quite shy, except the buggy drivers who are the most knowledgeable).

Also hope the resort management are not so "stingy" in offering services and amenities when guests have already paid quite a high price to stay there. If it's because the resort want to avoid wastage etc, that's OK, but do...